GRASS VALLEY, Calif., August 14, 2026 – This week, young people who have worked hard for months raising animals and building projects for show and sale are seeing their efforts come to fruition at the Nevada County Fair.
“It’s not just weekends and holidays. It’s year-round on some of these projects – like dairy goats and show pigs. They’re working as hard as they can to get ready for each show and each fair,” said Scott Gomes, a leader for Nevada County 4-H and the Club of Clear Creek 4-H.
Like many 4-H families, Gomes started raising animals when he was nine. Now his daughter, Zoey Gomes, 9, is raising a Nigerian dwarf goat named “Chocolate Chip” in the same club.
The community is invited to stop by the livestock area to meet young exhibitors like Zoey and their animals, including rabbits, goats, sheep, pigs and horses.
The Junior Livestock Auction will be held at 9 a.m. on Sunday, August 16. Pre-registration is encouraged, but not required. People can partner with others to purchase an animal and can even donate online and support local youth with “bump up” bids. In 2025, the community donated $215,029 in “bump up” bids.
“The auction is such a great area for the community to come in and help these kids,” said Gomes.
A collection of ag mechanics projects such as patio furniture, coffee and bar tables, wall art, barbecues and more created by freshmen to seniors from Nevada Union High School (NUHS) and Bear River High School (BRHS) is now on display. The items will be sold to the highest bidder during the Ag Mechanics Auction at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14.
“We have something like 93 different exhibits in the Sugar Pine Lodge for the Ag Mechanics Auction on Friday night,” said Ag Mechanics Teacher Wyatt Price from NUHS. “I would encourage everybody to go check out those projects. They’re inside and overflowing.”
The auctions are important fundraisers for college, careers and future ag projects, according to the Nevada County Fair. In 2025, the Ag Mechanics Sale & Junior Livestock Auction raised nearly $1.3 million in support of local youth exhibitors.
Eliana Henslee, 17, a NUHS senior, was in a pen with her market lamb named “Lloyd.”
“I put a lot of work into my lamb this year, and I feel like he finished out really well with his frame and weight,” Henslee said. She also built a flower garden bed with hanging plants as part of her Ag Mechanics project.
Henslee wasn’t born into the “farming life,” but she is a fifth-generation Nevada County resident with family history tied to logging and timber. Her fascination with the region’s agricultural and mining history led her to raise her first animal during her freshman year of high school. After finishing at the top of her class for market, she was hooked.
“I love it so much… It really showed me that hard work pays off and just how important agriculture is to our community. It kind of makes our world go around,” said Henslee.
Henslee is one of 14 students from her school exhibiting sheep at the fair. Leading the group is Ag Mechanics Teacher Wyatt Price.
“I was a student just like these young people were,” said Price, who returned to the NUHS Ag Department two years ago. When he was a student there, he served as FFA Chapter President and exhibited pigs.
“I gained a lot of career skills through our program that helped propel my career with the U.S. Forest Service, and after about nine years of service with the government, I switched careers to come back to Nevada Union and teach and give back to these students in a similar way,” he said.
At NUHS, students can learn about agriculture and natural resources. All the wood used in woodshop class is harvested and milled at a new 86-acre working agricultural hub known as “The Ranch” recently donated to Nevada Joint Union High School District.
The Ranch includes a sawmill, swine and beef program and opportunities to learn about environmental health, land management and food and farm-related jobs while paying homage to the community’s historical agricultural legacy. An incubator for workforce development and community education, The Ranch promises to foster the next generation of farmers and ranchers, while sustaining a rural economy.
This week, fair goers can check out the sawmill, now on display behind Treat Street.
Other ag teachers are on hand this week to assist students with market hogs, market goats, small animals, steers, beef cattle and horse showmanship.
Since spring, high school student Logan Donnelly, 16, devoted well over 100 hours feeding, brushing, washing, conditioning and walking his three pigs with Family Guy names – Meg, Stewie and Chris on his family’s farm in Peardale.
“They have a certain character to them. They are super, super smart. I’ve always liked them over any other animals,” said Donnelly, an independent exhibitor now in his third year at the county fair.
“I show the pigs and I get to sell them,” Logan explained. He anticipates earning up to $10 a pound, roughly $3,000 for his three pigs at the Junior Livestock Auction on Sunday.
Besides pigs, Logan, his brother, Mason, and his mom and dad raise chickens and ducks and bake sourdough pastries at the Donnelly Family Farm. It’s a lifestyle that he sees himself continuing into adulthood.
“I know that I’m providing better food for everybody. I’m excited to teach people, you know? This lifestyle builds a lot of character and it’s a healthy way to live,” said Donnelly.
Meet more young people, see their cute animals and learn how to get involved with this year’s auction in this video created by YubaNet:
Learn more about the Ag Mechanics Auction and Junior Livestock Auction.