Illinois e-News Release

For Immediate Release

August 16, 2022

Contact:

Krista Lisser (217) 670-9283

SALE OF CHAMPIONS INVESTS IN TOMORROW’S AGRICULTURAL LEADERS

First Lady Outbids Governor to Take Home Champion Steer

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Being in the Governor's Sale of Champions is something all livestock exhibitors dream about, but few are able to accomplish. Each year, this marquee event of the Illinois State Fair Ag Day festivities showcases the hard work and dedication of the youth in the agriculture industry.

For the third year, Governor JB Pritzker ended up in a bidding war for the Grand Champion Steer with none other than his wife, First Lady MK Pritzker. He drove up the price, but it was the First Lady who took home the Grand Champion Steer with a bid of $105,000, tying the record she set in 2021.

In addition to being spotlighted before the crowd on Tuesday night, these Grand Champion exhibitors, along with the Reserve Grand Champion exhibitors, will receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their animal. The exhibitors use the funds towards their college education or invest it back into projects for next year.

“These exhibitors are the future of agriculture in our state and represent the best of the best,” said Jerry Costello II, Director, Illinois Department of Agriculture. “The Sale of Champions is the cherry on top of the Illinois State Fair. To see our youth in agriculture rewarded for the work that they put into these animals is my favorite aspect of the Illinois State Fair.”

CME Group also realizes the importance of education, which is why they have donated $50,000 in scholarships to this year’s Sale of Champions and for last decade.

Below are the results of the 2022 Commodity Auction and the 2022 Sale of Champions. It should be noted that the Grand Champion Steer will be donated to the Central Illinois Foodbank.

Commodity	Exhibitor	Location	Purchases	Price
Champion Chihuahua Cheese	V&V Supreme	Chicago, IL	Marty and Donna Davis- McDonalds	$700
Champion Medium White Cheddar Cheese	Foremost Farms Inc.	Marshfield, WI	IL State Auctioneer Past Champion and Friends	$500
Champion Cotija Cheese	Nuestro Queso, LLC	Chicago, IL	U of I College of Aces	$700
Champion Vanilla Yogurt	Deerland Dairy	Freeport, IL	Marty and Donna Davis- McDonalds	$350
Champion Banana-Licious Chocolate Ice Cream	Oberweis Dairy	North Aurora, IL	Marty and Donna Davis- McDonalds	$400
Champion Bacon	Leiding’s Meats & Catering	Danville, IL	Cindy Cagwin-Johnston	$800
Champion Bone-In Ham	Eickman’s Processing Co. Inc.	Seward, IL	Area Mechanical	$800
Champion Beef Jerky	Korte Meat Processing	Highland, IL	George Obernagel and Jo Hampton	$750
Champion Snack Sticks	Turasky Meats	Springfield, IL	U of I College of Aces	$850
Champion Cooked Bratwurst	Korte Meat Processing	Highland, IL	Illinois Association of Meat Processors	$700
Best of Show Wine	Blue Sky Vineyard	Makanda, IL	Rebecca Clark and Kristi Jones	$850
Grand Champion Honey	Joyce and Mike Dullenty	Springfield, IL	Wayne Rosenthal	$900
Best in Show Dairy Goat’s Milk	Lillian Lee	Glenarm, IL	Marty and Donna Davis- McDonalds	$825

Animal	Exhibitor	County	Purchasers	Price
Grand Champion Rabbit Market Pen	Chesney Thorton	Piatt	Robert Nelson/AgriVest Farm Management, George Obernagel and Darren Bailey for Governor	$7,600 New Record
Overall Breeding Poultry Champions	Natalie Palmquist, Austin Ater Luke & Jesgarz		Marty and Donna Davis- McDonalds	$5,000
Land of Lincoln Supreme Champion Dairy Cow Print	Kamber Kilgus	Livingston	Midwest Dairy, St. Louis Dairy Council & Friends of Kamber Kilgus	$5,500 New Record
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Meat Goat	Maddox Horner	Jasper	Jeff Ellerbrock/AgriGold, Hummel Family – Dale & Holly, Rich Kiefer/Kiefer Farms, Brian, Rinderer/AgriGold, Skyride	$5,500
Grand Champion Meat Goat	Nolan Hoge	McDonough	George Obernagel, Rich DeSchepper & Eric, Faugust/Syngenta , Ed Teefey/Farmer State Bank	$6,500
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Market Lamb	Nalaney Guyer	Crawford	Pivot Bio and Springfield Plastics	$5,000
Grand Champion Market Lamb	Carter Hoge	McDonough	North American Midway Entertainment	$8,000
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Barrow	Ella Bobell	Logan	Bayer Crop Science	$18,000
Grand Champion Barrow	Drake Fletcher	Menard	CME Group	$25,000
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Steer	Cole Caldwell	Peoria	BRANDT	$30,000
Grand Champion Steer	Ashtin Guyer	Scott	MK Pritzker	$105,000

Attachments

Governor's Sale of Champions

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