A3O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 22,1986
Veteran, Rookie Share 4-H District Beef Honors
BY JACK HUBLEY
NEW HOLLAND - For Brian
Hess, campaigning his steer at last
weekend’s Southeast District 4-H
Beef Show represented his last
shot at a 4-H championship. For
Melanie Messick, the show
represented the beginning of yet
another Messick beef show career
in keeping with the Dauphin
County family’s winning tradition.
Quality was deep and the
competition was stiff at last
Saturday’s show held at New
Holland Sales Stables. Serving as
judge was Penn State Extension
meat specialist Bill Henning, who
waded through the 53 entries from
Lancaster, Chester and Dauphin
Counties and slapped an Angus-
Chianina exhibited by Conestoga’s
Brian Hess for grand champion
honors.
This was the final 4-H go-round
for 19-year-old Hess, the president
of Lancaster County’s Red Rose
Baby Beef Club. Henning’s
decision was the silver lining in the
cloud that hovered over the
honors. Her steer was
Frey
BY JACK HUBLEY
NEW HOLLAND - After win
ning his class at the Northeast
Region Chianina Field Day and
placing second in class at the
Solanco Fair, Fritz Frey’s Angus-
Chianina steer put it all together at
Lancaster County’s 4-H Beef
Roundup last Friday, Nov. 14.
Although this was his second
county roundup win, it was the first
time the 19-year-old Quarryville
cattleman got a chance to be in on
the action. Last year Brian Hess
showed Frey’s steer to top honors
while Frey was busy showing
cattle at the North American In
ternational Livestock Expo in
Louisville, Kentucky.
Frey now has his sights set on
the State Farm Show in January.
/ichok
Lone Hope.
veteran exhibitor the day before
when his steer weighed in over the
State Farm Show limit at the
Lancaster County 4-H Beef
Roundup.
The county roundup had been the
qualifying round for Farm Show,
and Hess was both surprised and
disappointed when his steer tipped
the scales at 1,360 pounds, only 10
pounds over the Farm Show limit.
“I didn’t think he was as heavy as
he was,” Hess confessed at the
district show.
Following a 24-hour crash diet,
the steer weighed in at a trim 1,315
for the district event. Never
theless, “I didn’t have my hopes up
too high,” Hess noted.
The victory was particularly
sweet for the Penn Manor
graduate, who pointed out that this
was the first time he entered the
district event and the first time
he’d topped a show at the county
level or above.
For Hess’s entry, life had come
full circle, the exhibitor purchased
his steer at the sales stable one
Dauphin County's only entry
Repeats Lancaster Co. 4-H
By that time, he figures, his steer
should be in peak show condition.
“I think he’s right on schedule,”
Frey said.
Staying “right on schedule” for
the state’s premier livestock event
in January is no simple task, Frey
points out. Since Farm Show
comes late in the show season,
exhibitors need to choose a young
calf that won’t be over-finished by
showtime.
Frey did just that when he the showstring and does other
selected a July calf from Jerry farm work at Twin Oaks for his
Adamson of Rocking J Farm, parents, Fred and June Frey. But
Cody, Wyoming. Although he even with plenty of experience
normally chooses his show under his belt, he’s not counting on
prospects from the herd at the a win in January. “There’s going
family’s Twin Oaks Farm, the to be a super bunch of steers (at
cupboard was bare this time. “Our k Farm Show) from Lancaster
calves are born from March to County this year,” he smiles.
year ago at the District 4-H/FFA
Club Calf Sale that follows the
show each year. The calf was bred
by Don Walters of York County.
The son of Abram and Jamie
Hess, Brian currently works for a
landscaping firm and resides on
the family’s hog farm.
Like Hess’s steer, the reserve
champion had also been on a
weight reduction program. The
steer’s owner, nine-year-old
Melanie Messick, noted that her
entry, named Amos, weighted 35
pounds more only the day before.
The first-year 4-H’er was definitely
on a roll, taking reserve honors in
Dauphin County’s roundup on
Friday, then doing likewise at the
district show the next day.
The daughter of Thane and Judy
Messick of Middletown, Melanie
was Dauphin County’s only entry
in a field that included 10 steers
from Chester County and 42 from
Lancaster County. Her steer was
homebred at Messick Farms out of
a Chianina bull and an Angus cow.
An enthusiastic young 4-H’er,
Melanie says she plans to be back
in the showring next year. “My
brother was in it last year and this
year, and I guess I just wanted to
be what he was in,” she beamed.
4-H Market Sale .
Willie the Butcher from Stauf
fers of Kissel Hill shouldered out
the competition for the top steer
and both the champion and reserve
lambs that sold in the junior
market sale following the district
show. The lambs that sold were
shown in Lancaster County’s 4-H
Woolies Roundup that had taken
place a week earlier.
Brian Hess sold his 1,315-pound
district champion steer to Willie
for $1.41 per pound. The reserve
champion shown by Melanie
Messick went to Hamilton Bank
when Darvin Boyd offered the final
(Turn to Page A3B)
early May,” he said, adding that
summer is a difficult calving time
because of the heat and parasite
problems.
Nevertheless, a summer-bom
calf is the way to go for Farm
Show. “Otherwise you have to feed
them real slow and they just won’t
be quite as fresh (for the show). ”
A veteran showman, Frey plans
to make a career of the beef
business. He currently manages
Another one of those competitive
Lancaster County entries will be
“Lone Hope,” an Angus-Chi cross
owned by Nichole High. High’s
steer was selected for reserve
county honors by show judge Dr.
Erskine Cash, a professor of
animal science at Penn State.
High bought her 1,285-pound
winner from Ray Weaver of
Stewarts Draft, Virginia, at a sale
held at the Keystone International
Livestock Expo last year.
The daughter of Larry High and
Shirley Burris of Lititz, Nichole
showed two steers this year, in
cluding “Long Shot,” a purebred
Angus that was reserve champion
at the New Holland Fair. Last
Friday’s reserve trophy with Lone
Hope was High’s fifth reserve title
of the season.
High is also hoping that her
calf’s July 20 birthday will work to
his advantage by Farm Show time.
“He’s a real young calf,” she
points out. Including Fritz Frey
and Nichole High, 16 exhibitors
were chosen to represent Lan
caster County in Farm Show beef
competition. The list includes
(Turn to PageA34)
Brian Hess wrapped up his show career by winning the
Southeast District 4-H Beef Show last Saturday. Show judge
Dr. Bill Henning holds trophy.
m
District Showmanship winners were (from left) Diane
Musser, intermediate; Ken Walker, senior; Brad Linton,
junior. Walker was named champion showman.
Beef Championship
Forthe second year in a row Fritz Frey took top honors in
the Lancaster County 4-H Beef Roundup.
Jy presented a $3OO
check to the reserve champion showman in Lancaster
County's 4-H roundup. This year Editor Everett Newswanger
presented the award to Jay Hess of Conestoga.