Exhibitors not allowed at Grant County livestock auction

MOSES LAKE — Participants in the livestock sales at the Grant County Fairgrounds next week will deliver their animals Aug. 19.

Fairgrounds director Jim McKiernan said Tuesday that state officials decided on an option that will allow evaluations of the entries along with the livestock sale.

However, exhibitors will not be allowed on the grounds any longer than it takes to drop off their animals. Adult volunteers will be caring for the animals while they are on the grounds.

The sale will take the place of the annual livestock competition at the Grant County Fair. The fair was canceled in late May due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

McKiernan said kids will deliver the animals on Aug. 19 and have them evaluated Aug. 20, with the sale Aug. 21. Exhibitors will be able to watch the evaluations through the fairgrounds website and social media.

The sale is online only and will be conducted by Yarbro Auctioneers, Moses Lake. The link for the sale is available on the company’s website, and there’s a video to help bidders register and participate in the sale.

The bidding will open the evening of Aug. 20. Different auctions will end at different times, with the ending time depending on the breed and the exhibition class.

Some kids who were planning to participate in the fair already had purchased their animals before the cancellation was announced. Others decided to go ahead knowing the fair could be canceled. “The whole point of this exercise is to allow kids that have animal projects to sell their projects,” McKiernan said.

Registration closed Monday. McKiernan said there were about 250 entrants, while in a typical year the fair would have 500 to 600 entries.

Prices are expected to be slightly lower than normal, he said. There are some concerns among producers that there will be an oversupply of animals, as the events where kids normally sell their animals are canceled or scaled back.

The animals have to be processed once they’re purchased, and McKiernan said local butchers are unusually busy right now. Commercial processors are the second option, and McKiernan said members of the fair’s livestock committee believe they have found processors for all the animals entered in the fairgrounds sale.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.