Step into the Mallary Complex on 4-H Beef Auction night and you will find yourself with countless opportunities to speak with 4-H members while viewing their prize animals. Bidders and buyers are warmly welcomed to ask questions of the youth. 4-H members are no different from any other youth. They can be shy and find it hard to speak with strangers at first. Try breaking the ice by asking them how they named their steer or ask them to tell about halter breaking their animal. You will see a shy youngster transform into a responsible agriculturalist, who understands the dollars and sense of buying a calf and growing it to market weight with the hope of profitably selling that animal at The Big E. A 4-H Beef Auction is the culmination of many hours of sweat, equity and commitment, hoping your investment will pay off financially and reward the 4-H youth with the satisfaction from a job well done.

Last year over 23 4-H Beef Steers were exhibited and offered for sale at The Big E. Proceeds from this sale went directly to the exhibitor. Monies are often used to purchase their next 4-H Beef Project animals, while many 4-H exhibitors have made significant college expense investments with the income from their 4-H Beef animals.

We would like to thank the 2018 Beef Buyers at The Big E:

• The Barn Yard, Ellington, CT
• Eastern States Exposition, West Springfield, MA
• Aliyssa Courville, Sutton, MA
• Chicopee Savings Bank Foundation & Westfield Savings, Chicopee, MA
• Delaney House/ Log Cabin, Holyoke, MA
• Donnie Dionne, Southampton, MA
• Double J Excavating LLC, Tolland, CT
• ESE Food Concessionaires, W Springfield, MA
• Farm Credit East, Enfield, CT
• Glastonbury Vet Hospital, Glastonbury, CT
• North American Midway, Hoffman Estates, IL
• Plymouth Meats, Terryville, CT
• Smith College Dining, Northampton, MA
• Stan Zimnock, Barkhamstead, CT
• UMass, Amherst, MA
• Westwind Farm & Stone, Westfield, MA