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A Different Approach By Lisa Hinton The concept for this program was initiated in 1988 when the Fair Authority felt the steer show was a "no win" situation. - Exhibitors were paying high prices for "show
calves" with no expectations of making a profit. Somewhere along the line, the basic concept had been lost. With the cooperation of the University of Florida, the Cooperative Extension Service, the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, and allied industries, a different approach was designed. This program would not be possible without the total cooperation of all these groups. In addition it: - has eliminated "steer jockeys" and the
"little league syndrome." The goals of the new program were: - to provide top-quality
Florida feeder calves at market price, thus affording students a project
with a greater
degree of economic reality. These goals were pursued in the following steps: - Information is distributed in the spring describing the
futurity and requesting interested youth to send in a $50
registration fee by mid-June. This determines the number of calves
needed. We try to have at least 20 more quality calves than youth
participants. Over 60 Florida cattlemen have participated in this program and new producers are added every year. We have a fantastic network of volunteers who haul the calves from one end of Florida to the other. We have producers from Miami to the Panhandle with some steers coming from over 400 miles away, all hauled by volunteers. One of our steer committee members provides his facility where calves are collected three to six weeks prior to the sale for weaning and health conditioning. Upon arrival every calf goes through a thorough vaccination program designed by the University. We try to have all the calves on preconditioner a full 21 days prior to the calf sale. All the feed, vaccinations, ear tags, and supplies are donated. Again, the support of industry has been fantastic. We have two work days, again all done by volunteers, when all calves are: 1. ear tagged with a tamper-proof tag This is all done by our volunteer steer committee. The calves are then divided into sale pens that are as uniform as possible. After the calves are sorted, other members of the committee review the pens and make any adjustments deemed necessary for uniform distribution among the pens. On sale day the preregistered participants check in and randomly draw the pen from which they will select their calf after the seminars. The seminars are scheduled throughout the morning of the sale and are mandatory for all participants. The seminars cover topics such as: - record keeping We feel that an important aspect of the program is to have the same person presenting their seminar that will be judging the students at Fair time. This adds continuity and credibility to the seminars. Following the seminars lunch is served and time is allowed to study the calves in their pen. Students are given data sheets giving the producer, age in days, frame score, projected finished weight, average daily gain required to meet projected finished weight, feeding background, breed composition, and comments on disposition, etc. After reviewing the pen, the participants fill out a card with their first through first choices, more if they want. These cards are turned in to the office prior to the sale time. At sale time the cards for a pen are put into a box and mixed thoroughly. They are drawn out one at a time and the exhibitor gets the highest choice still available. If none of their first four choices is still available, they can take a fifth choice or go to the redraw. The redraw is a pool of all unselected calves from all pens at the end of the sale. The selection process has been a big part of the success of the program. Students are encouraged to look for a steer that fits their needs and everyone seems to be looking for something different. Over the years on the average, 64 percent of the students have gotten their first or second choice steer with only 9 percent of the students going into the redraw. Basically, everyone goes home happy. In fact, the first year we started this program the last calf drawn for the day out of the redraw pen was the grand champion of the show. When the students return for the Fair we have some other unique differences in the program. First, we put our money where our beliefs are. Where we used to pay $2,300 in premiums, we now pay over $14, 000 in premiums. These premiums are paid out for the educational aspects of the program. We have separate contests for:
- Showmanship
- Gain in weight Each category pays out $150 for first place and pays as far down as $50 for 17th place. The program was designed so that the proceeds from the donated steers would generate the funds to pay the premium dollars. We have gone to a three-judge system for our show and have been pleased with the results. Each of the three judges judge independently with the third judge serving as the referee. The judges turn in their placings which are posted on a board. The referee's placing resolves any discrepancy between the first two judges. The referee’s position rotates with each class. We do still have an auction. The steers selected for the auction are: - the winner of the Best All Around Exhibitor
(based on the total number of points earned throughout the project
- starting with 10 points for properly filling out their entry
form) The other steers that do not auction are paid 20 cents a pound over market price. The program was designed so that the 20 cents a pound is generated form the commission on the auctioned steers. The ultimate placing for the producers is the Premier Steer, which is selected on 60% carcass data and 40% live placing. This has become a very prestigious award which is in the form of a Legends statute and is presented at the Cattlemen’s Convention. We believe in this program. I don’t want to mislead you. It was controversial when we initiated it. A lot of people were against us, but we were confident that the ideals and standards the program supported were solid. We are now in our seventh year. Participation has now exceeded the number of students that participated in the old program. That in itself tells you "it works." Some of us believe that we need to take it one step further and eliminate the auction entirely because regardless of what you do the auction created inflated, unrealistic dollar values. But to eliminate the auction, you have to come up with alternative dollars to support the program. For 1997, our Youth Market Swine Committee has voted to totally eliminate their auction, selling all pigs at market price and again paying the students based on the points they have earned. We have developed an elaborate point system that awards the students from day one when they send in their entry. We have already converted our youth sheep program to a point system and all moneys are paid on this point system - again rewarding the students for their efforts. We believe this is the way to go in the future - base the financial incentives on what the students have put into the project, not on the merits of the animal. As an end result we will return our programs to an educational base free from ethical violations. Because the bottom line is, we’re raising kids - not animals! Scholastic Points System for Youth Swine Program To enhance the educational aspects of the Youth Swine Program, exhibitors will be awarded points on their accomplishments throughout the program. 1. Entry 1-10 points Scholastic Points System for youth Breeding Sheep Program To enhance the educational aspects for the Youth Breeding sheep Program, exhibitors will be awarded points on their accomplishments throughout the program. 1. Entry 0-10 points |