Steer Show

The kids decided that the 4-H project would be steers.  I wasn't thrilled at first, but I'm glad they chose them now that it is all said and done.  The steers require a whole lot more work & money both.  I think they are a good project though - I know the girls learned a whole lot.  Shelby has never had a steer & it has been 3 years since Seth or Megan have had steers.  This will be a long post, but I think I'll put the kids stories on this blog too - I might be in trouble, but he kids have to write about their projects for part of the record book.  If you just want to see the pictures - scroll down to see the girls too.  So here goes
Seth first:

4-H Project Story

Seth Stoor

Wayan, ID

                Hello, my name is Seth Stoor.  I am 17 years old and looking forward to my senior year at Soda Springs High School. I live in Wayan, ID.  I travel 35 miles to school there and back every day. It is a blessing to live in the country.  I have 3 sisters, Mara, Megan and Shelby.  I am the second oldest in our family.  In school I participate in FFA, Cross Country, and Boy’s Basketball.  I will be our school’s FFA President next year.  I have been involved in FFA all four years of high school and I have had many great experiences in it.  My freshmen year I led our livestock judging team to first place at the state fair.  It was very exciting.  I do Cross Country for fun and I have enjoyed all the good times I have had and now I am looking forward to my final year in the sport.  I love basketball.  Last year, I completed my dream of being on the varsity team.  It was a blast.  We were able to make it to state and won 6^th place.  I am looking forward to next year to continue the success Soda Springs Boy’s Basketball has had and is having.

                This year, I chose steers for my 4-H project.  This is my ninth and final year in 4-H.  I have enjoyed participating in 4-H and am looking forward to my final year in this wonderful program.  I have competed in swine 5 out of the nine years but I am looking forward to my 4^th year competing in beef.  We live on a cattle ranch and this year our family had three steers added to our herd so this is why we decided to do show steers.  On November 28, 2009, we went to pick out the three that we thought looked the best.  We traded two of ours to my grandparents, because they had two that we thought were better steers.  I believe it was a good decision seeing the two we picked out now.

                During Christmas break, we decided to tie them up and halter break them.  It was a good time to break them because we were home for a stretch of 4 days.  On the 28^th, of December we went and tied them up.  Each morning and night me and my sisters walked them to water.  I had to help my sisters due to me having more strength to control them.  We also had to feed them each two flakes of hay morning and night.  That whole week we did this and by the end of the 4^th day they were halter broke.  We brought them home where we started to feed them grain.

                During this time, the naming process came.  I am not much for trying to pick out names so I let my sisters have all that fun.  Last year, we took pigs to the fair.  We had their names be after the fair board.  It brought laughs from everywhere and everyone came into the pig barn to see the “Pig Board”.  My sisters have turned it into a tradition, because this year we named our steers, Doyle, Kevin, and Lee.  It was their idea and I went with it.  These three men help out at the fair.  I don’t think we could have a fair without their help.  They are the three caribou county schools’ FFA Advisors.  My steer was dubbed the name Doyle.  I wonder if it will bring some laugh’s to the fair this year!

                We started to grain them right before weigh-in.  It was easy to make them tame after we started feeding them grain. We took them to weigh-in on March 13, 2010.  My steer was the biggest of the three.  He weighed 828.  We weighed and went right home so we did not stress the steers out too much. We started to increase their grain after weigh-in.  We thought if we pushed them in the cool they would grow more.  I did not want my steer to not make weight.

                We pushed them in small increments each week so the steers would not bloat.  In the past, we have had one steer bloat.  It was not a fun experience.  We had to get a tube and push it down the steer’s throat to let out the pressure.  My father said we were very close to having to puncture his side.  That would cause a scar and would not look good in the show.  My family has been very careful to not push our steer too much and too fast to make them bloat again.  Luckily this year, we were able to avoid that aspect of the steer project.

                My grandparents have a scale at their place here in Wayan.  My family can take our steers down any time we want to check their weight.  I like to know what my steer weighs so we do not get him too heavy.  Also, I like to know what he weighs to make sure he makes the minimum weight so I am able to show and sell him at the fair.  We took him down almost monthly between weigh in and the fair.  The only month we did not take him down to weigh was April.  This is because we still had snow so the scale was still frozen.  On May 16, 2010, we took the steers down for their first weight.  Doyle weighed 1085.  He had gained 257 pounds since weigh-in.  This weight was good because it was going to start to get hot.  Steers do not put on weight when it is hot as much as they can when it is cool.  On June 13, 2010, it was time for round 2.  He gained another 130 pounds.  His weight was now 1215.  This was the last weigh-in in Gray’s Lake.

                In July, they held livestock day camp.  I was not able to attend due to the fact that I had to work.  I wish I would have been able to go because in the past I have learned more about all the animals of the fair.  Also in July, they held the pre-show.  It was on July 20, 2010 to be exact. This is an excellent opportunity to bring your animal to the fairgrounds and practice showing him.  It helps you out a lot.  I believe it helps your animal out a bunch to be able to practice in the show arena before the fair.  I was lucky that they held it later in the day so I was able to attend.

               

At the pre-show, they also had a weigh-in so we could know their weight right before the fair.  Doyle weighed 1240.  He had only gained 25 pounds since our last weigh-in.  I think we were right in our decision to push our steers early because he did not gain weight when it was hot.  We were also able to ultrasound them.  It is fun too know what the meat is like on your animal.  For example, my steer’s rib eye is 10.58 inches.  I also found out that his average daily gain was 3.19lbs. per day.

                We were then able to show our steers to a judge.  This judge was able to give us pointers on what we need to do better.  I thought it was a good refresher for me.  It was really good for my youngest sister who is showing her steer for the first time.  I thought the pre-show was really good for everyone who was there.

                I have had a great experience this year in 4-h.  It has gone by really fast.  I cannot believe that fair is just around the corner.  I have enjoyed it all 9 years of doing a 4-H animal project.   I hope that fair goes by with no problems.  It will be fun.  Hopefully, our steers all show good and we are able to have a good experience. 

Shelby's next:

My 4-H Story

Hey there, my name is Shelby Stoor.  This is going to be my fourth year in the 4-H program.  This is the first year that I have done a steer instead of a pig.  I’ve had to learn about a whole new project.  It’s been an interesting year! 

                My steer is a Hereford-Angus cross.  We got him from one of my dad’s heifers.  We worked with them at my grandpa’s house for a month.  First, we had to run them through a squeeze shoot to get the halters on them.  We left them tied up and fed them hay.  We led them to water every night and morning.  After, they were used to the halters and to us, we were able to bring them home.

                After we got them home, we laid out straw so they wouldn’t get to cold at night.  They loved it!  We fed them some hay, until we could go to Walton’s and get the grain.  We gradually worked them into eating more and more grain.  By the last two months before fair, we were feeding the three steers about 70-75 lbs a day.  So each of them was getting about 25 pounds per day. 

                My steer had a bit of a problem gaining weight.  We had to push him and my sister’s steer the last month before fair.  Every afternoon we were home we had to kick my brother’s steer out and feed the other two steers two cans.  It helped my steer gain about 40 pounds.  He looks a lot better than he did before.

                We started to walk our steers every night we were home in the first week of July.  At first, we couldn’t go very far because their mouths would start to foam up and they didn’t want to move.  So we walked them a little farther every night.  Now, they’re a lot better and will go farther.

                I needed to learn how to show my steer.  So my brother showed me what to do.  I had to get my steer used to the showstick and holding his head up.  So I worked with him every night for a week so that I would know how to show him and he would be used to it.

                The first time we washed our steers to get them used to the water, they didn’t like it very much.  My dad would hose them down, while my sister came and put soap on them and would wash all the dirt from their hair.  It was really gross!  The soap turned dark brown from all the dirt!  Now, they don’t mind being washed and will just stand there until we are done.

                I have really enjoyed working on this project.  It has taught me a lot about being responsible and working hard to get things done.  I liked being able to spend the time with my family to work with our animals.             

Megan's too:

Megan Stoor

July 19, 2010

4-H Story

My Life with Lee

Have you ever drove through a small country town called Wayan ,or sometimes known as Grays Lake?  Well I am proud to say “that is where I live!”  Just imagine it!  You’re looking out your kitchen window and seeing the beautiful Caribou Mountain towering over your small family farm.  It is an amazing sight! 

Hey!  I am Megan Stoor and I am 14 years old.  I’m an incoming freshman at Soda Springs High School and this is my 5^th year doing 4-H.   My parents are Jim and Jill Stoor and I have three siblings which two of them are also involved in the 4-H program.   Their names are Mara (19), Seth (17) and Shelby (12).  This year has been very different and at times challenging without my older sister also doing a project with us.  In the past we have decided to do swine as our project so that was also a different experience!   Luckily we have done them once before so we had an idea of how to take care of them as a 4-H animal rather than a regular part of our cattle.

My family went over to my grandparent’s ranch where we run our cattle and picked out three steers on November 27.   My steer is a red Angus.  We tied him up on my Grandma and Grandpa Stoor’s ranch on December 28.  We went over and led our steers to water every day until we brought them home.                                        

We brought our steers home on December 31.  This year, as usual, we got our grain from Walton’s feed over in Montpelier, Idaho.   We buy it in 80 pound sacks and feed them morning and night.  At the beginning we started them out at about 3 pounds a day.  They were weighed twice in between when we brought them down and the pre-show.  At the county weigh-in on March 13 mine weighed seven hundred twenty one pounds.  We went to my grandparent’s house and weighed them in on May 16 and June 13.  The first time my steer weighed nine hundred sixty five pounds and then weighed 1104 the second time.  As the year went by we increased their amount of grain every day until we have gotten up to feeding our steers about twenty five pounds a day.  We also feed them alfalfa hay night and morning. Depending on how low their feeder is we give them about a quarter to a half a bale a feeding.

Every year my family names our animals and sometimes we name them after a certain group of people.  Last year we decided to name them after the fair board…this year we thought it was a good idea to name them after the FFA leaders in our county.  So my brother’s steer is Doyle (Soda Springs), my sisters is Kevin (Bancroft), and mine is Lee (Grace).   We are hoping to surprise them around fair time with our choice of names!

Livestock Day Camp was on July 7.  When we got there we went into the show barn and they taught us how to measure the amount of muscle in a piece of meat.  Then we went into the steer barn and we did a crossword puzzle about  minerals.  We then learned what types of minerals are required for animals to grow.  After we went back to the show barn and they taught us how to properly give injections to your animal.  I learned that there are many ways to give shots but you need to make sure you don’t give an animal a shot into a muscle right before slaughter  because it will hurt the meat.  Then it was back into the steer barn where we learned about a lot of things used on ranches that may be helpful to you with your animals.

                The preshow was on July 20.  We took our animals to the fair grounds and weighed them in.  My steer weighed 1140 pounds.  Then we took them into the barn and ultra sounded them.  Later we had a pre-showing for our animals and they showed us what the judge is going to want us to do.  We were also asked questions about our breed and how much we feed them a day.

                We brought them home that day and we have been working with our animals every day now trying to get them ready for the fair.  Every day we try to walk them down our road when it cools down and practice using the show sticks.  My steer is doing very good with the show stick and the leading so far.  We also been washing them and clipping their hair to have them ready for the show.   I have learned a lot during this! It takes a lot of hard work but I still think it is fun!

                I am so grateful for the five years I have been able to participate in the 4-H program.  It teaches you so many things.  Responsibility is one of the main things you learn.  You have to do the work or face a consequence.  I have also learned a great deal of patience during the process of taking care of an animal. If you aren’t patient with them it is going to make the work so much harder for you.  The work you have to do can be very hard and is most times very tiring.   I have learned how to work hard throughout this program.  I am so grateful for the 4-H program.   It will definitely help me later in life to be successful. 

I thought the kids all did a great job showing their steers.  Megan got reserve champion showman in the intermediate division - and came back for the champion showman round.  She ended up 5th place overall in showman - that's pretty great when you are competing with kids who have been showing for years.  The kids sold the steers on Friday morning and got a great price for their efforts.  Seth & Shelby both sold for $1900 & Megan sold for $1700.  Simplot bought Megan's, Idaho Ag-Credit bought Seth's, and A+ Construction bought Shelby's.  It's scary when you see how much they spent over the year, but the work ethic they learned is worth much more than the profit margin.
We had lots of fun watching the rodeo & pig wrestling, we walked a lot of miles, & ate tons of way unhealthy food.  Will we join 4-H next year?.... ask me today and you probably know the answer.  It's kind of like having a baby though - give it a few months and we forget all the tears & pain, so we will probably be back to the fair in 2011.