Mr. Scott Nash
University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System

Let me be direct as I begin this morning. A father feeding clenbuterol to his ten year old daughter’s steer resulting in her being banned from the show for life and forfeiting the money is excessive adult involvement. A steer monkey, a term we learned last year from John Dimick from Oregon, referring to an individual who pumps a steer with air, oil, water, masks the disposition or movement of the animal or uses other manipulative fitting techniques is excessive adult involvement.

Anyone can realize this type of adult participation as being excessive. What about the involvement that is harder to define?

The big issue many stock shows are dealing with is how to handle adult involvement. My opinion on this matter is youth and parents should work together. When children are young the parents will need to be there to assist, teach and do some things for safety reasons. Parents must remember not to do everything. As the knowledge and skill level of the youth increases, duties change. It is important that youth have a good experience. In my opinion the youth livestock program is family oriented. When possible, families need to work together.

When Jeff and I were discussing how I handled my role as a county agent the first thing he said was, "Do you go around and trim all of the kid’s steers in your county before they come to the fair?" I laughed because I barely have time to help my own children.

As an extension agent I hold at least one fitting and showmanship county clinic and one district clinic yearly. Others are held as the need arises. I have been known to go out and help young people get started and have been called to help them "fix" their steer when they have taken too much hair off. The only way I know to fix this problem is to let it grow back. But as you know when this happens the fair is only two or three days away. This is a great teaching opportunity. I try to show the young person what they should have done differently and ask them how they can improve next time. Trimming a steer for a young person takes away educational opportunities. They don’t get to learn the feel of the clippers or just how fast the hair will come off.

I remember asking my county agent for advice on selection and nutrition. I remember as a youth asking several people what the proper clipping method was. I had 4-H leaders and friends come over to give my family and me pointers on methods and techniques. We read articles and traveled to different livestock shows. It didn’t take long before we had a show box filled with wax, glycerin bars, oils, hair nets, hair spray, a blower and all the other "good stuff" to groom with. As times changed we used the new and improved supplies. Today we couldn’t get along without adhesive, touch up and Hocus Pocus.

When my sisters and I were young we traveled as a family, meeting people and selecting steers. My parents helped us but they didn’t do everything. By the time we were teens we didn’t want our parents to do the fitting. We sure didn’t let them run the blower, especially mom.

I remember sitting down with my dad figuring feed costs and paying the bills accumulated from project animals. I didn’t always think it was fair to use most of my steer check to pay bills. If that is not real life, I don’t know what is.

I never had someone else fit my steer at a show. I didn’t have a champion until I was sixteen. That wasn’t the most important result from my 4-H experience but it was an enjoyable one. I gained valuable life skills of responsibility, hard work, perseverance and honesty.

My parents always taught me to congratulate the winner and thank the judge. I remember not wanting to provide daily care for my animals. Now I have kids the same way. What a great example my parents were and still are.

My wife and I are trying to teach our children these same principles. When we get an animal ready for the show each person in the family has a duty and we work together. Even though my children are young (eleven and nine) they are beginning to understand the importance of caring for their animals. They like to eat and so do their animals. The kids have figured out the more time they spend with their animals the better the animals respond. They work to improve their skills by participating in team fitting and showmanship contests or helping at shows and sales.

Our oldest son owned and exhibited the national champion female at the Charolais Jr. National in Ft. Worth before he turned nine. He has won the showmanship contest at the national show. It has been a challenge to educate him to the importance of sportsmanship. He does not take losing real well. This year at the state fair he did not win the showmanship contest but did a great job. He was upset with the judge. We used this opportunity to teach sportsmanship.

In the quality portion of the show his steer was in a class with several good steers. He ended up third in the class with a blue ribbon. I was pleased, but he came out in tears. He is a competitor. He always feels like he has the opportunity to win. He has to learn how to deal with the disappointment of losing.

My daughter was in the next class with her first steer and the best steer of my two children. As a family we had discussed how we are a team and we support each other. Once I got my son calmed down he came over to help his sister. He gave her some tips and held her steer to give her a rest after she won her class. They worked together and I saw them become a little closer at least for a few minutes. He was genuinely happy when his sister had grand champion. This means more to my wife and me than any purple ribbon they bring home

The opportunity to teach money management came when the checks came. I cashed the checks and brought the money home. We all sat down at the table. We went through the list of expenses, feed, supplies, etc. While this was happening my daughter stopped me and said, "Dad your taking all of

our money!" I asked a few questions and explained the whole process again. They came to understand something about how fast money comes and goes.

The hardest thing for me is to not go do the work for a young person who really needs help. I have to step back, advise and instruct. Getting back to the discussion Jeff and I were having, I told him I didn’t have time to clip all the county projects. If an agent or ag teacher does have the time they need to come to Idaho. We are short handed.

If you have co-workers grooming youth project animals, I would suggest they read their job description. I would almost guarantee grooming animals for the fair is not in there.

It is important as educators that we provide every opportunity to teach youth and their parents about selection, nutrition, grooming, proper trends and fads. This can be done through workshops, clinics, home visits, etc. Most weigh-in days are well in advance of fair dates. This is an excellent time to address key issues and concerns pertaining to project animals. If we do our job to educate participants prior to the fair, then the activities, events and shows will be more enjoyable and less stressful for everyone.

How do we handle those adults who treat youth projects as their own?

I had the opportunity to handle a situation at the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot, Idaho. A

4-H parent came to me and asked if I had a stomach pump to fill his son’s steer with water so he would make weight. I am the extension agent responsible for the youth market animal program at the fair. This gentlemen, whom I had become acquainted over the past year, did not realize this. I explained to him that I wasn’t the best person to be talking to about this situation. He and I had a nice discussion. The steer was not filled and did not make weight. He was not mad because he realized what he intended to do was unethical.

Later in the week another individual was trimming on a steer he had sold to a youth. I asked the father if this individual was the parent or 4-H leader? He replied it was the breeder of the animal. I asked him if that was the right thing to be doing. The father got upset with me and now I’m a sorry son-of-a-gun.

As was discussed previously, my eleven year-old son and nine year-old daughter each took a steer to the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot. We worked together and prepared them for the show, as we always do. Later in the day they came up to me and asked, "why didn’t you kick so-and-so out of the show?" They then proceeded to tell me that they saw this person, whom they know well, add a large amount of hair to his son’s steer to make him look better in certain areas. I explained that this was wrong but I didn’t see him do it. "But we did dad," they said in unison. Them witnessing this event was an ideal teaching opportunity. I told them I would do my best to make sure it didn’t happen again. I also told them some people just don’t follow rules. I asked them how it felt to do the right thing with their steers. They said they felt good and were glad we worked together. This situation would have been more difficult, had my children not understood ethical practices (right and wrong).

Rules and enforcement of rules is a controversy at many livestock shows. We are facing this issue the Eastern Idaho State Fair. Some of the folks bending and breaking the rules were committee chairman and committee members. We have had to start over by redefining roles, writing new rules and replacing committee members. It is hard to enforce the rules when there is little or no committee support. The key is this situation has been making sure everyone understands the rules and is willing to abide by them.

The National Western Stock Show in Denver took some pretty drastic measures to get rid of excessive adult participation at their show. I commend them for their efforts. As a county agent I am not the National Western. I cannot control and police participants as extensively as they can. I can do my best to educate.

One agent in Idaho enforced the rules of the 4-H program in his county and now he is in a lawsuit. It’s sad to say but we live a society where people have the attitude "if things don’t go my way, I’ll take you to court!" We have to develop a thick hide or be prepared to lose a lot of hide when we do enforce rules.

Our role as county agents and ag teachers is to be in tune with what is going on, educate, instruct and set the proper example. People are always going to find ways around rules and regulations. That is a shame. They are hurting themselves and those following their example. Hopefully we can continue to be proactive to get a handle on excessive adult involvement.

Imagine you are eight years old and attending your first state fair. Think about the excitement of going to the midway. You can smell the cotton candy. You can see children and parents laughing as they ride the rides and play the games. You can’t decide what to do first. You see the game where the softball is tossed in the milk can and the big stuffed animal you will win. You tell your dad this is the game. He pays the money and receives the ball. You can hardly wait to toss the ball. Then dad says, "I will win the prize for you" and he tosses the ball. How would you feel? Apply this situation to adult involvement in youth livestock projects.

In closing, I would like to paraphrase Dr. Randy Perry from the last symposium. We must remember and never forget that the livestock and livestock shows are just mechanisms to help develop and educate young people. The livestock are either going to be slaughtered or become breeding animals. The stock shows come and go but the kids live with what they learn forever.

As educators it is our responsibility to provide healthy, positive experiences for young people.