Buyers will be able to bid and donate directly to exhibitors
By Heather Ruenz
Staff Writer
Despite the Walworth County Agricultural Society Board’s decision late last month to cancel the 171st Walworth County Fair, several events will still happen including the Fur & Feather Sale.
“To help safely raise the most money for our hardworking 4-H and FFA youth, we are moving the annual auction of poultry, rabbits and goats online,” the Fur & Feather committee stated in a press release.
Details on the sale include the following:
- The same Show Circuit livestock auction site as the Meat Animal Sale, sconlinesales.com will be used;
- The sale will provide the opportunity to both bid on an animal to buy (processed or live) and the opportunity to provide a donation directly to the exhibitor;
- It will open online Friday, Sept. 4 and close on Tuesday, Sept. 8;
- Each exhibitor is able to sell two lots, which may include multiple animals in a pen;
- Buyers can choose to be notified if they’re outbid on an item;
- Each lot sold through Show Circuit costs $12.50. The Fur & Feather Sale Committee will cover that cost – no deduction will come out of an exhibitor’s check;
- Buyers will be invoiced after the sale. Sellers will contact their buyers to arrange processing and delivery. Goats are sold live, but processing is included for poultry and rabbits.
“Thanks to your generosity during past sales, this year we are also able to provide five $1,000 scholarships to 4-H and FFA youth involved in the poultry, rabbit and goat projects,” the committee stated.
To contribute directly to the scholarship fund this year, donations can be mailed to: Liz Abbott, Fur & Feather Treasurer, N4994 Co. Road P, Delavan, WI 53115.
“We appreciate your flexibility as we support the Walworth County Fur & Feather exhibitors,” it stated.
Anyone who has questions regarding the sale can contact Dale Wheelock at 262-882-3633 or dalewheelock@gmail.com or Rick Henningfeld at 262-745-6967 or rhenningfeld@vivayic.com.
Exhibits, livestock sale
Officials said the junior fair exhibits including livestock, woodworking and other projects are going on, but will not be open to the public.
The Animal Meat Sale is also being held.
“Although the Fair Board made a very tough decision to cancel the fair, they remained committed to the youth of Walworth County by allowing the youth shows to happen. These exhibitors have been working on their projects, even during these historic, trying times,” Walworth County Fair Meat Animal Sale Committee Chairman Marty Speth wrote in a letter to exhibitors.
He went on to outline how the virtual sales/shows will work, with the Meat Animal Sale running on Show Circuit Online Sales at sconlinesales.com.
“You can bid from your phone, computer, iPad and set up watch lists that will notify bidder when they are outbid. You can also set max bids on animals, which will allow you to remain highest bidder until someone exceeds your max bid. It does not reveal your max to the public,” Speth said.
The online Livestock Sale, featuring animals exhibited by the youth of Walworth County, will start at 6 p.m. Wednesday Sept. 2, and end at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 4. The sale order is: Beef, Sheep and Swine.
“It is racehorse style bidding, and the highest bidder wins,” Speth said.
Bidding procedures can be found on the fair’s website at walworthcountyfair.com. SC Online’s policy is to not display the bidder’s name. Donation options are also available.
If the animal has a date at a local locker plant, it will be listed under the exhibitor’s name. Otherwise the animal has been shipped to market.
“You, the buyer, will know before you bid on that animal if there is the opportunity for meat and what locker is doing the processing,” Speth said. “If you support an exhibitor that has a locker date and you do not want the meat, you will have the option to decline the meat. After the sale you will get an email asking if you want the meat or not, or you can tell the exhibitor.”
More information can be found on the fair’s website or by contacting Marty Speth at 262-745-2759 or mspeth@ddschools.org.
The decision
Fair organizers said the decision to cancel the fair was based on the steady increase in COVID-19 cases in surrounding states and other areas of Wisconsin. The fair – touted as the largest county fair in the state – is held over the Labor Day weekend and attracts “hundreds of thousands of visitors” from a wide radius, fair officials said. This year’s fair was slated to run Sept. 2 to 7.
Organizers had worked with the Walworth County Department of Health and Human Services to develop health and safety plans to make the two events as safe as possible, organizers said. Both the fair and Ribfest, which was also canceled, had been reimagined to reduce congestion and enable easy social distancing. Events had been moved outdoors and the carnival had been spread out to reduce congestion, according to the release.
The 171-year-old fair is one of the longest-running events in Wisconsin. Fair officials highlighted a University of Wisconsin economic impact study found the fair annually creates more than 30 local jobs, contributes more than $7 million to the local economy, and generates significant revenue for retailers, restaurateurs, and hospitality companies in the area.
In addition, the fair serves as the year’s largest fundraising activity for many local non-profit organizations and church groups.
“The board was concerned these events could pose a risk to Walworth County residents by attracting visitors from areas with much higher COVID-19 infection rates,” Larry Gaffey, Walworth County Fairgrounds general manager, said in a news release that accompanied the announcement.
Fair officials said they were determined to preserve many of the events for youth.
“We are concerned about the public health, but also feel an obligation to the young people who have spent a year or more raising livestock, doing photography, gardening crops, woodworking and working on arts and crafts,” Gaffey said.
“COVID-19 stole part of a school year from these kids. We will not allow it to ruin their dream projects as well,” he added.
For more information visit walworthcountyfair.com.
Staff writer Tracy Ouellette contributed to this story.
