For the Weavers, Farm Show competition is number 1
BY LAURA ENGLAND
EPHRATA - Of the 20 4-H
steers from Lancaster County
chosen to compete at this year's
Farm Show, two belong to a well
experienced brother and sister
team from Ephrata.
Making up this team are Fred
and Emily Weaver who, with 12
years of 4-H experience between
them, rate the Farm Show their
number one contest. Well
seasoned competitors, the pair
compete in seven shows a year but
always look forward to the Farm
Show.
Whether its the degree of
competition, the chance to see the
many friends made through the
show circuit or just to spend a
couple days among Pennsylvania
agriculture and farmers, Fred said
A*'/!'
Fred and Emily display the more than 15 trophies they've
earned in county and state competitions.
Partnership proves
BY LAURA ENGLAND
DENVER Throughout the
years, partnerships have proved
successful in farming and
agribusiness operations. Partners
share in the decision-making
process, contribute equally to a
sometimes heavy workload, and
determine what is to become of
profits earned through their
business.
Looking at these aspects of a
partnership, not to mention the
A successful hog producer, Ezra Good teaches his young sons Kenton, left, and Kurtis
to select market-type hogs as 4-H projects.
he always gets more “psyched up”
for the Farm Show.
Fred, 13, will be making his
fourth trip and Emily, 15, her sixth
to compete in the junior steer and
junior showmanship contests. The
two will also compete, for the first
time, in the junior breeding show
with their purebred Angus heifers.
Emily will have a special
responsibility in addition to
showing. She’ll be staying all week
and will be working as a caretaker
for Lancaster County. Helping her
will be fellow club member Ernie
Mast, of Morgantown.
A member of the New Holland 4-
H Club for seven years and the Red
Rose club for six, Emily will show
an Angus-cross named Timothy in
the junior steer show. Her heifer is
a purebred, registered Angus
• 7 V | fr** ‘ r \
>' mw iii i m
success their father and uncle have
had in their swine, beef and
trucking operation, brothers
Kenton and Kurds Good, R 1
Denver, formed their own part
nership three years ago. Realizing
a partnership had worked for their
father, the brothers thought the
same might be true for them.
Kenton and Kurds haven’t been
disappointed with their decision.
Raising and showing swine, the
young brothers have had a
fatfu t iviuhes sous
*■
*
If
■/€&fv
named Rally Timberly Mayflower.
Both animals were purchased
from the Rally Farm in New York.
Emily showed both Timothy and
her heifer through the Red Rose
Club this past year. She also
showed another steer, which was
sold, through the New Holland
Club. Emily says she prefers
raising buddy steers and has done
so for six years.
“If you raise steers by them
selves, they get jumpy,” she said.
“With two steers, they leam to get
along, and they’re better at file
shows.”
Fred also raised a set of buddy
steers this year and will take his
Red Rose entry to the Farm Show.
A straight Angus, Sam placed
second in his class at county round-
From feeding to grooming to exercising, Fred and Emily Weaver, R 1 Ephrata, help
each other in preparing their animals for show competition.
successful for young brothers
profitable partnership to date.
Each year has ended in the black
with high hopes for the next year.
Not unusual for a partnership,
you say 9 Well, you’re partly right,
but an unusual aspect surrounds
this operation. You see, Kenton is
only 11 years old and Kurtis is 10.
The boys are members of the New
Holland 4-H Club, Lancaster
County, and through their part
nership compete in 4-H com
petitions.
up this past year. A purebred
heifer named Rally Duchess is his
breed class entry. Both animals
were also purchased from Rally
Farms.
In selecting animals for 4-H
projects, Fred and Emily say they
like to stick with either purebred
Angus or Angus-cross breeds.
“Angus cattle do well at local
shows,” Fred says, “but you need
an Angus-Chianina cross steer for
the Farm Show. The judges like to
see the crosses there. ”
Previous Farm Show ex
periences uphold the young
Weavers’ thinking. In her first
show, Emily placed third in her
class with an Angus-Chianina
cross. Fred has had an Angus-
Simmental cross place fourth and
and >isirr t\ntpernio
The sons of Mr. and Mrs. Ezra
Good, Kenton and Kurtis share the
workload in preparing their hogs
for the county swine round-up.
They also share in paying for their
hogs and the feed, and at the end of
the year they split their profits 50-
50.
As far as financial successes are
concerned, the brothers would
mark 1983 as the most profitable
And as far as successes in the show
ring go, again 1983 comes out on
top. This past year, Kenton and
Kurtis showed the grand champion
and reserve grand, respectively, at
the New Holland Fair.
For their wins, the young part-
*
life.
>PIF
mDk.
Kenton Good, left, and younger brother Kurtis are
proud of the championship trophies that they've earn
ed in three years of 4-H swine competition.
Proud of championships
an AnguS-Chianina cross place
sixth.
Fred explained that a difference
usually occurs in how the animals
place at round-up compared to
Farm Show. This is due to the
animal’s actual body finishing.
“There is a difference in the wins
at Farm Show,” he said. “The
steers are usually finished out
more in time for the Farm Show.”
To prepare their animals for the
show and achieve the best finish,
Fred and Emily put together a
serious work out for their steers.
For this year’s show, they started
walking and exercising their
animals daily about 60 days ago.
“We take them out together and
walk them around the cemetary
(Turn to Page A 34)
ners received $4.25 per pound for
both hogs. The hogs, weighing 230
pounds each, were bought as a pair
by Doug Clemens of Hatfield
Packing, Hatfield.
But money isn’t everything as
far as the Goods are concerned.
Their success last year promp
ted them to take a challenge -
something not uncommon to
partnerships The brothers
decided to try their luck at the 1984
Farm Show.
To prepare for the Farm Show,
Kenton and Kurtis selected a pair
of hogs at the end of September
from their father’s operation.
(Turn to Page A3O)