By Stephen Smoot
For 80 years, Future Farmers of America have sold ham, bacon, and eggs at auction to raise funds to support their vital programs. Last Friday, a number of Pendleton County FFA members took their wares to Moorefield to see them sold at auction.
First, an important notice for the uninitiated, do not take a few dollars into the auction to pick up the next day’s breakfast. Farmers, banks and other businesses, elected officials, and individuals come more to help FFA than to purchase food. They push the amounts higher, which helps to make sure that the members can do their projects, attend conferences, and participate in competitions.
Bacon can go for more than $40 a pound in some instances.
For example, this is what happened when Pendleton High School’s McKenna Hedrick stepped up to the stage carrying a dozen perfectly shaped and identically tan farm raised eggs.
She stood to the right of the auctioneer, smiling and facing the assembled crowd in chairs and bleacher seats. Beside her stood a tall, broad-shouldered, giant of a man with a massive cowboy hat, a stentorian voice, and a microphone.
“Do I hear three hundred?!?!” he led off with a booming voice, pushing hard to draw interest in garnering a bid at that level for the “dozen of eggs,” as he stated. Hearing none, within about 20 seconds, he dropped the opener to $200.
That pulled in immediate attention as he quickly recognized the first potential buyer, but another quickly jumped in at $225. Only a few seconds passed before the bidders leap-frogged over $250 and pushed it to $275. The auctioneer sounded confident that he could pull at least another $25 for the dozen, but the buyers held firm.
“Sold for $275!” he boomed. Warner’s Coin Laundry purchased the package.
Each bid created its own mini melodrama, spurred on by the entertaining and capable auctioneer. The grand champion dozen of eggs hauled in $500, the reserve champion only a hundred less.
The evening started off with a dinner prepared and served by the FFA. Chipped beef gravy smothered fresh homemade biscuits. Roasted potatoes, sliced pork loin, green beans and (what else) ham, and a dinner roll rounded out the food offered. Students, parents, farmers, and supporters mingled in the common area to eat and socialize.
Many, once they enjoyed their meal, strode straight into the gym to examine the hundreds of products lined up neatly on tables. Eggs, slabs of bacon, and hams greeted all with not only their rich appearance, but also the intoxicating aroma of perfectly cured meats.
Lydia Heavner of Pendleton County High School earned a grand champion award for her approximately six-pound slab of bacon, which was exhibited on its own table. She said, “I was kind of surprised I got grand champion bacon.”
Heavner explained how she obtained her hog in the summer, then cared for it and fed it daily. By October, the swine was set for slaughter. She then froze the bacon until about one or two months ago, and finally put the meat through the curing process.
“I think it’s pretty cool to raise the hogs,” she said, adding that “it’s a learning experience.”
