Sales of Champions Invests in Tomorrow’s Agricultural Leaders (Chicago, 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 |
Sales of Champions Invests in Tomorrow’s Agricultural Leaders
