LEXINGTON, Ky. — The 30th Annual Fayette County Farm Bureau (FCFB) Farm Equipment Consignment Auction took place last week under stellar early-March weather, with approximately 1,900 bidders looking for everything from lawn mowers to combines.

The event has become a regular sight to usher in spring and a new growing season while benefiting local students. The FCFB’s Education Foundation scholarship program has been the beneficiary of the auction for more than half of the time the auction has been in existence.

To date, there have been 29 scholarships awarded since 1996 when the scholarship program was started, and currently a total of seven students are attending college on those scholarships, according to Carrie Johnson, FCFB executive director. Five students are on four-year $20,000 undergraduate scholarships while the other two are on two-year $2,500 vocation/technical scholarships.

“We’ve given out close to $600,000 in scholarship money,” said Johnson.

Todd Clark, who serves as chair for the auction, said in addition to being the primary fundraiser for the scholarship program, the auction – staffed completely by volunteers – has become well-known to farmers all over the area looking to sell equipment or find something at a good price.

“It does seem like this touches a lot of people and, to some degree, it’s become somewhat of a social event as well, not only for those working the sale but the people that just like to come,” Clark said.

“Typically, it is a pleasant place to kind of gather on a Saturday. We get a broad range of items and, just by coincidence, our location at the Kentucky Horse Park is a good location and fairly centrally located near Interstates with good access in and out.”

Clark emphasized more than just farmers come to the sale, including buyers looking for items such as weed eaters and push mowers. He added the sale, though, often mirrors what is happening in the agriculture industry at any given time.

For instance, tobacco has seen an upswing of late so there are more folks looking for equipment related to its production. In years past, the hot items have been those related to grain production. “It’s a direct reflection of where each commodity is at the moment. There’s a little bit of something for everybody,” he said.

Johnson said this is a good market to buy and sell good used equipment. “With the economy the way it is, it’s actually a pretty good deal for farmers to come and find equipment they are looking for and not have to buy something brand new.”

This year’s auction featured about 1,660 pieces of equipment, with many lawn and garden pieces because of Fayette’s County’s location in an urban area. “We sell a lot of lawn mowers and zero-turn mowers and we have a lot of landscape people that sell with us,” Johnson said.

From a social aspect, she said farmers come to it to see people they know and to visit, an aspect about the event that has proven to be important.

Johnson reported the auction produced $1.5 million in sales this year, which is the largest amount in the history of the event, with $119,000 in gross commissions.

For those looking to apply for scholarships this year, applications must be postmarked by March 30. Requirements for the four-year scholarship include being a resident of and attending school in Fayette County. Applicants must be a current high school senior and have an unweighted GPA of 3.0 or higher, combined verbal and math SAT scores of 1000 or higher, a composite ACT score of 21 or higher and be a member of FCFB.

Those who aren’t members may join at anytime before the application deadline for $35.

Requirements for the two-year scholarship include being a resident of Fayette County, 18 years or older. The applicant must also be a FCFB member or become a member by the application deadline.

For more information, go online to www.fayettecofarmbureau.com/scholarships