Illinois e-News Release

For Immediate Release	Contact:
August 14, 2024	Lori Harlan 217.670.9283

GOVERNOR'S SALE OF CHAMPIONS INVESTS IN FUTURE AGRICULTURAL LEADERS

Governor JB Pritzker and First Lady MK Pritzker Donate $105,000

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The annual Governor's Sale of Champions at the Illinois State Fair auctions off the best livestock as judged by competitions throughout the fair. Grand Champion is the highest distinction youth exhibiting livestock in Illinois can earn, and tonight, 10 exhibitors took home that title.

Governor JB Pritzker and First Lady MK Pritzker took home the Grand Champion Steer for the fifth year in row, donating $105,000 towards the purchase of the animal. The Grand Champion Steer will be donated to Feeding Illinois and dispersed to food banks across the state.

"These young exhibitors represent the best of the best in Illinois agriculture," said Jerry Costello II, Director, Illinois Department of Agriculture. "Earning a spot in the Sale of Champions is the result of a tremendous amount of work – late nights and early mornings in the barn. It’s hard work. To see our youth in agriculture recognized for the effort that they put into these animals is beyond gratifying."

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.

Recognizing the importance of education, CME Group contributed $50,000 to the 2024 Governor’s Sale of Champions to be split into nine scholarships. Beck's Hybrids provided $20,000 to be split among the grand champions.

Below are the results of the 2024 Commodity Auction and the 2024 Sale of Champions.

Commodity	Exhibitor	Location	Purchaser	Price
Champion Queso Blanco Cheese	V&V Supremo Foods	Chicago, IL	Midwest Dairy	$1,050
Champion Bourbon Black Pepper Cheese	Shullsburg Creamery	Shullsburg, IL	University of Illinois College of ACES	$800
Champion Strawberry Cheesecake Custard	Front Street Creamery	El Paso, IL	Marty & Donna Davis, McDonald’s	$600
Champion French Onion Dip	Prairie Farms Carbondale	Carbondale, IL	Butch Jacobs Family	$300
Champion Buckeye Ice Cream	Prairie Farms Rockford	Rockford, IL	Marty & Donna Davis, McDonald’s	$250
Champion Bacon	Eickman's Processing Co. Inc.	Seward, IL	Paul Turner, Turner Farms	$700
Champion Bone-In Ham	Eickman's Processing Co. Inc.	Seward, IL	Marty & Donna Davis, McDonald’s	$750
Champion Beef Jerky	Korte Meat Processing	Highland, IL	Illinois State Auctioneers Association	$600
Champion Snack Sticks	Wenneman Meat Co.	Saint Libory, IL	Illinois State Auctioneers Association	$1,200
Champion Cooked Bratwurst	Behrmann Meat & Processing	Albers, IL	Brian Engelmann, Engelmann Construction	$1,700
Illinois State Fair Wine Show Champion	Blue Sky Vineyard	Makanda, IL	Kim Carney Rhodes in support of Friends of Macoupin County Fair	$750
Grand Champion Honey	William Budd	Springfield, IL	Former Director of Illinois Dept. of Agriculture Joe Hampton	$800
Grand Champion Dairy Goat Milk	Ava Crites	Rantoul, IL	Marty & Donna Davis, McDonald’s	$525

Animal	Exhibitor	County	Purchaser	Price
Grand Champion Rabbit Market Pen	Chesney Thornton	Piatt County	Robert Nelson & AgriVest Farm Management Logan Frye & Field Level Agriculture, Inc. John Riley & Cardinal Transport Gensini Cattle	$5,000
Grand Champion Poultry Meat Pen	Oakley Yard	Knox County	Marty & Donna Davis, McDonald’s	$5,000
Land of Lincoln Supreme Champion Dairy Cow Print	Connor Hartmann	Bond County	Midwest Dairy Beck’s Hybrids Prairie Farms Clinton County Vet St. Louis Dairy FNB Community Bank Langham Bond County Farm Bureau	$6,750
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Meat Goat	Kadie Hummel	Kankakee County	Kiefer Farms Syngenta Illinois State Fair Sky Ride	$5,500
Grand Champion Meat Goat	Bryce Clayton	Scott County	George Obernagel & Obernagel Family Farms	$8,000
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Market Lamb	Karly Reel	LaSalle County	Springfield Plastics Edward Teefey J.O. Harris Equipment Gensini Excavating	$5,000
Grand Champion Market Lamb	Nora Hoge	McDonough County	North American Midway Entertainment	$8,500
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Barrow & Grand Champion Barrow	Olivia Shike	Champaign County	CME Group	$25,000
Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Steer	Chace Riley	Grundy County	BRANDT Friends of Chace Riley Senator Sue Rezin	$65,000* New record
Grand Champion Steer	Kade Gensini	Putnam County	Governor JB Pritzker and First Lady MK Pritzker Friends of the Gensini Family	$105,000 $5,000 Total: $110,000* New record

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Governor's Sale Of Champions Invests In Future Agricultural Leaders

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