Cash Griffey with his calf took home the Grand Champion ribbon
The 2019 Escambia County (Ala.) Steer and Heifer Show last Thursday, March 7, at Perdido River Farms in Atmore showcased the calf-wrangling and showmanship skills of local youth ages 9 to 19 and brought some premium dollars for steers and top awards for both steers and heifers.
Cash Griffey of Huxford Elementary took the Grand Champion and County Bred Champion. Reserve Champion went to Colbie English. Supreme Champion Heifer went to Rowdy Rutherford while Reserve Champion Heifer was Maevree McElhaney. Ashley Bradley took County Bred Champion Heifer. There were also three classes of showmanship, three classes of heifers and six steer weight classes judges and awarded. Kylee Langham was awarded the Denver Shuttleworth Memorial Award and received a check for $250.
"There were 38 students this year who showed in the show," said Escambia County Extension Coordinator Anthony Wiggins. "Each student picked the calf they wanted at the end of last summer. The calves come from various areas around the county and around the state. Then we have a weigh-in mid-September. Each students has the option for the calf show to show two steers and two heifers. There may have been a couple that showed more than one steer. We had a couple who showed more than one heifer. A couple had one steer and one heifer, so there was a mix."
Wiggins said the county extension sets up a showmanship clinic that shows them how to set their animal up, groom them, get them show-ready.
"Not all the cows are for sale," he said. "Showmanship is really for the kids and how well they handle the animal. They don't sell heifers. They keep those for breeding purposes. The steers are a terminal product. They are sold to be eaten."
Wiggins said they have a premium sale, where everything is sold for at least $3 a pound, with some selling as high as $4.10 a pound. He said the businesses that support program pay to support the students and that market price is probably $1.20 per pound.
"There are what we refer to as grain-finished cattle, which makes then ready for market," he said.
Wiggins said the main purpose of the 4-H program is to provide education about farming and agriculture for the students. The extension has had six projects and the show and sale are final part of project. "We are educating the future farmers about raising food and raising beef," said Wiggins. "It's something they may never use again, or they may make it into a career."
