GREENUP — The bids flew fast and furiously in the show arena Saturday and when the last lamb trotted back to its pen, the Greenup County Fair’s 4-H/FFA livestock sale had broken its sales record.

Buyers spent $115,622 at the sale, said 4-H extension agent Kathy Junker, a total that easily topped the old record, which was around $106,000, give or take a few hundred dollars.

Bidders opened their checkbooks because they saw better animals, youth livestock chairman president Tony Waters said.

“The quality of animals has increased to a higher standard,” he said.

As with all fairs, there’s a good deal of competition to take home a grand or reserve champion, so bids shot up on some of them.

First and People’s Bank, for instance, bought the grand champion steer for $4 per pound. That’s one steer that might be worth locking in the vault, because at 1,320 pounds, the bank paid $5,280.

Jim Bob Osman, who’s on the board of the bank, placed the bid. A cattleman himself, Osman places bids for several area businesses and professionals.

His strategy includes bidding on several of the champion animals, but he doesn’t get overexcited about making the buy.

“If I don’t get it, it will take the bid up,” he said. That’s important, because the fair sale isn’t a place to look for bargains.

Instead, it’s a place to show support for the community and the children who have worked for months with their project animals, Osman said.

Christine Gerlach, who owns Gerlach Farm and Feed in Wheelersburg, agreed: “I’m not flashbulb happy. It’s nice to get recognition but if not, we’re supporting the fair.

The recognition she’s referring to is the bragging rights that come with snagging one of the top animals. Champion buyers get formal photos with the seller and animal to post in their business.

Gerlach said she looks for quality animals — and their owners too. She wants her money to follow the kids who work hard on their projects.

“I want to see their involvement in it,” she said.

By the time the sale comes around, Gerlach already has a pretty good idea of which children are the most engaged in their projects because quite a few are her customers. When she sees them in the store asking incisive questions about feed and care, she knows their animals will be superior.

Bob Sells of Cooke’s Farm Supply in Ironton is a true believer in 4-H and FFA, but beyond that, its just good business to buy at the auction, he said.

Sells spends much of his advertising budget for the year at the four or five fairs he attends.

The sellers are children today but long-time customers tomorrow, so he wants to make sure he knows them and they know him. From experience he knows the people he encounters at the fair will be in his store through the year.

“This is one of the best advertising tools out there,” he said.

MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.