With halters in hand and show day fast approaching, members of the Miami 4-H Beef Club are hard at work preparing their animals for one of the biggest events of their year — the annual show and sale at the Carman Country Fair.
The local 4-H beef club has 19 members this year — a new normal following the COVID-19 pandemic, which gave the club a boost in numbers. Every member has a project animal, either beef or sheep, that they’ve been working with throughout the year in the lead-up to the fair.
Miami 4-H Beef Club head leader Katie Steppler said the group is full of hardworking, dedicated members who look forward to the show and sale all year. Over the season, they hold monthly meetings — run by the members themselves — to review finances, brainstorm fundraising ideas, plan upcoming events, and learn proper animal husbandry.
“A lot of it is based around the beef industry,” said Steppler. “How to feed the animal, how to take care of it, showmanship, grooming, judging. The 4-H program as a whole is a wonderful program. Kids are involved in learning how to run meetings, being part of the executive. We also have public speaking, which is a super valuable skill. Alongside that, each kid is learning how to take care of an animal and how to get it to the fair where we show and sell our animals.”
Members learn how to feed, groom and care for their animal, as well as how to properly show it. During the fair, participants are judged in a number of classes:
• Grooming – Members groom their animals in the ring. Judges evaluate their technique, product use and how well the animal is presented.
• Showmanship – Members show their animals in front of judges, who assess how well the member presents the animal, maintains setup, and carries themselves.
• Breed classes – Animals are judged against others of the same breed based on overall build, conformation, muscling, and thickness.
At the end of the show, grand champion and reserve champion titles are awarded for each steer, heifer and cow/calf pair.
The 4-H show begins Thursday during the Carman Country Fair. The sale follows on Friday at 1 p.m., when each member sells their project animal to the public through live bidding.
“It’s important for people to know the kids work super hard,” said Steppler. “These are all hardworking, great kids who are interested in the ag industry. I would think these are the kids that are going to be the next generation of agriculture, which is really important.”
The Carman Country Fair runs July 10 to 12, offering three days of excitement. In addition to the 4-H beef show and sale, the fair features a country market, midway, nightly mainstage entertainment, the provincial Percheron show, miniature horse show, exhibit hall, parade, Denim and Dust barrel racing, children’s activities and more. The weekend kicks off with breakfast at the DAS Dining Hall at 7:30 a.m. Thursday and wraps up with fireworks Saturday night.
