Youth Committee
HARRISBURG - There will be
no changes recommended to the
Farm Show Commission m the
weight limits of the Farm Show
Junior Beef Steer Show, according
to a spokesman for the Youth
Committee.
The decision to recommend no
changes came last month during a
meeting at the Farm Show office.
The Farm Show Youth Committee
consists of three ag teachers, three
Extension agents, and four Penn
State staffers from the College of
Agriculture.
“Before we discuss the
merits of a junior livestock
show, maybe we better define
First of all, it's not a junior
livestock show, it’s a
youngster show where
livestock are used as props or
visual aids. About 90 percent
of the people who come to a
livestock show come to see
their youngster or someone
else’s youngster show
themselves, and they have to
have an animal in order to get
into the ring.
"Junior livestock projects
should never be sold as a
money-making project. It is a
teaching project, and should
be sold as such. What does it
teach?
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Despite the controversy at the
1981 Farm Show, revolving around
exotic crossbreds not grading at
the maximum weight limit of 1350
pounds, the committee opted to
stick with the standard cutoff
weight. A suggestion to lower the
minimum weight to 900 pounds
also died in committee.
Other recommendations the
Youth Committee has forwarded to
the Farm Show Commission in
clude banning the use of artificial
fins, fake tail pieces, when fitting
and grooming steers for the show
Jr. Livestock shows, are they worth it?
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Comments
s "It teaches youngsters to ‘
get along with people.
Showing animals, "winning,
getting beat, and so forth,
helps youngsters to get along
with others.
✓ “Livestock feeding
teaches responsibility. It is the
feeder’s responsibility to hear
the alarm clock and obey it. If
they learn nothing more than
that, feeding is worthwhile.
“Junior projects teach
youngsters to attend to
details: In feeding, and
especially through life, it is
often the little things that
count. The person who goes
the extra mile gets the job
done.
“Decision making is the
most painful task that a
teenager Th#» good
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says F.S. steer weights stick
ring.
Other unethical fitting practices
need to be spelled out, noted the
spokesman. He said shrinking
steers the week or so before the
show might be considered
unethical in future years.
However, he conceded, enforcing
these rules would prove hectic.
The Youth Committee also
recommended changing the quoto
on lambs and hogs.
“Instead of one kid bringing two
lambs or two hogs, the counties
would be allowed to bring a total of
om U. o
four animals with four kids
showing,” he explained.
Breeding classes for Simmental
and Chianina heifers were
recommended by the Committee,
also.
And, they recommended a
premium be given for fitting and
showmanship winners instead of
the current ‘nothing’, and that the
pseudorabies rules be more visible
in the premium list and catalog. '
One recommendation that was
aired but rejected was to accept
heifer entries as a group, with
Wisconsin
animals shown this year didn’t
just happen to be here.
Somebody planned it that way.
“Feeding teaches
youngsters to plan. Without a
good planning job, we are
sunk.
"Somewhere along the
line, we hope our young
feeders will learn a little about
livestock production.
“We don’t expect every
youngster who feeds a calf,
lamb, or hog to become a beef
cattleman, sheepman or
hogman; neighter do we
expect all little league baseball
players to play for the major
leagues.
"Feeding is a family project.
It don’t mean the whole family
does the work. 1 mean the
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heifer ages between January antJ
May. Then, after all the entries
were in, the classes would be
divided equally with at least five
animals per class. As it stands
now, classes are split at set ages,
which leads to few animals in the
January-February class and lots in
the March-April class.
' The final decision on the Youth
Committee recommendations
rests with the Farm Show Com
missioners.
family must enjoy it. Half the
value of the project is lost if
the parents don’t attend the
show.
"I think sometimes we are
prone to look at investments
through the wrong end of a
telescope. For example, we
don’t but a car, we buy
transportation; we don't buy a
TV set, we buy entertainment:
we don’t miss a day at school,
we lose a day of education.
By the same token, we .don’t
invest towarcf a premium list
or buy some youngster’s calf
or pig in a premium safe.
Rather than that, we invest in
, the future cf some, boy or girl
who in turn will help to keep
America the greatest country
on earth."
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INTEREST FREE TILL
OCTOBER 1,1981
i