Taking a Market Steer to the County Fair

 

This year Desert Boy raised a steer for the county fair. The process started at the beginning of the year, selecting the steer and a backup. Then it was time to put the 4-H tag in the ear. The steer already weighed several hundred pounds, so it was necessary to put it in the chute to do that.

Desert Boy got some practice keeping records. 4-H requires turning in records each year, which is a good way for the kids to start learning some adulting skills.

As the weather got warmer, Desert Boy could go check on the steers in short sleeves. To help tame them, he took them grain.

Then he sat in a lawn chair and read so they would get more used to his smell.

Tying up the steers allowed Desert Boy and his cousin Kayli to get closer to them.

In May the steers were moved to a pen at cousin Kayli's house, where they moved in with some goats and horses. This helped tame them more, as well as walking the steers around the pen. Desert Boy rode his dirt bike a mile to go feed them every morning and evening, with walks getting more and more common as the fair approached. He also learned how to apply fly spray and pink eye medicine.

A couple days before the fair it was time for the steer to go to the beauty shop. He got his belly shaved.

Here's Uncle Tom explaining how to shave his chest.

Then it was time to shave his unibrow. Ha, not quite, but you get the idea.

When we took the steer to the fair, the first thing to do is weigh in. The steer weighed a whopping 1630 pounds. That made it the heaviest steer there. That's not the best, as max weight is 1400, so anything over that is donated, not sold, at the auction. It can also make for a lot of weight to manage. My husband wad determined not to let the steer get away.

 

 

 Desert Boy had lots of practice of keeping the pen neat and tidy.

 

 

Because of Covid, the fair schedule was different this year. Friday afternoon was showmanship. Desert Boy did okay, keeping his steer under control but not setting him up great. There were just two people in his class, so he got reserve grand champion.

Kayli also got a reserve grand for showmanship. That meant they both got to go back to the ring for round robin, where they would show a sheep, a pig, and a beef. Neither were too thrilled, but managed not to get trampled.

 

The next day started with a shower for the steer. By the way, the steer's name was "Surly" or "Sirly", short for Sirloin and a play on words to describe his temperament.

 

During the market class judging, Desert Boy did well controlling his steer.

The steer seemed to have gotten a little more used to his surroundings. On Friday everything was so new he was a bit nervous.

In the end, both Desert Boy and Kayli got blues for their steers.

 

The livestock auction is held Sunday afternoon. This is an opportunity to get some of the best-cared meat in the county. These kids take such good care of their animals.

Many thanks to Jose and Amy Noriega, who bought "Sirly." They will be enjoying a lot of sirloin steaks from him!

Desert Boy gets to keep all his ribbon money, but the auction money will go into his college account. He wasn't always thrilled about the amount of time it took to raise an animal, but he sure learned a lot. And at some point in the future, when he gets to use the money he made, I think he will look back at the experience and appreciate it.

More from the White Pine County Fair

I'm cleaning up photos and realized I still had a few things to post about! One is the County Fair. In addition to the animals the kids took to the fair, they also participated in some other events. One was the bicycle competition. It was their first year competing in it. They ride their bikes every day in summer, so it seemed like a natural.

Only four kids showed up, so they all won prizes.

Desert Boy also participated throughout the summer in 4-H Shooting Sports. This is a great program that teaches kids how to shoot safely. Archery was up first, and we had about seven kids from our club participate. (They had to do several rounds of shooting for all the kids to participate.)

They all did well. The next night was shooting, and we unfortunately missed that. But Desert Boy just bought his own .22 Crickett rifle, so he is so excited to participate this year.

Thursday night before the fair is always a bit chaotic as the kids do their homework and then try to round up their fair projects. (Our school schedule is a bit wonky with the fair schedule, as we don't follow the same schedule as the rest of the county, so the kids start school before the fair and then have to take a day off to go attend it.) Here's Desert Girl getting some flower arrangements ready.

On Friday, after turning in exhibits and being interviewed and making sure their animals are squared away, the kids do Skillathon. It's a matching quiz for each animal about body parts, breeds, and in some cases food they eat or what the cuts of meat they become are.

The kids aren't always fond of it because it's a little like school, but it's good for them to know this stuff, so I made Desert Boy do several. They're required to do the animal they show. They get ribbons (and thus money) for each one they do, so it's really a win-win.

And I think it makes them appreciate their animals more. They show their animals on Saturday morning for both market competition and showmanship.

After showing animals, the Exhibit Barn opens at about 10 am. There's always great excitement to see how they did. Desert Girl did great with her flower arrangements (it helped that very few kids enter).

She also did great with her photography.

Desert Boy entered more in the 4-H category than the Open Class category (there is some strategy to where you enter things if you want bigger ribbons). Here he is showing his grand champions for Nevada Weeds and Electricity.

And he got a reserve grand champion for his Western metalcraft project of a horseshoe coat rack.

The fair isn't all about the exhibits. The pie-eating contest is so exciting for the kids.

I remember when I was a kid and I enjoyed the blueberry pie contests at my local fair (blueberries were ripe just at fair time, yum!).

Since Desert Girl is still a Cloverbud, she's not old enough to compete in 4-H market lambs, but she was just fine to compete in Open Class, where she got a reserve grand champion. That made up for the tears of having an uncooperative lamb for showmanship.

She also brought a couple chickens to the fair, including her favorite, Bobblehead, an Ameracauna hen that laid green eggs.

We learned we still have more to learn about chickens.

But she still got a grand for Bobblehead! She was very happy. Bobblehead has since been eaten by an owl, and we are down to three chickens (from eight this summer), so we plan on getting some chicks this spring (which makes Desert Girl very happy).

I always make several trips through the Exhibit Hall to look at the exhibits. There are some amazing ones, and something different catches my eye each time. I don't know how to quilt, so am very impressed with these quilts and the talent of those who made them.

There are also different booths sent up. The White Pine County Farm Bureau had a game that the kids really enjoyed.

Sunday is the final day at the fair. It starts with the auction for the 4-H market animals. This is a big deal for the kids, as they have spent months raising their animals. (Steers have to be in possession by January 1, so it's a really long time with them!) Many of them use the money they earn for college or other education.

All of our club members did well, and we're really grateful to all the buyers. If you ever want to buy some meat that is raised with loving care, I highly recommend going to a 4-H auction. These are some of the best animals you can buy, as they are fed well, exercised daily, and get lots of personal attention.

A few more photos from the Exhibit Hall. Desert Girl entered a giant zucchini.

Here's Desert Girl's Knot Board. She had learned how to tie all sorts of knots during the summer and made a sampling of them. I thought it was one of the coolest exhibits, although I might be a little biased.

There were lots of weaved hot pads in the fair from our club, as the kids had made them during some meetings.

Following the fair, Desert Girl couldn't resist decorating her backpack with her ribbons! Now the kids are anxiously awaiting their ribbon checks, which is money they get to do what they want with. They're also starting to think about what they want to enter this year. It's a great way to learn more about things that aren't taught in school.

Desert Destination: The County Fair-Part Two

If you missed The County Fair-Part One, click here.

The White Pine County Fair has one exhibit hall, and when it opened its doors Saturday morning, it was full of people going in to see how their entries had done.

Of course I was no exception. Here's a flower arrangement I did with the theme of old bottles. We had no shortage around the ranch, and I figured with the interesting bottles I could keep the flowers simple.

I really enjoyed looking at all the talent on display. These model airplanes were quite impressive.

I've never tried making jewelry, but some folks who did had good results.

I thought this was a clever idea--a tractor made out of painted soda cans.

The crops section had lots of entries. It looked like many people are having good gardens this year.

A friend did this beautiful painting of a barn near her house and won reserve grand champion.

I could have spent a lot more time looking at all the exhibits. The handicrafts section with gorgeous quilts and afghans is always amazing--and a little intimidating. I don't think I would have the patience to be so exact. There were fewer baked goods than some years, but I saw that quite a few people were salivating over the donuts. 

On Sunday morning, the 4-H auction was held. For some kids, it's very difficult to part with the animal they've spent all summer caring for. For other kids, they don't have as much trouble, knowing that their animal is going to help them pay for their future college education. 

At the other end of the fairgrounds, an assortment of booths was set up, including the favorite classic "Texas Twister Drink," a sweetened drink with some fruit. After seeing so much deep fried food at other fairs, it's quite refreshing to see some healthier options!

If you look closely at this photo, you'll notice something has changed--the clothing! Sunday morning brought much cooler temperatures and scattered rainstorms. 

Entertainment played on a tarp-covered stage and included musical numbers, cowboy poetry, magic shows, and more.

Along with booths selling things, there were also informational booths, like this NOAA one that gave out information about weather and asked people to report strange weather events near their houses.

The Civil Air Patrol had a duck pond and fishing pond that Desert Boy liked. They also did some drills in the morning.

Here's Betsy MacFarlan, Executive Director of the Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition, a group who works to restore Great Basin landscapes. I sat at this booth for awhile and handed out free weed books, newsletters, and weed tattoos. It was fun seeing the fair from a different perspective--and when it rained, it was nice to be under cover!

It was fun visiting the fair. Congratulations to all the participants and organizers for a job well done! And thanks to the buyers, spectators, and everyone else involved for attending. A fair is a great way to see what a community is like.