Highest Bid Goes to Grand Lamb
Published: Friday, July 11, 2025
The top sale of the night at the Starke County 4-H Fair in Hamlet on June 27 went to an excited exhibitor from North Judson. The high bid came in at a total of $6,000 for a 125-pound grand champion lamb, which raked in $48 per pound for exhibitor Brodie Radtke.
The nine-year 4-H'er smiled when asked what she did to win and said it came down to "a lot of hard work." She sold the lamb to the friends and family of Brodie Radtke buyer group.
The reserve champion, shown by Brayden Bejes of North Judson, did not sell, but the night of high bids didn't end.
Two youths rose to the top of the competition in the beef show. Lucy Tarnow of Walkerton won the grand champion title, selling her 1,370-pound steer for $3.25 per pound ($4,442.50) to Mollie and Bobby Howard. Chloe Temple, of Knox, earned $4,250 ($3.40 per pound) from friends and family for her steer, which weighed 1,250 pounds.
In total, the auction raised $207,785.51 in sales from 371 lots, down from $240,506.92 and 425 lots last year. Subtotals by species include: eight beef steers, $27,000.67; eight dairy steers, $14,296.70; 131 hogs, $95,021.34; 20 lambs, $13,764.95; 93 goats, $29,551.85; 17 rabbits, $2,775; and 94 poultry animals, $22,375.
The grand and reserve champion market heifers were shown by Joseph Woods of Culver and Rylen Tuholski of North Judson, respectively. They did not sell their animals.
Andrew and Madison Summey of Plymouth took the grand and reserve champion titles for the 4-H dairy steers. Andrew's 1,465-pounder gained him $2.75 per pound ($4,028.75) from American Legion Post 131 in Knox. Madison sold her steer for $3,833.45 ($2.15 per pound) to the same buyer. It weighed 1,783 pounds.
Bailee Frazier of Walkerton exhibited the grand champion market barrow and earned $16 per pound in the auction. It weighed 236 pounds, bringing the total price to $3,776. Five Star paid the high bid. Makaila Glingle of Hamlet sold the 255-pound reserve champion to friends and family for $2,328 ($9.12 per pound).
In gilts, the reserve champion was sold by Marley Leszek of North Judson to friends and family for $1,946.50. Weighing 229 pounds, that rounds out to $8.50 per pound. DJ Garland of Hamlet was the grand champion exhibitor, but did not sell.
Quinn McLaughlin of North Judson showed the grand champion dairy market doe. It sold for $888.80 to Traffic Control Specialists. Knox's Laina Norris' reserve doe earned her $522 from the O-D support group. She also exhibited the reserve champion doe, which did not sell. Kash Collins of North Judson and Nora Stone of Grovertown showed the grand and reserve champion meat and market wethers, respectively. They sold to the friends and family of Kerslynn and Kash Collins and Jeff and Lindsay Fosler for $2,220 and $462, respectively.
In geese, Nathanial Hammack of North Judson and Hudson Danford of Knox showed the grand and reserve champion geese, respectively. Hammack sold his for a sum of $225 to D&S Underground. The reserve champion was auctioned off to the same buyer and Hamlet Feed Mill for $500.
Hammack earned an additional $425 from Barry and Sue Matzat and South Farm Hunt Club with the sale of his grand champion roaster. The reserve champion was sold by Heney Smrt to Traffic Control Specialists for $200. In the broiler division, Hunter Clemens of Knox took home $200 with the sale of his grand champion to Larry Mann Construction, and Hamlet Feed Mill paid $125 for Ty McQuisten's reserve champion.
The McLaughlin siblings Kasen and Quinn, of Knox, showed the grand and reserve champion turkeys, and sold them for $700 and $250, respectively. Buyers were Starke County Farm Bureau for Kasen and Sims Meat Processing/Craig Sims for Quinn. The top two ducks were shown by Bayze Swanson of Walkerton and Lauren Siroky of Walkerton. They earned $250 from D&S Underground and $175 from VFW Post 748, respectively.
Parker Mann of Knox dominated the rabbit show, earning the purple ribbon for his fryer, meat pen and stewer. He sold his meat pen to Walley and Michael Palmer of Palmer Wood Products for $250. His stewer sold to Cindy Mann-Kidder, Knox Clerk Treasurer for $150.
Melissa Novak purchased the grand champion roaster from Teagan Johnson of Knox for $125.
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