Ontario County 4-H Brings 250 Kids to Fair, Auctions 33 Animals July 25

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath — Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County, Ontario County 4-H

July 16, 2025 Paul Szmal 5:17

The official 4-H logo, a symbol of the youth development organization, is frequently used in local news coverage.

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The Ontario County Fair runs July 22–26, and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s 4-H program will be front and center — from a grant-funded field trip bringing 250 kids to the fairgrounds to a livestock auction featuring 33 animals on Friday, July 25.

Amy Pira of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County stopped by FLX Morning alongside 4-H member Owen Grefrath to preview what the program has in store at this year’s fair. Pira said 4-H youth have spent the year preparing projects that will be judged this Friday and displayed in the exhibit hall at the 4-H building throughout the fair.

One highlight this year: a grant awarded through New York State Agriculture and Markets will allow Cornell Cooperative Extension to transport roughly 250 children from REC programs to the fair — kids who might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend.

The fair’s livestock auction is set for Friday, July 25 at 5 p.m. and is open to the public. This year’s auction will feature 33 lots, including eight steers, seven market hogs, three market lambs, four market goats, nine market poultry chicken pairs, five market rabbits, and two turkeys.

Grefrath, who has been involved in 4-H for nine years, is auctioning off a Charolais-cross steer named Mongo, who weighs approximately 1,450 pounds. What makes Mongo special, Grefrath explained, is that he was born from his own cows — meaning he was able to watch the animal grow from birth without having to purchase him with proceeds from a previous auction.

Grefrath described the auction process as year-long work: attending meetings, sending letters to prospective buyers, following up in person, and then showing the animal at the fair before the auction itself. Already planning ahead, he noted he has another home-bred steer lined up to raise for next year.

The Ontario County Fair is held at the fairgrounds in Canandaigua. For more information on 4-H programs, contact Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County.

Read Full Transcript

Paul Szmal: 7.54 now on FLX Morning on Finger Lakes News Radio. I have a couple of guests here in the studio to talk about 4-H and specifically some of the activities happening at the upcoming Ontario County Fair. Amy Pirra is here. Amy, good morning. How are you?

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Good morning. How are you?

Paul Szmal: And I also want to say hello to Owen Greffrath who is here with us as well. Morning, Owen. What's up?

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Nothing much. Morning.

Paul Szmal: Let's get started, Amy, by mentioning the activities that are happening here that we're kind of focusing on as part of the Ontario County Fair July 22nd through the 26th.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Yeah, so with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County, we've been just busy. Our 4-H kids have been getting ready for their 4-H projects. Our judging will happen this Friday and they'll be all available for everyone to check out in the exhibit hall at the 4-H building. And another cool thing that we have happening at the County Fair is that we were awarded a grant through the New York State Ag and Markets and we will be transporting kids from summer rec programs to the County Fair. We'll be seeing about 250 kids bringing them to the fair that wouldn't normally have the opportunity to come to the fair otherwise.

Paul Szmal: Oh, that's nice.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Yeah, so we're excited to do that with them. But also upcoming, we have our 4-H livestock auction which the kids have been working on all year long, getting ready to sell their animals at the County Fair. That's why I brought my friend Owen with me and he can tell you a little bit about what we do with the livestock auction program.

Paul Szmal: Oh, fantastic. Owen, how long have you been in 4-H?

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: I've been in 4-H for about nine years now.

Paul Szmal: Wow. Wow. And I imagine you've done a lot in that time period, I would think.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Yeah, I've done all sorts of things in 4-H. Is there anything that's a particular favorite of yours?

Paul Szmal: Probably the most favorite part of 4-H would be public speaking.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Yeah, no kidding. He's a natural already with a microphone in front of him.

Paul Szmal: Yeah, he is. Future career maybe. I was going to say, you know, at some point I might retire. You might want to slide over one chair.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Tell me a little bit about your involvement with the livestock auction, Owen.

Paul Szmal: So this year, my market auction project is a steer and his name is Mongo. He is a Charlotte Cross and he weighs approximately 1,450 pounds. He has been a lot of fun because I have been able to watch him grow since the day he was born because he came from my own cows. And so I didn't have to spend my money from last year's steer to purchase him.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Right, right. So you're going to put him up for auction. Is that the plan?

Paul Szmal: Yeah.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: How does the livestock auction work?

Paul Szmal: So we have to go to a bunch of meetings throughout the year and then we have to send out letters to people that we want to choose. And then we have to go do like a follow-up visit.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: To invite them to come buy your animal.

Paul Szmal: Yeah, to invite them to come buy your animal. And we have to go meet up with them. And then at the fair, this is where we will show whatever animal you are auctioning off in the 4-H show. And so then you'll figure out what place you are to go in the auction. And then that Friday we have the auction at 5 p.m.?

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Yep. So on July 25th at 5 p.m. is the auction. This year we're going to auction off 33 lots, 33 different animals, 8 steers, 7 market hogs, 3 market lambs, 4 market goats, 9 market poultry chicken pairs, 5 market rabbits, and 2 turkeys. And while we're missing there's a partridge in a pear tree.

Paul Szmal: Yes. Yes.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: So Owen, are you looking to actually maybe buy a steer at the auction this year? Or are you just looking to sell the steer that you have?

Paul Szmal: So I'm just going to sell my steer that I have and I already got another bred and owned steer to show next year.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Oh wow. So the cycle will basically start over from the ground up again after the auction?

Paul Szmal: Yeah.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Wow. Okay. How much work is it to actually raise one of these?

Paul Szmal: It's a little bit harder in my opinion than raising just a regular heifer because they have to get different things for feed and wise than a heifer. Track their growth as they're growing and feed them different food to make them grow so that they're ready to be a product for our consumer to put on their dinner plate.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Well Owen, I hope that your steer fetches top dollar at the auction and congratulations on the time that you spent and continued success with the 4-H program. Amy, thank you for joining us as well. Much appreciated. And again, that livestock auction is coming up on July 25th as part of the Ontario County Fair at 5 p.m. and that's open to the public, correct?

Paul Szmal: Yes. Yep.

Amy Pira, Owen Grefrath: Okay. Fantastic. So go to the fair, check out the auction, and you can check out the CBS World News Roundup coming up next with Greg Cotterill's local news following as FLX Morning continues.