C2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 25,1981
FFA's first lady
a "natural" fanner
BY JOYCE BUPP
Staff Correspondent
If a princess should have
sparkling eyes, shining hair, a
ready smile, sense of humor,
bubbly personality and knowledge
of her subjects, then Brenda
Walter is a natural as the state’s
new FFA first lady.
Brenda was crowned state
princess of the Future Farmers of
America during the June con
vention hosted at Penn State. She’s
19 and the daughter of Donald and
Marianne Walter, Airville, R 2.
Although the Walter family,
originally from Lancaster, milked
a dairy herd for several years after
they moved to York County,
Brenda is quick to affirm that
working with beef cattle is her first
love.
A 1979 graduate of Red Lion Area
High School’s vocational
agriculture course, Brenda
specialized in livestock, carrying
projects in beef finishing and
breeding, horse, swine finishing
and various field crops. She also
held FFA chapter offices of
secretary and reporter.
Trophies dozens of them
along with frame photos, banners
and ribbons, decorate the Walter’s
home. Most of them belong to
Brenda and her younger sister
Annette and represent winnings
with several years of showing
project animals.
Among Brenda’s numerous FFA
awards are those she’s won for
beef, horse, and livestock
production, for topping the county
livestock judging twice, and for
standing second in state beef
proficiency. Early in her FFA
participation, Brenda’s ac
complishments were recognized
when she was named the chapter’s
outstanding sophomore.
As the state’s FFA princess,
Brenda’s role is primarily one of a
public relations representative for
the vo-ag organization. She’ll help
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“Stubby" the goat keeps a wary eye on Brenda as she plays wii
organize state events with the
other 11 state officers and will
serve as a state representative to
local and regional meetings and
activities.
One of the first planned events on
the busy schedule is the annual
Pennsylvania Ag Progress Days at
Rock Springs. During their several
days at the Penn State educational
exposition, the officers will take
part in a training session and
prepare speeches for later use at
their numerous appearances.
January’s Farm Show week will
also be a busy one for the princess,
when the FFA holds their state
winter convention, along with a
host of other activities at the Har
risburg showcase of agriculture.
One of the highlights of her
reign, but one over which Brenda
is admittedly a bit nervous, will be
the competition for the title of
national FFA princess. That
pageant will be held as part of the
Future Farmers national con
vention, held annually in
November at Kansas City,
Missouri. Winner of the national
crown begins her duties im
mediately, helping to award
trophies and ribbons at the
prestigious Royal Livestock Show,
held concurrently With the FFA
convention.
Her appearance schedule as
FFA princess has already changed
some of Brenda’s plans for much of
the summer and fall hvestock
showing season. Before winning
her title, Brenda had made
arrangements to work with the
Keystone Cattle Company, a beef
show and sale fitting organization,
to help with show strings at several
upcoming events.
“But now my appearances will
conflict with working some of those
times. I do expect to be working
with them for some special shows
later on,” she says.
In addition to the string of ac
complishments she’s gathered
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Wearing the new crown and banner of the another trophy to add to her impressive
state FFA princess, Brenda Walter holds collection of awards.
through the FFA, Brenda’s
livestock judging methods gave
her a rather illustrious finish last
year to a several-year 4-H mem
bership.
“Last year was my best year; it
was a good way to end 4-H,” she
reflects.
That meant more trophies and
ribbons to add to the accumulation
from projects including beef,
horse, swine and goat projects.
But Brenda’s specialty is in
judging. And what’s more im
pressive is that, up until age 16,
she’d never placed a livestock
class. Then, friends persuaded her
to line-up a class, and she was
unexpectedly called on to give her
reasons.
“It just seemed to come
naturally,” she says of her talent
for livestock judging, “i like to
give reasons, and I hke to defend
my placings. And smce I always
seemed to at least have one pair
switched, I knew I’d have to make
up my lost points with my sets of
reasons.”
Tony Dobrosky, York county
agent and livestock specialist, gets
credit from Brenda for teaching
her the fine points of judging. She
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also lauds the efforts of the adult
coaches for the livestock and
meats judging teams. With their
support and her meager years of
experience, Brenda has surpassed
even her wildest expectations of
judging accomplishments.
She was a member of the state 4-
H livestock judging team that
placed ninth in national com
petition at Louisville, Kentucky,
has won both the Lehigh and York
County judging competitions and
was a 4-H state days and county
FFA winner twice. Most of these
competitions follow a basic format
of classes of beef, sheep and swine
and three sets of reasons. Brenda
also topped the swine judging
classes at Richmond last year and
has captured the third and fifth
places m her two years competing
in the Eastern Regional Stockman
contest at Timonium.
From live-animal evaluation, it
was a natural for Brenda to also
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Kids will be kids, and Brenda's been trying to teach the
bottle-babies, Bo and Heidi, to see-saw on a length of board.
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attempt carcass evaluations
through meats judging com
petition. She won a spot on the
state’s winning team from York
County, which then placed fourth
in national competition at the
Kansas City Royal Livestock show.
“Sheep classes are the hardest
for me to judge,” Brenda admits.
“I really have to study and think
about them. Beef is the easiest.
And I used to think hogs were easy,
until they changed the judging
criteria for them. I have a stub
born streak and it took me awhile
to force myself to look at hogs in a
way different than the way I’d first
been taught to judge them.” •
Closely tied to Brenda’s
livestock background is her love of
horses. “Johnny Rainbow,” a
quarter bourse towering 16.2 bands
high, is her favorite of the family’s
mounts, and the one Brenda
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