Eastern Oregon Livestock Show youth auction raises over $775,000

More than $775,000 was bid on youth livestock at the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show, giving Union County 4-H and FFA exhibitors a major cash boost as the annual fair week closed out in Union. Organizers thanked thousands of people who filled the stands for a week that mixed bull riding, rodeo competition, races, dances and the livestock sale.

The auction was the clear financial center of the show. Eastern Oregon Livestock Show materials say exhibitors in the junior auction may sell one market animal and must show in at least one showmanship class, a structure that ties the sale directly to the work young people put into their animals all season. Buyers also can make proxy purchases and add-ons for exhibitors who cannot attend, widening the pool of support beyond the sale ring itself.

This year’s total topped earlier benchmarks by a wide margin. In 2025, the Union County youth market auction raised nearly $400,000 and included 150 young participants and 127 buyers. Earlier heritage materials for the show said the 4-H and FFA auction had been generating more than $500,000 a year, making the 2026 result a significant jump for livestock families and the youth programs they rely on.

The sale matters because Eastern Oregon Livestock Show is more than a rodeo weekend. The event says it has been part of the community since 1908, and in 2023 Oregon Heritage Commission recognized it as an Oregon Heritage Tradition in its 116th year. That designation described the show as drawing more than 5,000 people from across Oregon, especially Union, Baker, Umatilla and Wallowa counties, and noted that original pieces such as the parade and youth livestock show still anchor the week.

This year’s schedule showed how broad the event has become, with 4-H and FFA activities, the parade, the Ed Miller Xtreme Bulls event, PRCA rodeo, pari-mutuel horse racing, breakfasts and dances all on the calendar. The rodeo side of the program also got a boost in 2026 when EOLS was named a Cheyenne Frontier Days qualifier, a change leaders said doubled registered participants and pushed added money per event to $10,000.

The strong auction total gives local buyers, families and businesses a larger return on their support in the form of youth agriculture projects and future stock show participation. EOLS is already planning to return to Union from June 6-13, 2027, and this year’s sale showed that the county’s biggest summer tradition still has the crowd size and the dollars to keep young exhibitors in the pipeline.