What are everone's opinions on this?

[vc]

Our County fair has about 80 head of market steers each year. We do have a "Bred and Fed" division (cattle bred and raised in the county) there allot of kids that enter this for the 500 dollar purse. They do the same for hogs, sheep, and goats but the purse is smaller.

We have Families that are competitive and put the time in with the animals to compete, we have 1 or 2 families that spend way to much to try and win, they do not always win and that is what makes it fun.

There kids who are doing the project for its original intent, working at producing a good market animal for a profit, and there are kids who spend the least amount they can to just make a proffit, do not care about what the customer gets. ( we have not had a steer not go through the auction in the last 5 years but that is a for a different post at a different time)

You have to decide what your intent is, is it to raise a market animal, or is it to compete, if it is to compete then there is usually more money and time involved.

If you want it to be an even playing field, your fair wound need to get a truck load of calves similar in weight and type, have kids draw numbers to see what order they pick from, (Wont be any complaining or crying here) Judge the finished product on ADG, appearance, and carcass. You would have to DNA each calf so when nit came back for the fair no one could claim that another competitor changed calves.

 

[blackcows]

Maybe if Mom and Dad were more excited about being 3rd in class the kids would see that as a victory too.

Great statement!

 

[jbw]

It's good to go out and get your rear kicked,  Makes you appreciate winning more!! How much fun would winning all the time be anyway? (lol)

Have your kids set goals, work to acheive those goals, and do the best that you can. Sounds like if you beat a $20,000 one with an $800 one you had a big win!

 

[kanshow]

I think you just need to look at what works for you and your family.    If you can afford a 20K calf and you want to spend your money that way - go for it.  If you are using a home raised or lower price steer that will work too.    A lot of what makes a good calf a great calf happens after the sale anyway.    The lessons learned are still there to be learned no matter what the price you pay.    This is our first year of doing steers and we've decided to use home raised calves.  Our goals are realistic and acheivable for this year - we want the kids to learn how to feed and what it takes to do a good job doing so.  We want them to understand that these are market animals and see how they do in the carcass contest.  These are also only county fair calves.    If they want to continue with steers after this year and they want to go onto bigger things, we'll find them a calf that will work.      I happen to like having the really good calves in  our shows because it does give you something to work towards.    The better the competition, the harder the kids work, and the better they become.   

In our situation, if we are going to spend money on a calf, I'd rather the money on a heifer that will go back into the herd and hopefully be a better payoff in years to come.    But again, to each his own.     

Along the same line, It's all about the perspective!  Last year, my daughter had a couple pretty good heifers that she got some decent wins on here & there.  My son had a heifer that was gentle and showed really nice for him.  He was working thru some showmanship issues and often found himself at or near the bottom of some classes.    So our last show of the season as luck would have it, my daughters best heifer and my son & his hfr were in the same class.  Daughters hfr would NOT walk that day - she took all but 2 steps sideways & up & down.  She was at the top of the class &  undid herself into 2nd or 3rd.    She was very upset coming out of the ring..  However, my son came out with a huge grin.  He was probably the happiest kid in the class - and he was next to last in the class.  BUT, he beat a heifer he'd been beat by all year and it was enough for him.  Small victories!!!

 

[Ms Ray]

I don't see how you could put a cap on it and regulate that.  I know our bill of sales don't normally say an amount.  people also trade and bargin around with friends. 
What one leader told my son is don't try to beat, who ever because you will just spend alot of money but buy something you like and fell happy about. 

I asked my son with pigs last year what his goal was to win or make money, he said make money so we bought cheap pigs, he was at the bottom of his class but made money to pay for his car.  He still was able to have fun at fair and do good in showmanship.

 

[pjkjr4]

This is coming up on my kids' 5th year to show. The first 3 were with hogs. We are fixing to finish up with our first year of steers. For the last 2 years, we have sat down as a family, and jotted dow goals for our project. My son is only 8 so our county show is as high as he could go. His top goal was to make the premium sale at our county. He did it. My daughter's (age 11) top goal was to win junior showmanship at county (she did) win showmanship in her class at our district show (she did it....even beat out some really good showers), and to win junior showmanship at the OYE next week.

I guess my point is, make some goals with your kids that are realistic, yet makes them work hard and strive to get to them. We don't spend lots of money on our show projects, but we work our tails off (the kids are right there almost all the time) to do the best with what we've got.

The money thing is all relative. There are people that make a whole bunch of money that use their kids' show project for a tax write-off. Can't say as I blame them. If my money is going to be spent foolishly, I would rather be the one having fun with it than the government blowing it. I feel that showing steers for us is more about teaching hard work and the value of it than money management. I know of several ways that I can stress that to them more than show ring steers.

Hope this helps

 

[KMJCC]

I don't not have kids showing yet but we try to stress to the kids in our 4-H club it doesn't matter what you pay for a calf.  If you look around and find a good solid calf and really work with it and feed it right you can really make it shine.The other day my wife found a picture of a sunseeker heifer that we sold last year that was out of a 2nd calf angus heifer that we paid $300 for (to use as a recip).  We sold the calf for $500 to a girl that was in her first year showing and she worked her butt off all summer with that calf and she ended up winning her class at our county fair. She probably would have done better but she showed her in our feeder heifer class, instead of our breeding heifer show, so she could sell her.  We bought her back off of the girl took her to our state fair feeder calf show and stood 3rd in class.  I am amazed how much that heifer has progressed in a little over a year.  So I guess a long story short you can pay a lot of money for a calf but that doesn't necessarily mean that it will turn out to be a good/great calf.

 

[OKshorthorn]

Looking back at it now after being removed from the show ring for several years, i'm 25 now, I realize that it wasn't about winning at all. The most we spent on a steer was $1,500, he wasn't anything special, pretty average. I remember being at shows and seeing the high dollar calves win and thinking, if only we had the money to buy something like that! Now, though, looking back, it was all the nights spent washing and working with the cattle that have left a lasting impact on my life. Never did a purple ribbon mean anything more to me than the lessons I learned from getting up in the snow and feeding calves before school when I didn't want to, or going home and working with my calf at night when my friends were out on the town...that is what showing a calf means in my opinion.

Sure, winning is nice and everyone wants to win. But, after everything is said and done, its not why we show cattle, we don't show simply to win, we show because the long nights of work are built in us, they make up who we are, and we are better because of it. Don't worry about your kids not winning because a high dollar calf beat them, they might not fully understand now, but when they get older they will realize what it taught them.

 

[forbes family farms]

I agree with russfarm

I know why people spend lots of money on their show calves because all they want to do is WIN well you know what its not all about winning its about going out and having a blast with friends and family. Our county fair is very competive one of the top of 5 i would say there's people who spend 10,000-15,000 on show calves but then go on to jackpot and the royal, our family raises all the calves we bring up to the fair except we buy one heifer we usually spend 1,200-1,500 on the heifer which is out of my pocket ( i am a 14 year old). We have placed in the bottom and in the top we have made it to the final grand champion and the reserve but have never got grand champion or reserve. I placed 2nd with my chi heifer that i spent 1,200 dollars on i placed 2nd with my home raised steer. I just LIKE TO HAVE FUN AND TRY MY BEST THAT'S WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT!!!!!


You can take the cheapest calf out in the world and take the most expensive calf and it could go either way its just all about what the judge is looking for

 

[simtal]

I'd rather be beat by  a better calf (which may cost more) than getting beat by POS political deals. Atleast you know where you stand.  If you can't handle losing to better cattle, your a sore loser.

 

[vc]

"You can take the cheapest calf out in the world and take the most expensive calf and it could go either way its just all about what the judge is looking for"

I have seen middle of the road calves turn out better than high dollar calves. usually it is more a structure deal or the high dollar calf just turns out to be a pud, done at 1100 pounds. These are the ones that usually kick b*tt in the jackpots.

 

[cowman]

Their money, their business. Capitalism and freedom are wonderful things.

The idea that someone doesn't deserve the right to pay whatever they want to for whatever calf they want is absurd. For the record if they win they deserve that as well.

I mean we all wish we had more money, but let's not hate the people who do or chastise their children as though they deserve accolades less than ours because "they didn't earn it".

This is the same flawed logic that says all kids deserve a trophy for little league.

 

[simtal]

This is the same flawed logic that says all kids deserve a trophy for little league.

Thank you Alfie Cohn

 

[AAOK]

What is your opinion on the the amount of money some families spend on a steer for their son/daughter to bring to a small county fair?
I'm not talking a big show like the State Expo's or something you would find in Texas, I'm just talking a small county fair.
Some of the kids at our fair, and a few surrounding counties, raise steers that were born on their farm, or maybe have to go out and buy a steer with what they can afford, some not able to afford much. Then they work their butts off all summer working with that steer, only to have someone who has gone out and spent $10,00-$20,000 on a steer and probably their parents spent more time with it than their kid (because who in their right mind would invest that kind of money in a steer and let a first time 4H'er raise it on their own).

This question comes up in some form or fashion on a regular basis.  My kids ALWAYS heard me say, "don't worry about what anyone else does, just concentrate on what you need to do".  Our goal was ALWAYS to exhibit one of God's creation to the best of our ability.  We just went out and beat those $$$$$$$ calves with those we raised.  No brag, just fact!

 

[angus showman]

From my experiences I didn't really buy really expensive heifers to show but I bought a three different ones that cost me 2/$4000 and 1/$5000  those same years I had heifers I spent $2500 and $3000 on and one I raised. The two years I showed the $4000 one the $2500 one kicked the crap out of her ever show I went to. I was getting smarter but final learned my lesson the third year we showed a $5000 one a $3000 one and one we raised the $3000 one won our state fair and the one we raised did well all summer. The $5000 one we showed at early shows then just made a cow out of her. I love to beat or stand in the ring with one I raised or paid $2500 for and be right there with all the high dollar ones that really pisses people off. Cheap quality cattle are out there just got to find them and work on them and make them great ones. All my show heifers made awesome cows just some of them paid for themselves faster than others. But to spend tons of money on a steer has never made sense to me they never would pay for themselves. Thats why I show heifers I don't mind spending some on a heifer than a steer cows will eventually pay for themselves. Just keep working eventually it will pay off like it does for us I can't begin to tell you how many extremely expensive angus heifer I have beat over the years its awesome.

 

[CM Cattle]

There aint nothing that pisses me off more than spoiled brats like that. Me and my sisters work our asses off all winter getting our calves ready then some little kids parents buy him a 10000 steer that he prob wont evan see untill the first show and beats me.

 

[JAGUR01]

Our County fair has about 80 head of market steers each year. We do have a "Bred and Fed" division (cattle bred and raised in the county) there allot of kids that enter this for the 500 dollar purse. They do the same for hogs, sheep, and goats but the purse is smaller.

We have Families that are competitive and put the time in with the animals to compete, we have 1 or 2 families that spend way to much to try and win, they do not always win and that is what makes it fun.

There kids who are doing the project for its original intent, working at producing a good market animal for a profit, and there are kids who spend the least amount they can to just make a proffit, do not care about what the customer gets. ( we have not had a steer not go through the auction in the last 5 years but that is a for a different post at a different time)

You have to decide what your intent is, is it to raise a market animal, or is it to compete, if it is to compete then there is usually more money and time involved.

If you want it to be an even playing field, your fair wound need to get a truck load of calves similar in weight and type, have kids draw numbers to see what order they pick from, (Wont be any complaining or crying here) Judge the finished product on ADG, appearance, and carcass. You would have to DNA each calf so when nit came back for the fair no one could claim that another competitor changed calves.

Our fair does this its called the steer pool. It helps put everyone on a level playing field.  We also have the 4-H Market Steer show.  It makes it nice for those kids that don't have the oppurtunity others may have, but have the interest.

 

[russfarm]

If you want it to be an even playing field, your fair wound need to get a truck load of calves similar in weight and type, have kids draw numbers to see what order they pick from, (Wont be any complaining or crying here) Judge the finished product on ADG, appearance, and carcass. You would have to DNA each calf so when nit came back for the fair no one could claim that another competitor changed calves.

I've heard that said a few times and I personally think it's a great idea.  Probably never going to happen in our area, but none the less, a fair proposal.
Again, I appreciate everyone's input.  It really helps seeing it from all sides. 

 

[forcheyhawk]

If you are willing to take the time and put the effort in to do your homework, you can find some bargains.  This past year I went through a pasture sale where I felt there were some real bargains.  I advised a local kid that doesn't have the resources necessary to buy the same quality of calves from a steer jock.  I told him to go take a look and let me know what he thought.  He came back and thought the calves were just average.  I said OK and didn't press the issue any further.  I later learned that one of the steers ended up at a big time steer jocks hands and sold for some major dollars after changing hands 3 times and traveling to 3 different states.  Long story short, you need to be the guy that can evaluate your own cattle and get to them before they've changed hands 5 times.  Now I guarantee that same kid would love to have that steer.  I'm guessing next year he'll listen a little closer.  <beer>   

 

[advocate]

If u aint first your last-Ricky Bobby