What to do after you purchase a Meat Animal

Congratulations! You have purchased a locally raised Washington County 4-H or FFA hog, lamb or steer. You now know where your food comes from!

After you have successfully won the bid on a steer, hog or lamb, please wait for an auction clerk to find you at your seat to fill out a bit of paperwork for their records, and to anticipate your payment at the end of the auction. When the auction is over, or you are ready to leave, please walk to the Clerk's window at the Livestock Office to make payment, and decide where you would like to have your animal processed.

Please take a moment and walk to the barns and talk with the young person you just bought an animal from, or they may want a picture with you, and their animal!

The week directly following the county fair is very important. You must call the processor/locker that the animal you purchased will be harvested and processed at. They will be expecting your call to make cutting instructions or to 'fill out a cutting card'. These are directions to the processor on how you want your meat cut up.

They want to know:

• How thick you want your pork steaks cut.

• Do you want hamburger, and what size packages. One pound or two pound packages.

• How thick do you want your beef steaks cut. How many in a package.

• Would you like brats, and breakfast sausage. Do you want the Ham, and would you like those quartered. These are smoked meats.

• How many lamb chops would you like in package. How many lamb roasts.

The locker will call you when your meat is ready for pick-up, or they may give you a date for pick-up when you fill out your cutting card. Also, you may be asked to bring cardboard boxes to transfer meat to. Some processors may not. Payment is made for the processing when you pick-up your meat.

Know that you have purchased a quality meat animal product. Youth raise livestock in projects like these for the purpose of education, income and assets. Education is gained when learning what is takes to care for, feed, train, and market the meat product to buyers. Income is earned. To either use for schooling after high school graduation or assets gained when rolling those monies into next year's project animal or perhaps to develop a breeding flock of ewes, a heifer to start a herd, or a sow to farrow their own litter of pigs.

If you are a business, and you do not have a personal need for the meat, there are many things you can do! Have a picnic barbeque for your employees. Do a meat raffle with your employees. Or do a 'take your cooler to work day' for your employees to fill up on home grown meat. See our Supporter Spotlight page that highlights a local business that does this very thing every year! Or perhaps the local food pantry could use your donation of meat products for families in need.

The Washington County Livestock Sale Committee is a Nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization.

Thank you for attending the auction and supporting the livestock youth of Washington County.