Wisconsin State Fair Officials and members of the Blue Ribbon Sale of Champions Foundation are pleased to announce that the 43rd Annual Governor's Red, White and Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction at the 2011 Wisconsin State Fair was a true success. This year's auction, hosted by Gov. Scott Walker, was themed "Super Bowl of Champions" and bidders not only raised their paddles to bid on champion livestock, but also had the opportunity to bid on several "VIP Packer Packages," truly bringing home the Super Bowl theme.

Walker worked the crowd from the stage and the floor, goading bidders to increase their bids, contributing to the significant increase in monies raised this year. Spectators, bidders and exhibitors were also surprised by an unexpected appearance by former Gov. Tommy Thompson. Thompson stepped on stage and jumped in to auction off the Champion Any Other Breed Barrow for $5,200.

The stars of the evening, the youth exhibitors and their Grand Champion or Reserve Champion animals, embraced the spotlight when the auction kicked off promptly at 6:30 p.m. in the Coliseum at Wisconsin State Fair Park. Board president of the Blue Ribbon Sale of Champions Foundation and respected auctioneer Bob Johnson of Milton emceed the event.

Spectators filled the stands of the Coliseum while bidders were seated on the show floor to ensure close inspection of the champion beef market steer, sheep, and swine. Bidding commenced with the Grand Champion Steer exhibited by Colton Sullivan, 14, of Iowa County. In the end, the Grand Champion Steer (Crossbred), weighing 1,290 pounds, sold for $27,500 with the winning bid from Coca-Cola.

In total, 29 Junior Market Steers, Barrows and Lambs were auctioned off raising a grand total of $211,250, which is nearly $100,000 more than was raised in 2010. The award structure is a sliding percentage scale based on the amount of the auction sale price.

"The Governor's Red, White and Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction is tremendous opportunity for our youth exhibitors to present their showmanship skills and be congratulated for the commitment they have made over the past year to their project animals," stated Patrice Harris, Communications Manager for the Wisconsin State Fair. "A love of agriculture, hard work, and true passion are all necessary in the agriculture industry."

The judges who selected the champion animals for the Governor's Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction were:

Blake Nelson from Oklahoma – Junior Market Steers

Warren Beeler from Kentucky – Junior Market Barrows (Swine)

Scott Griener from Virginia – Junior Market Lambs

The winning bids for the 2011 Governor's Red, White and Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction (in program order) are:

Grand Champion Steer (Crossbred): exhibited by Colton Sullivan of Iowa County; Winning Bid of $27,500 by Coca-Cola, Co.

Grand Champion Barrow (Crossbred): exhibited by Riley Puntney of Columbia County; Winning Bid of $12,000 by MillerCoors.

Grand Champion Market Lamb (Hampshire): exhibited by Tierney Reilly of LaFayette County; Winning Bid of $6,750 by Saz's, Leff's Lucky Town, Bunzel's Meat Market, Volvo Construction Equipment, Country Fresh Meats, All-City Auto Sales, UNITS Mobile Storage and Zimmerman Architectural Studios.

Reserve Grand Champion Steer (Crossbred): exhibited by Brock May of Iowa County; Winning Bid of $14,000 by Kenosha Beef International and Birchwood Foods, which was donated to the Kenosha Salvation Army.

Reserve Grand Champion Barrow (Crossbred): exhibited by Matt Doney of Iowa County; Winning Bid of $10,500 by Anheuser-Busch.

Reserve Grand Champion Market Lamb (Natural Colored): exhibited by Calvin Reilly of LaFayette County; Winning Bid of $5,500 by Potawatomi Bingo Casino.

Champion Maine-Anjou Steer exhibited by Kelli Retallick of Grant County; Winning Bid of $7,750 by Beer Capitol Distributing, Inc., which was donated to the Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation

Champion Poland China Barrow exhibited by Mercedes Schulz of Green Lake County; Winning Bid of $5,000 by Giant Slide, Inc., Crutchee-s Concessions, Sky Fair, Inc. G&G Concessions and Caribbean Smoothies.

Champion Crossbred Lamb exhibited by Tierney Reilly of LaFayette County; Winning Bid of $2,000 by MillerCoors, which was donated to Feeding Wisconsin.

Champion Any Other Breed Steer exhibited by Sarah Lillesand of Sheboygan County; Winning Bid of $6,500 by Wisconsin Souvenir Milk Caps.

Champion Yorkshire Barrow exhibited by Austin Squires of Racine County; Winning Bid of $6,200 by Charlie's Auto Detailing.

Champion Suffolk Lamb exhibited by Calvin Reilly of LaFayette County; Winning Bid of $4,000     by Beechwood Sales & Service. The winning bid was donated by the Reilly Family to the Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation.

Champion Chianina Steer exhibited by Levi Wedig of LaFayette County; Winning Bid of $4,500         by Halbman Landscaping and Advance Fun Technology.

Champion Berkshire Barrow exhibited by Mikayla Wehrle of Waupaca County; Winning Bid of $6,000 by Potawatomi Bingo Casino.

Champion Any Other Bree Lamb exhibited by Breanna Blume of Iowa County; Winning Bid of $ 3,000 by Bennos Micro Brew, 3B Concessions and Firehouse.

Champion Shorthorn Steer exhibited by Garrett Kietzman of Rock County; Winning Bid of $4,000 by American Foods Group.

Champion Duroc Barrow exhibited by Halie Schmitz of Iowa County; Winning Bid of $2,300     by Saz's, Leff's Lucky Town, Bunzel's Meat Market, Volvo Construction Equipment, Country Fresh Meats, All-City Auto Sales, UNITS Mobile Storage and Zimmerman Architectural Studios.

Champion Dorset Lamb exhibited by Kehler George of Rock County; Winning Bid           of $2,500 by the Keystone Syndicate, which was donated to the Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation.

Champion Angus Steer exhibited by Jessica Radcliffe of Marathon County; Winning Bid of $11,500 by H. Gabbei Meats.

Champion Spotted Barrow exhibited by Nathan McConnell of Rock County; Winning Bid of $8,250 by Zeeland Farm Services, Inc. and the Keystone Syndicate.

Champion Southdown Lamb exhibited by Kelsi Smerchek of Marathon County; Winning Bid of $2,100 by the Wisconsin State Fair Park Board.

Champion Hereford Steer exhibited by Kasey Wisnefski of Walworth County; Winning Bid of $7,500 by We Energies, which was donated to Second Harvest.

Champion Hampshire Barrow exhibited by Bailey Dolphin of Iowa County; Winning Bid of $3,500 by Kevin Shibilski.

Champion Registered Dairy Steer exhibited by Victoria Leix of Iowa County; Winning Bid of $15,000 by American Foods Group.

Champion Chester White Barrow exhibited by Asia Cherney of Vernon County; Winning Bid of $2,750 by Kevin Shibilski.

Champion Waygu Steer exhibited by Alexis Papke of Eau Claire County; Winning Bid of $5,000      by MillerCoors.

Champion Any Other Breed Barrow exhibited by Kaitlin Duhigg of Walworth County; Winning Bid of $5,200 by the Walworth County Youth Consortium consisting of McClellan Farms, Sugar Creek Mutual, Stinebrinks Piggly Wiggly, Lake Geneva Packing, H&R Block, Voltz Treching and Excavating, Reproductive Resources, Hoss Rehberg/Farmers Insurance, Kegly Show Supplies, Dave and Sherry Adams, AXA Advisors/Bob Handel, Merwin Farms/Becky Merwin, Bill Thompson, Wilson Farm Meats, Premier Crop Insurance, Eileen Walsh Grzenia and the Duane Konkel Family.

Champion Tamworth Barrow exhibited by Stephanie M. Anderson of Jefferson County; Winning Bid of $3,500 by RKW Redi-mix.

Champion Hereford Barrow exhibited by Megan Pitcl of Jefferson County; Winning Bid of $8,000 by Menasha Cattle, Beer Capitol Distributing, Inc. and MillerCoors.

Additional packages and items that were auctioned off at various points during the auction include:

VIP Packer Package #1, consisting of an Aaron Rodgers autographed helmet and a canvas print of Clay Matthews and Aaron Rodgers purchased by Kevin Shibilski for $1,500.

VIP Packer Package #2, consisting of an autographed Charles Woodson print, purchased by        for Delong Company for $1,000.

VIP Packer Package #3, consisting of an autographed Greg Jennings jersey purchased by Dalton Lumber Supply for $1,000.

VIP Packer Package #4, consisting of an autographed framed Donald Driver print as well as four tickets to the pre-season Packer Game against the Kansas City pre-season game for $1,200 to Cow Palace and Howsor Insurance.

VIP Packer Package #5, consisting of a canvas print of Clay Matthews chasing down Brett Favre in is Vikings Jersey. Two prints sold for $1000 each to Kenosha Beef and American Foods Group.

Seven Charles Woodson Super Bowl prints were each sold for $250 to various bidders and two Governor's Red, White & Blue Ribbon livestock auction hats were sold for $250.

In all, the evening raised a total of $211,250.