The year’s hard work showed through for the Big Knife Beef Club at the show and sale in Stettler, with the members averaging $2.25 per pound in the sale – which club leader Denise Jacobson says is “amazing.”
“All in all, the clubs did very well at the sale this year,” she said. “We did very well; we were very happy.”
Since Stettler hosted the show and sale, Jacobson said the members worked a little harder to bring in buyers and donations.
“This year we kind of took it to a higher level…it’s not just for our clubs to bring in more buyers, it’s for all the clubs, just so there’s people there to buy. When you have 67 calves, you need a few buyers,” Jacobson said. “When we’re going out and getting buyers, we’re not specifically saying ‘come buy a calf from Big Knife”’ we’re saying ‘Come buy a calf from the show and sale.’”
Jacobson said that the club got comments from the judges about how well they did in the show.
“That was nice to hear, coming from a leader’s standpoint, because you know you’re doing your job,” she said.
Out of 18 members – the entire club – who participated, two were first-timers, and Jacobson is happy with how they did. She also said that everyone in the club works together for the benefit of the club, not just each individual. One competition is a stall display, so all the members have to co-operate to get the display as good as it can be.
“If there are water buckets laying there, it may not be your calf, but you need to go take care of it,” she said. “Maybe the other kid is in showing…everybody works, and that’s part of 4-H too. People learn to work together.”
She added that it wasn’t difficult to get the members to work together, and they are respectful and well-behaved.
“If one kid is having troubles with their animal or whatever, it’s the older member’s job to help out, that’s just what they do,” she said.
But 4-H doesn’t just benefit the members – it benefits Stettler and area too. 4-H members have to do community service and they volunteer within the community.
“When we use the Agriplex, we volunteer to use that Agriplex,” she said. “So in essence, we’re helping out another place in Stettler. They’re benefiting and we’re benefiting together.”
And 4-H teaches skills like work ethic and respect that the members can carry into the rest of their lives.
“You talk to anybody, and if you’ve been in 4-H… you kind of get looked at differently,” Jacobson said. “People accept 4-H members differently, I think. They understand what work is. Not like other kids don’t, but it’s hard work to raise an animal and try to get it ready.”
The following were winners at the beef show and sale:
For heifer day it was:
Champion yearling heifer-Kathryn Dolliver
Reserve Champion yearling heifer-Junae Ventnor
For Steer day it was:
Conformation winners were:
Jr-1st place-Bridget Skocdopole
2nd place-Tyson Brower
Int-1st place-Byron Dinsmore
2nd place-Junae Ventnor
Sr-1st place-Kathryn Dolliver
2nd place-Shayla Derr
Club Champion was Byron Dinsmore
Reserve Club Champion was Kathryn Dolliver
Showmanship Champions were:
Jr-1st place-Grace Hebbes
2nd place-Tyson Brower
Int-1st place-Austin Jacobson
2nd place-Byron Dinsmore
Sr-1st place-Kathryn Dolliver
2nd place-Shayla Derr
Grooming Champions were:
Jr-1st place-Bridget Skocdopole
2nd place-Tyson Brower
Int-1st place-Rylee Jacobson
2nd place-Byron Dinsmore
Sr-1st place-Kathryn Dolliver
2nd place-Shayla Derr
Judging Champions were:
Jr-1st place-Grace Hebbes
2nd place-Bridget Skocdopole
Int-1st place-Shayna Brower
2nd place-Junae Ventnor
Sr-1st place-Mackenzie Hankins
2nd place-Shayla Derr