Missile Defense

[rkaiser]

randy, I am showing a 4-H kids calf, not one of my own ! Actually the one I am showing is likely the UGLIEST calf in the bunch, mouse colored but VERY QUIET ! The calf is NOT being judged, just my showmanship ability !
I used to coach kids in showmanship back in the stone age, so hopefully techniques haven't changed ! I did consider blacking out my two front teeth and telling the judge I was a FIRST YEAR MEMBER, but the weathered lines on my face would likely give me away !

Cowman, at least in this country we aren't running for bomb shelters and that in my opinion makes us very fortunate.

[rkaiser]

Randy, the neighbour is showing his son's 4-H steer a 1650 pound buckskin char cross, that will no doubt win rate of gain over all the steers in tomorrow's show. Well past slaughter weight thats for sure but a real tank of a steer.
Difference between me and the neighbour in stature is 5' nothin compared to 6'4", so he will have the advantage when it comes to hauling his critter around for the judge.
I am relying on charm, wit and finesse to bluff my way through this contest , and praying that I don't end up ' butt over teakettle' in the showring !!!!

[whiteface]

Charm, wit and finesse works wonders emerald and you have it! Good luck! Have a good night!

[whiteface]

Thanks whiteface, any chance you are the judge tomorrow ?????

[smcgrath76]

Probably too late now, but...
Clockwise. They still go clockwise.

[smcgrath76]

Thanks Sean. I did remember that, and I have made charts of how to move the critter from one place to the other in the lineup if the ringman request it.

It is going to be a fun day and I am sure that a lot of it will be at my expense !!!!

[whiteface]

I would never be chosen as a judge emerald as I am not "politically correct" enough but thanks for asking. How did it go anyway? Charm win out for you? It frequently does! Let us know!!!! and have a good night all!!

[whiteface]

I actually survived the show. There were ten of us in the ring for the class I was in. Some old coots that were in 4-H at the beginning of time, and wouldn't you know that one of them WON THE CLASS !!! I am sure the judges felt sorry for him because of his advanced years !!! The rest of us even saw him flirting with the judges. shameless behavior thats for sure !!
I did okay, didn't get kicked or stepped on, and had a half hour coaching session with the young lad who owned the steer.
The judges said they placed me lower because I said the steer was angus and char cross when in fact its great granddam was a @@##$$%%$$Murray Grey !!!!!
I had so many kids helping me get ready for the ring, one showing me how to use the showstick ( that is the same as it was in my day ). One showing me how to comb up the hair.....another telling me to whistle to the steer because he was used to it. ( never learned to whistle so obviously at a disadvantage from the get go !!!).

Got the photos to prove I was there...slobber on my shirt to prove I was there as well !!!

Had a fun day and the kids all had great calves, lots of good beef on the hoof there today. Lots of service companies from the oil patch were there at the sale to buy steers, have them slaughtered and donate the beef to the local food back which I thought was a very nice touch.

[grassfarmer]

I had a day at the 4H show in Rimbey today following the progress of a couple of calves I sold to kids. It was interesting - I was agreeing with the conformation judges in that the biggest fault was under finished cattle. This favoured the smaller more traditional bred calves over the big steers with 2 exotic parents - some of those steers were 1300lbs and 200lbs short on finish.The judges weren't even too colour blind this time!
That part was educational but I was dissapointed with the sale - good prices throughout with a $1.50 average but no correlation between calf quality and price realised. What does that teach kids? quality doesn't matter, don't waste time learning to feed properly spend the time instead chatting up a favourite uncle to buy your calf?
Again the oilfield was well represented as well as most of the businesses in town in the buying stakes but why shouldn't the packers share some of their wealth? Why should a business in town pay $1.50 for a steer and then turn it over to Cargill for 75 cents and take the $900 loss?
With the money these pirates have made in the last year or two they are as like throwing money about as the oil companies and a lot more like it than the town vets and auction mart.

[grassfarmer]

grassfarmer, a lot of the price paid for calves in a 4-H sale is due to the marketting of the 4-H member. When I was a leader the members were encouraged to have at least two potential buyers for their calf at the sale.
Today at the show, there were 4-H members from all clubs and all ages approaching people in a very polite way asking if they were interested in buying an entire steer or splitting one with another buyer.
One fellow told me that a 9 year old accosted him in the men's room asking if he was going to buy a steer.

Many of the older members get out and really market their steers. Case in point, the local Vet Clinic was approached by a girl who is in her last year of 4-H. She told them that this would be the last year they would have the opportunity to purchase one of her steers, and the vet was at the show checking out her calf !

Some of the purchases are courtesy ones, as a way of thanking the parents of the member for supporting certain business through the years.

I never fault the support that oil companies and oilfield service companies give the 4-H members. You will notice a higher average per pound in areas that have significant oil related businesses bidding at the sales.

It great to see the smaller independent grocery store owners sitting in the stands bidding on animals as well.

If the 4-H member does the work of feeding and looking after their calf, I have no problem if rich old uncle Joe comes in and buys it. I have seen many young people come out of the 4-H program and go on to be leaders in their community. It is a great opportunity to learn and the members that have an animal to sell at the end of the year at least take home a few dollars toward their education etc.

I was very impressed today at the way the members from all clubs were willing to help each other, and lend a hand to the younger members in the club.

[grassfarmer]

I would agree with all that stuff Emrald but when you see the reserve Champion calf out of 40 head (who I would have made champion) make $1.20 and a scrawny hereford feeder steer at @900 lbs bring $1.90 where is the justice in that? Maybe this is why so many adult producers are happy to sell scrawny looking feeder calves later in life?
I think that this is a great project and the standard is very high - it just makes me mad to see the best cattle not being recognised. To me it is always about the cattle first and foremost, the connections and the marketing are secondary.

[grassfarmer]

grassfarmer, you have got to take into account the following:
Maybe the kid with the scrawny hereford took the only calf availible to him or her. Maybe her parents didn't have the cash or knowhow to ensure that the steer got the feed necessary to finish.

I have seen 4-H members bust their backsides to work with a calf, and have the parents not willing to pay for the proper feed, and on achievement day the best 4-H member in the club shows up with a 900 steer. Kids are encouraged to join 4-H, and many of them do not come from a traditional farm background. The kid whose steer I showed yesterday comes from a blended family of 13 kids. His step dad is old enough to be his grandad and hasn't a clue about cattle. The kid works part time for the feedlot down the road and the owner gave him a steer to get him started in 4-H. He also gave him enough feed for the critter and let him work off the costs .
The kid took his steer home so he could work with it, and the deal was that he would do his sisters chores around home in exchange for her feeding the steer when he worked at the feedlot on the weekends and school holidays etc.
Nobody fed the calf anything but hay during the entire year with the exception of the days when the kid was at home. The steer weighed 980 yesterday and had a frame that could have easily handled 1250 pounds, but he was the best behaved steer in the club.

The kid is getting no encouragement at home, and if not for the feedlot owner and his family, two of which are in 4-H, this young man would lose out on the opportunity that 4-H offers.
He is going back in this fall, and will keep his calf at the feedlot so he can look after it himself.
Does he deserve $2.50 a pound for an unfinished steer....you bet he does !!!

Another kid had a 1300 pound steer that was the club champion, everyone knew that his uncle had fitted the animal, and the kid was afraid of it, and didn't put any effort into showing it.
Great steer, but did that kid deserve as much for it as the kids that worked their butts off ? Not in my books !

4-H is a lot more than selling a steer, when I was a leader I used to tell the kids and their parents at the first meeting each year, that if the only reason they were there was to sell a steer on achievement day then perhaps they should rethink joining.
Responsibility, marketing ability, business skills, public speaking skills, mean a lot more to these young people in the years ahead than the dollars they make on their calf.


By the way the Grand Ch. sold for $4.05 a pound here yesterday, with the average well over $2.00.

[grassfarmer]

Again Emrald I wouldn't argue with the case you laid out - in that case I would be happy to see the feedlot worker kid get the big money over the Dad competing through his sons hands.
Reality of the show I was at were the calves making the money, whether they were good or bad, belonged to the big established ranch families with the most connections in the community. We had some blended families too,with little farm experience,hard up but
with wonderfully encouraging parents and unfortunately they were the ones getting the lower prices regardless of the quality of their calf. I guess that's just life but I felt dissapointed for them.

[grassfarmer]

grassfarmer, nobody ever said that 4-H was about fairness, when it comes to reaping the rewards for work .

Some of the hardest working members are the lowest paid when it comes to selling their calf. Some buyers choose to support so and so's kid just because they are buddies or business associates etc. Quite often oil service companies will buy a steer belonging to a child of one of their employees which is understandable.

It is tough on kids to see a calf that either isn't as good or no better than their own sell for a significant amount more. That doesn't relate to the real world where hopefully the best calves bring the best dollar, but I still think that all lessons learned in 4-H build character and an awareness of both the unfair and great things that happen in life.

[cowman]

I think 4H is an excellent teaching ground for any young person who intends to enter business. Why you can learn all sorts of neat essential things like how to cook the books, it's okay to cheat to stay competitive, influence peddling, and the old time honored Mafia concept of "one hand washes the other"! LOL!
I recently heard the gay rights community is lobbying to have 4H changed to 5H? Heart, Health, Head, Hands and...Homosexual! I guess they figured 4H was discriminatory or something to all the potential gay kids!