News
A record-setting 2026 Governor’s Sale of Champions at Illinois State Fair
The 2026 Governor’s Sale of Champions at the Illinois State Fair was another resounding success for the state’s top youth livestock exhibitors.
Jerry Costello, director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, says the results of the sale are a reward for the hard work and dedication displayed by ag’s next generation.
“We were at $296,000, I think, total last year.” He says, “I believe we’re going to be just over that, so a record-setting year. Everything we can invest back into our youth in agriculture pays 20-fold in the future for this industry.”
For the seventh year in a row, Governor JB Pritzker and First Lady MK Pritzker purchased the Grand Champion Steer, which will be donated to Feeding Illinois and distributed to a food bank to support families in need. McKlay Gensini, of Putnam County, tells Brownfield her portion of the $105,000 contribution is life changing.
“I’m probably going to either use it to buy my first car or I’m going to use it definitely for college.” She says, “I think I am going to take over my family business that my parents have, an excavating business.”
Costello says several exhibitors also walked away with $5,000 scholarships.
“CME Group does a great job of making those donations that go to those scholarships,” he says.
AUDIO: McKlay Gensini – Grand Champion Steer exhibitor
Below are the results of the 2026 Commodity Auction and the 2026 Sale of Champions.
| Commodity | Exhibitor | Location | Purchaser | Price |
| Latin American Cheese Queso Fresco | V&V Supremo Foods | Cook | U of I College of ACES | $1,000 |
| Ice Cream Strawberry Ice Cream | Tillamook Creamery | Macon | McDonald’s Marty & Donna Davis | $375 |
| Ice Cream Birthday Cake Ice Cream | Hoffman Oberweis Dairy | DuPage | Joni Paaske | $500 |
| Small Curd Cottage Cheese 4% Small Curd Cottage Cheese | Prairie Farms Dairy, Quincy | Adams | McDonald’s Marty & Donna Davis | $375 |
| Natural Unflavored Cheese St. Pete’s Select Premium Blue Cheese | Prairie Farms Dairy, Davenport | Scott | Turner Farms | $300 |
| Bacon Hickory Smoked Bacon | Arrow Farm Meats, Rock City | Stephenson | Joe Hampton & George Obernagel | $450 |
| Bone-In Ham Sugar Cured, Hickory Smoked Bone-In Ham | Eickman’s Processing Co. | Winnebago | Illinois Manufacturers Association | $1,100 |
| Beef Jerky Teriyaki Beef Jerky | Turasky Meats | Sangamon | Cindy’s Livestock Photos | $550 |
| Snack Sticks Honey BBQ Snack Sticks | Raber Packing Company | Peoria | Illinois Association of Meat Processors | $400 |
| Cooked Bratwurst Bratwurst with Cheddar Cheese | Meat Master Processing | Jo Daviess | Illinois Association of Meat Processors | $325 |
| IFS Wine Show Dos Hombres | Tres Rojas | Tazewell | Friends of the Macoupin County Fair | $500 |
| Honey | William Budd | Sangamon | Joe Hampton & George Obernagel | $650 |
| Goat Milk | Ava Crites | Champaign | Kevin Carey Illinois State 4-H Office University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | $500 |
| Animal | Exhibitor | County | Purchaser | Price |
| Grand Champion Rabbit Market Pen | Payton McKittrick | Pike | AgriVest Farm Management Channel Seed Field Level Ag Sky Ride North American Amusement Company Etix | $5,000 |
| Grand Champion Poultry Meat Pen | Austin Ater | Champaign | McDonald’s Champaign County Farm Bureau Kevin Carey Bellflower Feed Mill Friends of Austin Ater | $7,000 |
| Land of Lincoln Supreme Champion Dairy Cow | Wyatt Zehr | Livingston | S & S Farm Chemical Bank of Pontiac – Chris Clement Mid-West Dairy Ryan Family Farms Benjamin Livestock Heart of Illinois Holstein Club Joni Paaske Midland States Bank DHIA Flanagan Fertilizer Graymont Co-op Kathy Brenner, Shevawn Brenner Stephanie and Matt Mitchell Kevin Cassady Lukach Seed Agency Nolan Creek SCI Corp St. Louis Dairy Council Sulzberger Tile and Drainage Young Farms Friends and Family of Wyatt Zehr | $20,000* |
| Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Meat Goat | Eva Lansaw | Morgan | Springfield Plastics Edward Teefey Fricke Show Goats JO Harris Sales Prairie Land FS Petefish Skiles & Company Bank Jessica Richardson | $5,350 |
| Grand Champion Meat Goat | Eva Lansaw | Morgan | North American Amusement Company | $8,250 |
| Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Market Lamb | Kashen Ellerbrock | Henry | Syngenta Keifer Farms JO Harris Sales | $5,500 |
| Grand Champion Market Lamb | Kashen Ellerbrock | Henry | Cardinal Cattle Co. Gensini Cattle Co. | $14,000 |
| Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Barrow | Ashley Wiegand | Woodford | Becks Hybrids George Obernagel | $20,000 |
| Grand Champion Barrow | Ike Heckman | Putnam | CME Group | $25,000 |
| Land of Lincoln Grand Champion Steer | Brenna Dryer | Woodford | Brandt | $40,000 |
| Grand Champion Steer | McKlay Gensini | Putnam | Governor JB Pritzker & First Lady MK Pritzker | $105,000 |
Add Comment