Committee Survey To Assay State (ponlinued from Pag* At) system, what benefits parents see from showing. It covets a lot of different areas." There are two survey forms, one for parents and one for the youth. There are 38 questions for the parents (one parental response pa family or individual, if one child), and 36 questipns for youth. Some of the questions ask for basic information, such as name, breed shown, number of animals, number of shows, etc. A couple of questions allow for short written responses. Most of the questions, however, are multiple-choice, designed to be used for program evaluation. The results of the survey are to compiled and tabulated. The find- PFA designed tor improved steering angle and great Emissjon-certified maneuverability Cummins C 8 3 high-torque, turbocharged engine Convenient \ tilt-and-lift hood \ with practical and \ good-looking \ new design \ <ip ANEW n ■ msmimi wm rbmbib sob. Born tough and eager to go, this all new Field Master™ generation includes the 160 PTO hp 8510, the 180 PTO hp 8610, the 200 PTO hp 8710 and 225 PTO hp 8810 With their clean burning 6-cylmder Cummins engines, standard 18-speed full Power streamlined design, spacious cabs and more, every model is ready make a productive difference in your fields. Come take a test drive today, and get to know the born-tough Field Master generation of high horsepower tractors from White HERNLEY’ S FARM STANLEYS LEBANON VALLEY EQUIPMENT, INC. FARM SERVICE IMPLEMENT CO., INC. 2095 S Market St RD 1- Off Rte 125 700 E Linden St Elizabethtown, PA Klingersfown. PA Richland PA 717-367-8867 717-648-2088 717-866-7518 WITMER’S INC. MILLER EQUIPMENT CO. J & M MACHINERY CO. Box 368 RD 1 Route 22 & 819 Columbiana, OH 44408 Bechtelsville, PA Greensburq PA 330-427-2147 610-845-2911 412-668-2276 ings are to be repented to the state Junior Dairy Show Advisory Com mittee during its meeting in October. Members of the committee are elected representatives from each show district The state youth dairy program is offered and organized coopera tively by Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences Extension and Outreach (which includes 4-H, an Extension-run program), and FFA. Those with FFA are essentially its local club organization leaders, primarily high school vocational agriculture and agricultural sciences instructors. Because of the changing nature of the dairy industry, the changing A) WHITE —NECESSARY LAOCO) TOVSHNESI Of Member, Parental Concerns Youth Dairy Show Program nature of people's lives and sche dules, there have been some changes to the program imple mented over the past decade. For a number of years now, the state dairy show, held annually at the state Farm Show Building Complex in Harrisburg in conjunc tion with the Pennsylvania All- American Dairy Show, has com bined 4-H and FFA members in competition. (This year, the state show is to be held Sept. 21.) Previously, the 4-H and FFA state shows were separate. As the number of dairy-focused members in each of the two youth organizations has declined over the years, and the difference in competitive advantage of FFA members over 4-H disappeared. Ultra-comfortable, high visibility cab with new armrest control console IMMMMMtSF Full Powersoft transmission standard with optional Creeper or Super Creeper Electronic Lift Control 3-pomt hitch with lift capacity from 12,000 lbs on 8510 to 14,000 lbs on 8610, 8710 and 8810. /^/// ' High capacity hydraulics with new maximum flow option of 39 gpm Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 5, 1999-A29 the state show eliminated member ship distinctions. Three years ago, the district shows were likewise combined. Additionally, participation in a distreit show was opened up to any FFA or 4-H member in the state. Previously the district shows were restricted to 4-H and FFA mem bers in the counties included in the district region. The opening up of the district shows was done for several reasons. Among them was the fact that some of the FFA-only shows were poorly attended, but would require as much support and organization al effort as a well-attended 4-H show at the same place. It was also done because of scheduling conflicts for exhibitors, such as having to work a summer job for college, having to start col lege, being on the road showing at county fairs and breed organiza tion competitions, involvement in sports programs, and in some cases, going on family vacations. Despite the diminishing number of youth directly involved with raising dairy cattle, following the decline of the number of family dairy farm operations, the state youth dairy show has continued to grow. “I think (the changes made to date) had many positive effects,” Olvcr said. He said that, from the standpoint of exhibitors, the changes allow them a great amount of flexibility in attending a district show. For example, they can register an animal for a particular show early in the season, but if the ani mal should become ill close to that show, they can drop the animal out of that show, get the ani mal's health regained, and still attend a district show to qualify for the state show. The changes have also eliminated some of the poorly attended shows, and evened out participa tion among all district shows, Olvcr said. For local 4-H and FFA organizers it has added some work, however. Different counties have different prerequis ites, and 4-H and FFA leaders in those counties with strict restrictions have to ensure that their youth fulfill the state requirement for showing that each member be "in good standing.” “So, if (the youth) don’t follow all the county rules, they are not a member in good standing,” Olvcr said. That means the local leaders must keep track of the youth from their area, no matter where the youth end up attending a district show. In order to qualify an animal to show at a dis trict and state show, the animal must receive a “blue” ribbon from a judge. The judge’s awarding of a blue ribbon indi cates that the animal is of sufficient quality so as to be competitive at a higher level. Some counties also have additional prerequis ite restrictions on its youth’s qualifications to participate in the state show, such as having to attend the county 4-H roundup, local show, or attend a certain percentage of club meetings. Some have suggested that the growth in parti cipation at the slate show which means more blue ribbons being awarded at county and district levels is due to the increase in quality of dairy animals available to youth, through breed orga nization improvement and artificial insemina tion. Others have suggested that more youth are involved because there arc more family farms depending on the sale of breeding stock in addi tion to milk, and the honors bestowed animals at any and all shows can be used in the promotion of a breeding line of cattle. Whatever the reason, the state show last year saw 1,100 animals entered (representing six breeds), and more than 800 exhibited. That makes it one of the largest state dairy youth shows in the nation. Olver said this week that it appears, even with several district shows to go, that this year’s state show may well exceed last year’s. It may well be the nation’s largest youth dairy showing. For those suspicious of surveys, it is not being done in any attempt to curb participation at the state show or to provide statistical support to foward a personal agenda. Rather, it is only being done to guage the level of satisfaction and comfort the existing program and system offers youth exhibitors and their parents. Olver said other states have different systems for establishing pre-qualifications for state shows ranging from going directly from the county level to the state level without a district show, or each county being assigned a particular quota it can send to the state. He said that the advisoiy committee is com mitted to the district system. “We’ve had good response to the survey,” Olver said. “It’s been vciy gratifying that parents and exhibitors have taken the time to fill them
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