This is a response to a similar post that I wrote about a year ago. Since you are talking about a county fair, I feel that it really applies.
One thing that I would like to add to this......find out where these families are buying these expensive steers. NOW, call this traders competitor. Do not think for a second that these traders aren't competitive. GONEWEST points out something really good in his post. "Off Weight" or even Off Age calves are hard to sell, so they can be cheap...but they can be just as good as anything else out there. If you think that a trader wouldn't love to knock off one of his competitors at YOUR county fair, you are fooling yourself. "Oh, you mean that one that So and So stuck into those people for $28,000.......ya, we beat him with a $2,800 one I sold to some nice people down the road from them". GONEWEST is right...you don't make a $30k steer out of a $2k steer, BUT......you just never know the whole story.
I understand exactly what you are getting at. You want to be competitive but you either don't want to or can't spend the kind of money it takes to buy the great one. I sympathize with you. It is a money game, no question about it.
There are some things that you can do to gain an edge.
1. Buy your calves LATE. Don't get out there and try to compete with the big money that is being thrown around during peak season. I know, you think that all of the good ones will be gone. They won't. I guarantee it. There are steers that are slow starters, there are steers that don't get paid for, and there are steers that traders pick up late. Wait until the very last possible moment that you can. Everyone will have bought their steers already. PLUS, you don't have to feed them during that interim 4 months. And the older the calves are, the less they change. Nobody talks about the $10,000 steer that never makes it to a show because he comes unwound when he hits 650#. LATE MEANS LATE!!!!!
2. Don't be afraid of the "big name" steer traders. I understand that they sell $30,000 steers. I know all of that. But they also sell $2,500 steers, and A LOT of them. If you hit one of those guys late, and tell them what you have to spend, they will exceed your expectations. Some of these guys sell 400-500 show steers a year. When they "expire", the next stop is the sale barn. I don't know what part of the country you are in, but you will be surprised if you just call them.
3. Stay away from prospect type steers. The expensive steers are expensive because they can win as feeder calves, prospects, progress, and fat steers. They are the complete package. Buy fat steer types. They will be competitive enough at the early shows, and you can sneak up on someone late if you do a good job.
4. Buy genetically good haired steers. If you can put hair on a fat steer, you will have NO problem finding someone to help you clip that calf. Everyone loves to help on a good haired steer.
5. Feed your steer like a fat steer. Don't drag him all over 4 states to 20 shows. Take him out once or twice early, and maybe once about 60 days before your fat show. NOTHING covers up flaws like a nice even coat of fat cover. Add a little hair, clip a little "pretty" into him, and you will be surprised.
6. Buy an easy feeding steer. If you buy a big bellied, chubby steer, everything else will just kind of fall into place. You can get him fat early, and keep him that way all the way through. He will never have to be on a super "hot" ration so hair growth will come easier, and they are just cheaper to feed and maintain.
7. Buy one that can move. Make sure he is loose moving, and he has to fill his tracks when he weighs 800# or he absolutely will not when he weighs #1300. A super sound steer absolutely can beat a more powerful steer in a fat show, especially if you can put the hair on him. Some judges are really hung up on movement, and you can "out sound" one of those monster boned and overpowered ones with just plain functionality. Movement combined with these other variables CAN be all the justification that a judge needs.
8. WORK.
Just my opinion. Maybe some of this will help you. Hang in there