Livestock sale is a record breaker
By Terry Murry on Friday, August 19th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
HERMISTON – The final figures are still being added, but the Umatilla County Fair set new records. Commissioner Dan Dorran said the livestock sale alone was incredible.
“The final figures are not even in, and we are already over $1.05 million,” he said. “I don’t even know how to say thank you to a community that supports the youth the way that Umatilla County does.”
Dorran said the bids for beef alone totaled more than $455,000. The auction has come a long way from when he was first involved.
“Twenty-one years ago, Don Miller from Milton-Freewater and I got done with the livestock auction and it grossed about $55,000,” he said. “We sat there and planned for the next few hours, ‘How do we get this livestock auction to $75,000?’”
Dorran said that attendance figures and entries into the fair were up, but something else was at work when it came to the auction. “The numbers did not match the enthusiasm and the generosity of the community itself on those animals,” he said.
