Local youth see record-breaking year at Grant County Youth Livestock Auction
By Logan Bagett on Tuesday, August 18th, 2026 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Eastern/Southeast Oregon Top Stories
JOHN DAY – The Grant County community has banded together once again to support our young animal producers. Preliminary numbers indicate that the 2026 Grant County Youth Livestock Auction at the Grant County Fair was the highest-earning year to-date.
The big day took place on Saturday, August 15th, 2026. Livestock Auction Committee Treasurer Shannon Springer reported to our newsroom that the total amount earned by local youth at the auction night came in at $706,713.50. Springer said that number will only get larger over the next couple of weeks as add-ons are figured in. The preliminary total already surpassed last year’s record-breaking GCYLA total by over $40,000.
In addition, 20 fewer animals or “lots” were sold at this year’s fair than were sold in 2025.
See below a summary of Grant County Youth Livestock Auction totals over the last decade:
| year | Animals Sold | Sale Total $1000 | total dollar sold |
| 2016 | 106 | $170.01 | $170,010.30 |
| 2017 | 122 | $198.90 | $198,895.56 |
| 2018 | 115 | $220.20 | $220,204.40 |
| 2019 | 118 | $277.56 | $277,564.50 |
| 2020 | 114 | $302.62 | $302,623.50 |
| 2021 | 126 | $505.55 | $505,545.00 |
| 2022 | 132 | $484.49 | $484,492.38 |
| 2023 | 171 | $547.04 | $547,036.80 |
| 2024 | 169 | $535.91 | $535,906.00 |
| 2025 | 196 | $659.78 | $659,782.75 |
| 2026 | 176 | $706.71 | $706,713.50 |
We’ll provide updated auction totals once they are released.
