The End of an Era...Part II

Okay...so I left off last with the dairy show on Thursday morning.

Pretty much directly after the dairy show I had to set up the dairy area with dairy promotion items for Kiddies' Day. I brought some bull calves up for the day so kids could help bottle feed them and pet them. Also, some kids who came a little early were able to see us milking "old school" with the old pump and can milker. For a while we thought we would have to milk them out by hand! Once all the promo. items got put up and organized, we pulled out the ice cream freezer and made some soft-serve ice cream for the kids. I think that the kids really loved the ice cream because Thursday was unbearably hot! It was just the treat to cool you down!

I wish that more kids would have came out to the dairy tent, but by the time the show was over - a lot of kids were already on the carnival rides for their Kiddies' Day Special. Overall, I learned a lot from this event and it really taught me that I shouldn't take on more than I can handle. I was entirely exhausted from the show and the heat, that it was difficult for me to show the same amount of leadership as I usually would have. I also think that it would have went more smoothly if we would have been able more easily tie the two schedules together. Nevertheless, I am still glad that I did it, because I feel that the people I was able to talk to and that came over were able to have fun, cool down or learn something new about the dairy industry!

Friday was sale day at the Gratiot County Fair for Youth. All in all, I would have to say that we had a good livestock auction. A lot of the animals sold well, other than the occasional super high and low sellers. I love to see all the business and people from the community coming out to support our youth! I think that it is awesome, because in the long run, they are supporting Gratiot Counties future generation. Some kids will take their money and save it for college, others will just barely have enough to break even, but in the end, most kids have gained so much more by being in 4-H and being an exhibitor at the fair. I get a little discouraged when I see some of the power-house families in the county getting prices that are far higher than all the other exhibitors. Regardless on how hard they work compared with other kids, it isn't fair that they are getting higher prices because of their last name.

Brady Brecht is a 4-Her from my county and he is a great example of an honest, hard-working individual who is passionate about learning, serving and being a great example for other 4-her's. He was interviewed by Farm World and they wrote an awesome article about him. To read more about Brady and his passion for being supportive of everyone around him visit: http://www.farmworldonline.com/News/NewsArticle.asp?newsid=6427.

Saturday was finally a day for me to relax and just have fun. I was able to sleep in...do all that stuff that one should be able to do on your week off from work. Our county fair always has Ag. Olympics for the exhibitors and kids at the fair. This year was probably the first year that I actually went up to watch in a really long time. I ended up helping out with some of the interesting and hilarious games! The staff of the Gratiot County MSU Extension had come up with some truly unique games that were related to agriculture and the fair. They had relays like Sugar Beet Shomanship (they basically dragged a sugar beet down and around a cone with a rope halter and or a scoop shovel), Feed Bag/Three Legged Race, Wheel Barrel Races, Egg Relay on a spoon, picking up as many cucumbers as possible in a short amount of time and probably the grossest and yet funniest was the manure identification. They went around and collected manure samples from all the barns and the kids had to visit different stations and identify them. I was the lucky volunteer to be holding "chicken poop".

I am releived that the fair is finally over, but a little sad that I am no longer able to be an exhibitor. I am sure that I will be back again for years to come as a 4-H leader!

The End of One Era - The Start of a New One!

Every summer since I was the age of nine, mid to late July has always been the busiest time of the year - between harvesting wheat, playing sports and getting my 4-H projects ready for the fair. Whether it was putting the final stitches into my jumper I made for my sewing project or working with, washing and clipping my animals to perfection from dusk 'till dawn, 4-H wasn't just about exhibiting projects at the fair to see how much money I would make, not even about how well I was able to compete against the other exhibitors - I received much more by being in 4-H for 12 years! I have learned many lifelong skills and noble characteristics from my parents, 4-H leaders and other 4-Her's I've met along the way! Throughout my 12 years, I have learned to be a responsible, caring and enthusiastic individual - ready and eager to learn and serve! 4-H is an awesome way for kids to get involved in pretty much any area - if you can think of it, they probably have something out there for you!!

This summer had pretty much the same 'ring' to it - but maybe a little less involved at home (seeing as I am working during the day on campus). This year my 4-H projects consisted primarily on my Dairy cow and heifer, as well as my Holstein feeder calf. Although this year, I felt myself starting to be molded into a 4-H leader - as I was helping younger kids with their projects. They extended the fair week this year - which kind of was a little discouraging for many exhibitors and their parents - but by the grace of God I am pretty sure everyone survived! Tuesday was the beef and feeder judging and I truly felt blessed when I won the Reserve Grand Champion Feeder honors this year at the Gratiot County Fair for Youth. Wednesday was another long day - beef and feeder showmanship - here I didn't come out so lucky, or at least that is how I felt. I ended up getting 3rd in a super close call between the top three showman. Personally, I felt a little cheated from what I thought was a pretty awesome job by myself - but the judge had his own personal preferences. The judge gave us three showman opportunities to come to the microphone and he asked us questions on the spot - One of the major questions he talked about were issues facing the cattle industry: The first kid that went up to the microphone addressed the issue of feed prices (corn prices being at around $6 a bushel causes the feed prices to exponentially increase greatly) and how big or a role that will play on the producers in the industry as well as the quality of the product. I then proceeded to go to the microphone and I addressed the issue of Animal Welfare and certain ethical issues that the livestock industry is facing today! I also mentioned how important it was for me as a producers to make sure that I am promoting our industry as positively as possible. I thought I did a good job addressing the issue and stating my claim. Another issue that I think that could have been addressed was environmental restrictions (I should probably write a little more on that another time); however, the third person was asked a totally different question that isn't really relevant to the other questions we were asked above.

Finally Thursday rolled around - time for another exhausting day! The dairy show was bright and early and I rolled out of bed a good half hour before the sun crept over the horizon. First was showmanship, so I decided to take my cow out - big mistake. She didn't want to cooperate very well and because of my cow, I wound up getting third again while my brother Garrett took the 1st place honors!! My mom was just about in tears because Garrett felt so bad for beating me - because it was my last year and because he knew that I worked harder than he had. I came back though in judging and won my class with my heifer and ended up winning Reserve Champion Junior Holstein Female, Champion Senior Female and to top it off Supreme Champion Female! Now that is something I could smile about!

Wow, there is a lot to write about and its getting late...I will have to finish this story in another blog later!!!

Summer is Flying By So Fast!

Wow! I can't believe that it is already July! Happy Ice Cream Month!!

Sorry I haven't written anything in a long time, summer got super busy real fast. June was filled with working everyday, helping out on the farm and getting ready for the fair. Not to mention going to open houses, church softball and just enjoying the beautiful weather.

Here is a recap of some of the events that occurred through the month of June:

June 20 - Made an appearance at the First Congregational Christian Church in St. John's for their Auction Fest 2008. Helped serve ice cream and was able to test their knowledge of the dairy industry by asking them questions and handing out a few prizes.

June 23-27 - My little brother and sister were exhibitors this year at the Gratiot Ag. Society Fair. They both showed scramble animals - my brother with a steer and my sister with a pig. My brother Garrett won Grand Champion with his steer and my sister, well didn't come out that good. Then, Thursday after the sale, my brother caught another scramble steer! Then on friday one of my older brothers, Wade, was in the the first ever adult calf scramble. He and his partner had to rope the calf, halter it up and get it to the fence. There were men of all ages, from 18 on up. It was pretty entertaing to watch.

June 29 - I went to the Annual MMPA's OYDC Picnic with my family. My parents were the 1998 OYDC's and since then have attended almost every picnic all around the state. Fortunately this year we didn't have to travel very far. It makes for an enjoyable afternoon when all the farmers can sit around and eat and talk about each others families and farms. It was nice to hear current issues and news from MMPA top guns - Ken Nobis and John Dilland. They talked a bit about where the industry is going - the prices, bulk milk, etc. and also about the success of the farm bill.

Well, I probably better get going. I have a freakishly busy next few weeks. This week I am getting things around for the fair. I will be doing a promotional and education event this week at the fair for Kiddies' Day. I will also be exhibiting a dairy feeder as well as showing in a heifer and a cow in the dairy show. This year at the fair, I was given the opportunity to run the dairy judging clinic - that should be exciting!!
The week after that is Dairy Days down in East Lansing, Michigan! Youth from across the state will be meeting in the middle to compete with their animals, as well as against eachother in different activities such as dairy judging, quiz bowl, and showmanship. There will be a ton of cool activities going on. Be sure to be there on Wednesday, July 23 for The Great Dairy Adventure! If you want more information on that, check out my link to the UDIM page. I can't wait!!

I will be sure to post any or all picture from the next couple weeks!