A lamb beating incident at a major Oklahoma/Arkansas stock show in 1993 is captured on video for statewide news coverage. At least six out of the top ten steers at the 1994 Ohio State Fair face disqualification for drug residues and vegetable oil injections. The grand champion lamb at the same Ohio State Fair faces disqualification for anabolic steroid residue. A 1990 Texas study reveals that 25 percent of those surveyed said they knowingly used illegal drugs in preparing animals for show ring competition, and 37.5 percent had altered or knew someone who had altered ownership/registration papers on animals.

These are a few of the "headline-grabbing" incidents that suggest our junior livestock programs must come to grips with associated unethical activity. Just as important, is the more widespread bending and disregard for stock show rules at the local level.

How do we come to grips with the issue?

One concept must be understood before you tackle the subject. In the past, we have addressed the problem from an animal husbandry point of view. We implement rules regarding drug testing, slick-shearing, electronic identification, etc. Guess what? This is not strictly a question of animal husbandry. It is actually a three-pronged issue of animal husbandry, food safety, and the most neglected aspect—"people." No lasting progress will be made on this problem until it is addressed as a "people" issue.

Following are some suggestions to address this issue at the local level. Most of these suggestions are directed to the adults involved with the junior livestock program. Adults are where the problems with the program arise. Kids usually don’t plot the underhanded actions that get the headlines. So here are some suggestions to think about.

1. Take personal responsibility not to engage in unethical behavior. Not just for your benefit, but also for the benefit of the young people who look up to you—the youth who will be positively or negatively impressed by the actions of the adults in their lives.

 

2. Get a grip on the adult ego. Adult egos can be a prime source of ethical problems with youth development activities; whether we’re talking about junior livestock shows, little league baseball, or high school sports. The best 4-H or FFA parents are people who can keep their cool in all situations, and care for the well-being of other people’s kids as they do their own.

3. Don’t jump to conclusions. Sometimes we are quick to point a finger of suspicion at a county agent, ag teacher, or family just because they are regular winners at the stock show. Many times when people suspect that a family is underhanded, the truth is that the family may be more experienced at feeding and exhibiting livestock. Experienced families and supervisors have learned their lessons from the school of hard knocks; a process that first-year feeders, families, and supervisors must go through before they find success.

 

1. Expect high ethical standards from all adults involved in your project.

 

2. Just keep telling the truth. Many times the unethical cat is let out of the bag by a 4-H or FFA member who simply tells the truth. [Adults, let’s not ruin that honesty by asking kids to hide an unethical activity.]

1. Communicate the rules. Many times we don’t take the time to communicate to parents and members to promote an understanding of the rules and the consequences for ignoring those rules.

 

2. Be square and honest. While the vast majority of Extension agents and ag teachers are positive role models for kids, there are a few bad apples out there. To those few bad apples: you are on notice—we’re coming to get you. This is a high school ag teacher’s response to being under investigation for anabolic steroid use in an animal he supervised: "Just let them prove it!" We have no room for unscrupulous people like this affecting the attitudes of our young people. If we allow people to teach our young people to lie, cheat and steal—we deserve to have the program taken away or abolished.

 

3. Don’t look the other way. Many honest ag teachers and Extension agents feel they are doing no wrong when they choose to look the other way when they know of unethical activity in the projects they are responsible for. It is difficult sometimes to "do the right thing" and to ensure that your people "do the right thing." You just have to suck it up and do what’s right—it might not be pleasant, but you will sleep better at night.

 

4. Turn "jockeys" and professional fitters into an asset. If upstanding professional fitters and breeders will commit to serving as a bonafide livestock project leaders at the local level, everyone involved can benefit. However, this "true" leader must teach, not do the work, when it comes to assisting 4-H and FFA members with their livestock project animals. Under such leadership, the 4-H or FFA member should become self supportive—not dependent upon the breeder or fitter in feeding and preparation of the project animal. This bonafide leader must also assist all in the program who request help. If breeders, fitters, and groomers cannot live with this idea, they better pack their bags.

 

1. Insist on the implementation of a "zero-tolerance" policy. Local school boards, school administrators, Extension advisory boards, and parent organizations such as 4-H parent leaders and FFA booster clubs should lay down a policy of "zero tolerance" of unethical behavior from their county agents and ag teachers. Not only is it the "right thing to do," but it can also give honest agents and teachers added support when people put pressure on them to bend the rules.

 

2. Insist on local level ethics educational programs. On a regular and annual basis, conduct ethics education programs to the 4-H and FFA members. Contact your state and national 4-H and FFA offices for assistance in finding programs to address this topic.

 

1. Support your employees who "do the right thing." Enough said.

 

1. Don’t make a rule you cannot or are not willing to enforce.

 

2. Enforce the rules you have. When stock show officials have the attitude that it is the county agent’s and ag teacher’s job to police the rules of the show, the door has just been opened for the few unscrupulous adults involved in the program to have a "no-holds-barred" livestock show.

 

1. Discuss it. This issue has been a taboo subject in the past. Ignore it—and it will go away we always thought. Guess what? As long as the subject is "un-discussible" the unethical few involved in the program will have free run of the place by default. If we choose to openly and honestly discuss it, and educate people about it—the unethical few will be on the run.

 

2. This must be a unified effort. We must all take the step together to ensure that things are done right—and not tolerate those individuals who choose to disregard the rules.

 

3. Don’t forget the focus. We all need to remind ourselves of the ultimate purpose of the junior livestock program is to develop youth into productive adults. When we forget this simple fact, we can stray off course.

4. Last but certainly not least—get the clippers out of the hands of the professional fitters and groomers! No one except supervisors, parents and leaders should lay a hand on a junior livestock project animal in preparation for show. Let the professionals go to the open shows to practice their trade. But some say the child of a professional has an advantage over other exhibitors. Let’s look at it this way. If Joe Montana has a son that plays in a youth football league, does his kid have an advantage? Yes—but Joe Montana does not play the game for him. That’s the difference. The kids of professional fitters still need to play their own game.

Some shows have designated areas where all animals are dressed for show—no adults allowed. Leave the junior livestock shows to the kids. That means it is absolutely unacceptable for a trim job at the stock show (or any other time) to be included with the purchase of an animal.

 

Some people may think that we don’t have a problem. They say, "Let’s not dwell on the negative—let’s look at the positive out comes of the program." Guess what? If we don’t take care of the negative aspects of the program—we might not have a program in the future. When people say to only focus on the positive, that is the "sweep-it-under-the-rug" approach. And if you sweep things under the rug long enough, it gets very nasty when someone lifts up the rug.

There are positive actions happening with this issue:

¨ The Ohio State Fair is considering making the selection of a Grand Champion Project for each species. Selection will be based on a formula that includes the skill and knowledge of the exhibitor, showmanship and animal placement.

 

¨ Some shows have made progress in addressing cases of unethical activity by focusing on criminal laws such as forgery, attempted theft, and contributing to the deliquency of a minor. This approach puts some new teeth into "doing the right thing" at the junior livestock show.

¨ With an additional selection criteria in the show ring, Idaho has returned the focus of their lamb projects to education. That selection criteria—which would return livestock shows to practical animal agriculture and reek havoc on lamb show placings in most states—AVERAGE DAILY GAIN.

 

¨ The Florida State Fair implemented an "in state" bred rule where all junior steer projects must be purchased from an approved list of commercial breeders. 4-H and FFA members then participate in an animal selection process and educational activity at the beginning of their project. With this one rule change, Florida took back their show from the "jockeys" and professional fitters and returned to a truly educational approach.

 

¨ The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo has implemented "caps" on premiums paid for champion animals in order to address the exorbitant premiums paid in the past.

 

¨ Major livestock shows have enlisted the technical assistance and legal resources of the Food & Drug Administration to put even more teeth into stock show rules and food safety regulations. Now livestock shows can enforce their rules with far less chance of being on the receiving end of a lawsuit.

 

It should not be misunderstood—the junior livestock program is not being singled out and picked on. Sound ethical behavior is a constant challenge in all aspects of our lives—and the junior livestock program is not exempt from that challenge. Some administrators and supporters of the program have been in favor of addressing the issue of unethical activity at junior livestock shows in order to avoid possible negative publicity for the program. That is not the reason to address it. The reason to aggressively address this problem is for what we are teaching our young people. Simple as that.