Due to the cancellation of the 2020 Mother Lode Fair, we have moved our Junior Livestock and Small Livestock Auctions ONLINE! We have partnered with ShoWorks Virtual Auction platform to provide an auction marketplace for our junior livestock exhibitors. All species will sell in one auction beginning at 3 PM on Friday, July 3rd. The auction will begin closing at 9 AM Sunday, July 5th and will close in order one lot at a time.
What is it? The Junior Livestock and Small Livestock Auctions are the culmination of a year’s activity for 4-H, FFA and Independent exhibitors. The young exhibitors select and care for their market projects. Large livestock exhibitors each spend an average of 300 hours feeding and fitting their stock. These are hours invested in sound education, in learning responsibility and basic principles of our free market system. All fair exhibitors have completed the Youth for the Quality Care of Animals ethics program. The product of their labor is then brought to the Fair to be judged, graded and sold.
The FAIR is their marketplace! Even though our Fair has been cancelled, we have committed to providing our exhibitors the marketplace to sell and receive the monetary value for their project.
Will you help? We know that the COVID-19 crisis has taken a toll on many of our buyers, and deeply appreciate all the support we have received in the past. Working together, we can continue to support these young people as they earn funds for college, to buy more animals and give them a background in good business practices.
How does it work? Buyers can do pre-registration through the link on our homepage at www.motherlodefair.org. Sign in to the system in the upper right corner and choose “Buyer” in the “I am a…” drop-down menu. You’ll receive an email with instructions the day before the sale opens. If you don’t want to bid online, or are unable to, fill out the Buyer’s Proxy Bid Form found on our homepage and send it in. Make sure you designate what you would like done with your purchase! You can drop it in the mail slot at the Fair Office, fax it to 209-532-3573, or email it to kathy@mlfair.com. (We ask that you NOT mail it in due to the Fair Office experiencing slow mail service.) A member of our Sale Committee will be happy to bid for you! For 2020, beef, sheep, swine, meat goat and market rabbits will all sell in one auction. Beef, sheep and swine will sell by the pound. Meat goats and market rabbits will sell by the head. This is a TERMINAL SALE so all animals will go to processing – no live pick-up will be available.
What if I don’t want to buy a whole animal? Can I split my purchase with another buyer? YES!!! Get together with a group of friends or businesses and split the purchase. Once your lot closes, you will be prompted with a popup. Check the box for a split and Fair Staff will call you to get the names of the other buyers and complete the sale. You can split with any number of friends! All buyers participating in a split must be registered buyers but only one needs to do the bidding.
What to do with your purchase? You have 2 options.
- Have it custom cut and wrapped, fill your freezer and enjoy! Mother Lode Fair contracts with Rawhide Meats (beef, swine, lambs and goats) and House of Beef (beef and swine). The locker will contact you directly to get your cut and wrap preferences and you will pay them directly for your final product.
- Have the animal automatically resold to a meat packer at market price and pay only the difference.
- Rabbits are returned to Sonora by Fair Staff the week following the auction. Buyers will be notified for pickup.
What is RESALE? The animal will be resold for you and you DO NOT receive any meat. (Not available on rabbits.)
For example: If you buy a 100 lb lamb for $5.00 per pound – SALE PRICE $500
Approximate market value $1.00 per pound – MARKET VALUE $100
Potential tax deduction – YOUR DONATION $400
Sale price less market value is your donation. This is what you are billed for on resale.
The same method is used to calculate beef, swine and goat sales.
Want to help but don’t want to buy an animal? Consider doing an ADD-ON BID! For 2020 only, we are allowing add-on bids. An add-on bid can be placed on any lot in our auction up until Friday, July 10th. You can add any amount you wish. It’s a great way to support a young exhibitor with a smaller donation. Or place an add-on bid in addition to purchasing an animal. The choice is yours!! Invoices for add-on bids will be sent separately from regular purchase invoices.
Please reach out to a member of the Livestock Staff, Junior Livestock Auction Committee or Small Livestock Association if you have any further questions!
Junior Livestock Auction Committee
- Stuart Helmbold, Chairperson
- Jason Hart, Vice Chairperson
- Gail Aruta
- Lettie Beeman
- Leslie Bloom
- Rod Hampton
- Dalaine Heagle
- Kaela Helmbold
- Kim Helmbold
- Stacy Ingalls
- Elizabeth Kinlaw
- Ashley Lincoln
- Missy Marino
- Lindsay Mattos
- Jim Miller
- Sue Moore
- Tami Rodrigues
- Sharon Smales
- Steven Treat
- Wes Wittman, DVM
- Christina Wyman
- Billy Youngman
- Kendra Youngman