Averages climb in annual livestock sale

by nathan osterWhile the total sales figure fell short of last year’s, averages were up across the board for Friday night’s junior livestock sale at the Big Horn County Fair in Basin.“It was a good sale,” said Sara Schlattmann, longtime clerk of the sale.The total sale, not counting add-ons, brought $188,592, which was slightly less than the $190,756 generated by the 2012 sale.  But Schlattmann was quick to point out that fewer animals were sold this year, too.  In 2012, 138 were sold; this year, there were 132.Schlattmann also pointed out that with “at least another $9,000” as her reporting time of Monday afternoon, it’s looking like, “We are going to have quite a bit more money in ‘add-ons’ compared to last year.”Averages climbed across the board.The 20 steers that sold brought an average of $2.86 per pound, up from $2.72 last year.  The top seller in the beef category was owned by Kade Gifford, whose steer brought $5,227.50 and went to Lovell Drug/Cody Country Stores.Turning to goats, the six that sold brought an average of $11.08 per pound.  Dusty Miller had the top seller, as Greybull River Feeds paid $1,750 for her goat.The 57 lambs that sold brought an average of $7.25 per pound, up from $6.85 last year.  The top-selling lamb, belonging to Ammon Bullinger, brought $1,400 and went to Basin Pharmacy.The sale prices in the hog category were up as well.  The 47 hogs that sold brought an average of $4.91 per pound, up from 4.30 last year.  Will Dalin had the top seller, a hog that brought $2,070. Security State Bank was the purchaser of that steer.