Members of 4-H livestock clubs who exhibited champions at the Carbon County Fair in Palmerton did very well during the annual auction on Saturday.

Among the members of the livestock club was the fair queen, Carissa Sevrin.The grand champion steer, exhibited by Alyssa Wentz, was sold to Pencor Services for $3,500 with Fred Reinhard accepting the banner.Sevrin displayed the champion dairy beef, which was sold to Hometown Farmers' Market for $1,500. Kayla and Morgan Biege and Bob Dunn accepted the banner for the champion dairy beef for Hometown Farmers' Market.Sevrin said she enjoys having her father helping her, and is going to study agriculture in college.Tanner Seltzer's champion swine tried to pull the mic wire along as it paraded the ring. The buyer was ABC Refrigeration's with the banner accepted by Todd Dreisbach at a price of $1,500.The champion market goat was exhibited by Courtney Getz who plans to study to be a medical technician at West Chester University. The goat sold for a $1,450 bid by Forest Inn Storage.Forest Inn Masonry bought Felicia Mertz's champion market lamb. Felicia plans to be a veterinarian. Each year several livestock club members aim at a career as a veterinarian. The banner was accepted by Rick and Levi Getz who paid $750 for the lamb.Dale Greenzweig of Dale's Concessions accepted the banner for the supreme champion rooster raised by Alex Hawk. The bid was $390. Hawk said that next year, he plans to switch to a market lamb.Monica and Sal Melo bought Shannon Beltz's supreme champion hen for $370. Shannon wants to work with therapy animals. Melo Enterprises paid $370.Auctioneer Tim Houser bought the meat pen of rabbits exhibited by Ethan Glawe at a price of $410. Garret and Audrey Navitsky helped Houser accept the banner.Reserve champion purchasers also received banners:Felicia Mertz, market steer, $3,100 by Hill's Wildlife Taxidermy.Kyle Troxell, dairy beef, $1,300 by Charles Snyder.Ryanne Hoffman, market swine, $1,350 by Gap View Farm. Ryanne wants to have a pig or dairy farm.Scott Heffelfinger, market goat, $1,000 by Steven and Kevin Bond. Scott wants to be an environmental engineer.Alex Hawk, market lamb, $1,000 by Fred Reinhard, Pencor Services.Alex Hawk, rooster, $430 by Palmerton Garage Door.Molly Mertz, hen, $400 by Hill's Wildlife Taxidermy.Lynea Reiner, meat pen of rabbits, $410 by Seitz Bros. Lynea wants to be a music therapist.Four remaining steers brought between $1,625 and $2,670. Dairy beef animals brought between $775 and $1,200.Boots Hetherington of the state fair funding administration, attended and presented a check for $13,400. He thanked the county commissioners, fair president Bob Silliman and Rep. Doyle Heffley for their support of the fair. He said there are 109 fairs in the state."My daughter just married Justin Cunfer," he said. Cunfer was a member of the livestock club and has since become a veterinarian."Why do we give money to fairs?" Hetherington asked. He then answered his own question, stating that because Pennsylvania's largest industry is agriculture though only two percent actually raise animals and crops. He said Gov. Tom Corbett doubled fair funding and it is being increased again.Budgeted for farmland preservation is $20.4 million, which buys development easements so the farm is perpetually open land. He also noted that farms can now be passed on to future generations without payment of inheritance taxes.Hetherington named Dennis and Deanna Cunfer as this year's Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Fair Ambassadors.Three wall hangings and a bench in the shape of a horse were donated as fundraisers. The first two wall hangings brought $240 and the third sold for $150. The bench added another $160. The bench is made from Carbon County wood by Mark and Karen Green. It was bought by Hometown Farmers' Market and was at the Schuylkill Farmer for a Day stand until the fair ended.The announcer for the day was Dwane Miller, an agricultural educator from Schuylkill County. The auctioneer, Tim Houser, was accompanied by grandson Garret Navitsky, whom he introduced as the next generation of Houser auctioneers.