Early Dominates 4-H Swine Show in Peru
Published: Friday, July 4, 2025
Three grand champions were represented at the Miami County 4-H auction in Peru last Saturday. Hannah Early of Macy earned the high dollar for her grand champion market barrow. A group of 20 supporters (see list at end of story) paid $2,605, or $9.57 per pound, for the 272-pound Berkshire hog.
Preceding the sale of Early's prize hog was a special scholarship dedication in honor of Sarah Herrell, a past 4-H member who died at the age of 10 in a car accident.
This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the death of Herrell, the namesake for the annual Miami County 4-H auction scholarship. She died in a crash with a drunk driver in 2015. The scholarship was opened the following year and has been awarded to 4-H auction participants for the past nine years.
Four individuals were awarded $750 in scholarship funds. They include: Jenna Hughes, Samantha Jones, Calie France and Sophia McKinley. Since the scholarship's inception, a total of 20 scholarships have been presented to 4-H members.
Alex Weaver of Roann and Cole Specht of Bunker Hill also sold grand champion lots at the auction.
Weaver showed the supreme cow and exchanged a gallon of its milk for $300 from Beck's Hybrids. With add-ons, Weaver made a total of $1,305 from buyers (see list).
Specht took home a total of $760 after the sale of his grand champion dairy goat. Buyers include: Beck's Hybrids-Mike Marburger, Moss Fertilizer Services Employee Group, Anthony and Jenna Deardorff, DK Pence, First Farmers Bank and Trust, Hometown Federal Credit Union, and Family Farm and Home.
Reserve champions at the auction include the beef steer, dairy steer and meat-type wether. These were exhibited by Chloe Jordan of Peru, Calie France of Macy and Wyatt Smith of Denver, respectively.
Jordan went home $5,485 richer with the sale of her steer, which weighed 1,290 pounds. That translates to $4.25 a pound from her group of buyers (see list). France raked in $5,812.25 ($3.94 per pound) for her 1,475-pound steer. A total of 33 buyers contributed (see list). Smith exchanged his reserve champion goat for $1,325 from buyers (see list).
The 2025 4-H auction brought in a total of 133,270.27 from 109 lots, with add-ons still coming in as of press time. That is an increase over last year's sale of 107 lots totaling $119,186.
Subtotals by species include: three beef steers, $14,930; two dairy steers, $11,347.27; four dairy feeder calves, $10,590; 55 swine, $62,395; seven lots of cow's milk, $8,670; two lots of goat's milk, $2,240; three sheep, $3,230; 15 goats, $11,255; 17 poultry animals, $8,085; and one rabbit, $285.
Grand champion exhibitors who did not sell their animals at auction include: France, dairy steer and lamb; Jones, dairy feeder calf; Hughes, beef steer; Alden Hopper, beef heifer; Levi Merritt, gilt; Deleight Pier poultry meat pen; Abbie Bradshaw, duck; Brady Schanlaub, rabbit pen; Smith, meat goat doe; Alyssa Peterson, meat goat wether; and Kaidyn Schanlaub, rabbit fryer.
Reserve champions include: Early, barrow and dairy wether; Kennedy McGaughey, meat goat doe, Smith, meat goat wether and wether dam; AJ Jordan, dairy goat wether; Janessa Hierholzer, dairy goat doe; Kolbe Hunt, dairy feeder calf; Chloe Jordan, beef steer, Hopper, beef heifer; Zoie Whited, poultry.
Buyer groups
Hannah Early buyer group: Brian and Jill Early, Chris and Lori Herrell, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Swine Health Care, Kokomo Grain-Amboy, First Farmers Bank and Trust, Henderson Ag Advantage Inc., Ronald and In Memory of Linda Summerlot, Cass County Animal Hospital, Bill and Ann Friend, Kaitlyn Perry, Leedy Farms Inc., Morris Farms-Mike and Susan, Anthony and Jenna Deardorff, Michael and Vicki Summerlot, TruLand Equipment, Michael D. Perry and family, Heather and Jerry Smith, Family Farm and Home, Hometown Federal Credit Union.
Alex Weaver buyer group: Beck's Hybrids-Mike Marburger, IMI Aggregate and Agriculture, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Nutrien Ag Solutions-MU, Dairy Farmers of America, Morris Farms-Mike and Susan, Kyle and Leah Musselman, Manchester Farm Center, Poet Biorefining, Michael D. Perry and family, TruLand Equipment, Musselman Water Management, Abby Richardson, Hometown Federal Credit Union, Family Farm and Home.
Chloe Jordan buyer group: Moss Fertilizer Services Employee Group, Jim and Teri Smith, Keith Miller Excavating, Central Indiana Ethanol, Dobbs Legal Group, Anthony and Jenna Deardorf, Keystone Co-op, Morris Farms-Mike and Susan, Kling Family Insurance, Jones Farm, Kokomo Grain, Mooney Outdoor Enterprises, Smith's Excavating, Crossroads Bank, Christner Pork-Tanner and Katelyn, Leef Lawn Care, Deb Hullinger, Indiana State Senate District 18, CS Transport-Chad Strubble, Hopper Family Farms/Hopper, Beacon Ag Group, Merritt Farms, First Farmers Bank and Trust, Hometown Federal Credit Union and Family Farm and Home.
Calie France buyer group: Smith's Excavating, Makinzie France, Jerry And Kim Hopper, Burns Family Farms, Wanda Hopper, Paul Richards GM Center, Crossroads Bank, Merritt Farms, Christner Pork- Tanner and Katelyn, Mooney Outdoor Enterprises, S/A Smith Farms, Garry an Angel Clark, Rachel's Taste of Indiana, Indiana State Senate District 18, Weaver, Philip and Amy, Kelly Haupert, Cameron and Kassie Spitznagle, Burns Family Farms, Family Farm and Home, Hometown Fed. Credit Union, Kendel Hattery and Family, Merritt Farms, Hunts Outdoor Upkeep Inc., Hunt- Greg and Kelli, Hopper Family Farms/ Hopper, France- Howard and Gail, Halderman Real Estate and Farm Management, Dobbs Legal Group, Kling Family Insurance, CS Transport- Chad Strubble, Morris Farms- Mike and Susan, and Jones Farm.
Wyatt Smith buyer group: Sharon and Steve Clark, Miami-Cass REMC, Wison-George and Stan, Weaver-Philip and Amy, Leedy Farms Inc., Smith's Excavating LLC, Nutrien Ag Solutions-MU, Hopper Family Farms/Hopper, Michael D. Perry and family, Hostetler Concrete and family, Beacon Ag Group, Dobbs Legal Group, Leef Lawn Care, Hometown Federal Credit Union and Family Farm and Home.
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