County Show = Popularity Contest

[AAOK]

GONEWEST, I took your advice, and removed my posts on this thread. Sorry if I offended you or anyone else 

I will continue to post in Red. That has nothing to do with anything other than my signature.
Peace!

 

[Limiman12]

It's called 4-H meetings and ag class.  You show up and you find out stuff.  All of us started out somewhere.  When my single mom was getting me started, she didnt try to burn down the house.

Hold on there Chambero.  I have been in very close contact with my sons jr ffa advisor AND county 4H agent ALL YEAR.  Phone calls, visits, etc., etc.  Our jr ffa advisor who is also the ffa teacher is 64 and could care less about being "involved" in anything but planning his retirement cabin in Fredericksburg Tx as this is his last year.  And our county 4H rep has made it VERY obvious that if its not a pig or lamb, he's, quote, "out of his comfort zone". 
I agree with Telos, a little education for me would have been great.  The best education has been just to live through it.  I hear and see comment after comment about people who have done exactly what people are saying, sending letters, getting "involved", visiting businesses, etc., etc., etc., only to have the same thing that happened to us happen to them.  Thus, "p o p u l a r I t y  c o n t e s t".  If I'd of know this going in to it, I'd of never attended the county show in the first place.  I wish someone were there to inform us.  As I've said time and time again, I hear people over and over say they want to get participation up, get more kids involved, participation is steadily declining, etc., etc., etc.  Just sit back and read all these posts on here.  Whether you like my point or not, read what people are saying and read the differences.  HINT HINT.  THIS IS WHY PARTICIPATION IS DOWN.  Parents and kids who are NOT the popular, local working, contributing, involved people DON'T WANT TO GET IN THIS SAME TYPE OF MESS THAT YOU ARE READING HERE.

I am sorry, but I don't understand why you wouldn't have gone in the first place?  Your son and his calf got experience in the show ring.  Which will help if I am correct in my drawing from the discussion that he is going to show at more shows.....  How can experience showing not help?  How can any of the experience be bad.  This was NOT a terminal show right?  Your son took his calf through the sale, got some "bonus" money, put his calf on the trailer and brought it home......  I am sorry, but this thread living this long with you repeatedly coming back on saying how awful your son got "screwed"???????  Reality check, someone you don't know gave your son money and did not take possession of the animal they "bought" letting your son take it home to show and "sell" again.  Maybe he didn't get as much as others, but it sounds to me like you are bitching cause I walked up to you on the street and gave you a twenty for no reason because the guy next to me, who you don't know either gave the person next to you a fifty for cleaning his house.  I wouldn't be likely to hand you a twenty the next time, and neither would the guy next to me........    This entire thread needs to go away, I want to scream every time there is a new post because of the "entitlement" tone running through it.    If I want to bicker with people who feel entitled I will go on Facebook and bash Obama

 

[hevmando]

Matthew 20:1-16

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

 

[skeeter]

Matthew 20:1-16

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

And that, Bro. or Sister Hevmando, is probably the most RELEVANT RESPONSE to the op on this long, hopefully retiring soon, thread.  Thanks for the Bible lesson, good way to start my day.

 

[green8911]

Well, I felt compelled to put an end to this craziness and give everyone an update.  Yes, and update even to those make-believe pastors who give bible lessons about work but are too lazy to read the whole post where in NO WAY did I ever say I was ungrateful the bidder on my sons steer and in fact am very grateful.  Its the P R O C E S S that I'm bashing on.  So, enough about the nay sayers.  We had our first board meeting after the show yesterday morning and,,,,,,,,,,,you're now speaking to the treasurer of this years xxxxxx county livestock show and rodeo.  Yes, I took the good advise on here and used it.  (everyone else who feels compelled to bash people they don't know on a forum can kiss my xxxxxxx).  And yes, I AM a democrat and YES a fan of Obamacare.  But then, I'm sure the nay sayers on here with the deep pockets have no idea that teachers with families pay over $1000 per month for health insurance.  But that's another forum................  Thanks all.

 

[ai er]

Well, I felt compelled to put an end to this craziness and give everyone an update.  Yes, and update even to those make-believe pastors who give bible lessons about work but are too lazy to read the whole post where in NO WAY did I ever say I was ungrateful the bidder on my sons steer and in fact am very grateful.  Its the P R O C E S S that I'm bashing on.  So, enough about the nay sayers.  We had our first board meeting after the show yesterday morning and,,,,,,,,,,,you're now speaking to the treasurer of this years xxxxxx county livestock show and rodeo.  Yes, I took the good advise on here and used it.  (everyone else who feels compelled to bash people they don't know on a forum can kiss my xxxxxxx).  And yes, I AM a democrat and YES a fan of Obamacare.  But then, I'm sure the nay sayers on here with the deep pockets have no idea that teachers with families pay over $1000 per month for health insurance.  But that's anotherforum................  Thanks all.
[/quote





And we are all responsible for that too.

 

[JSchroeder]

you're now speaking to the treasurer of this years xxxxxx county livestock show and rodeo.

Glad to hear it.

I see you guys got my check.

 

[Pleasant Grove Farms]

lol....
I started on reading this whole thread wayyyyyy too late and I am not going to read through the great amount of posts on it,
but this very thing happened in our county about 15 years ago;
a parent was unhappy because his son, who had the res. champ hog got less at the premium sale than someone with a red ribbon
hog;  he was very angry about that, so with much maneuvering, he killed the sale.  We have NO livestock sale anymore.

facts on this situation as I see it, having lived it.
-once you get rid of your county sale you will NEVER get it back again.
-any money you get above market value for an animal is a GIFT to you from someone who didn't have to give you anything.
-the buyers do support their customers or their neighbors or their kids' friends, etc.; it's the buyer's choice as to who they support.
some of the kids who got the most money had grandpa buying theirs.
-that sale used to pay for our family's trip to the state fair....now we pay entirely for our whole trip; all because someone was unhappy that
they didn't get enough for their hog.

 

[aj]

I think we should have a Barrack Obama sale. Each kid is paid 20,000 dollars and the Rich people will pay for it.

 

[5PCC]

I have not been on steerplanet in months, and to be honest, I only scanned the responses to this, but...I have three kids- 13-year-old twins and a 10-year-old.

First, it DOES take a while to get known in your county, but you will! Unfortunately, like almost everything in life (including school, sports, employment, etc) there is a certain amount of politics involved in 4-H and showing. You may not like it, and neither do I, but that's life and no amount of complaining is going to change that. The 4-H sale (whether it is a premium only sale, or the buyer actually takes the animal) is about recognition/advertisement for the buyers and about giving back to patrons of their business over the past year. And sometimes, the buyer just simply wants to donate to the 4-H program, no matter whose steer he buys. Most generally, the buyers feel good about helping out a kid and it is an added bonus that their business gets recognition for that!

There is one boy who wins the steer show at our county fair regularly (maybe not every year, but close to it). He is a great kid and a very hard worker. For whatever reason, it appears that some people in the county don't care for his family. (Perhaps they are jealous?) His calf is NEVER the top selling the calf- not even close. There is another boy who shows barrows. His father is a local businessman. His barrow ALWAYS sells double and triple of any swine there, no matter what his placing was in the show!

My kids ALWAYS write letters, make phone calls, and may even visit buyers in person before the week of the fair. Usually these are businesses in which their dad patronizes, but sometimes we include other buyers as well. The kids tell the buyers (either in letter, by phone, or in person) who they are. They thank the buyers for supporting 4-H in their county, even if they have never purchased one of our steers. Then the kids ask the buyer to support 4-H again this year by coming to the annual sale and the kids request that they buyer bids on their steer, if they are able. Usually, this is the place where we buy feed for our steers, the place where we buy tractor parts, where we bank, etc. My husband buys and sells EVERY cow at a sale barn that is not even in our county, and he has done so for years. My kids always write a letter and/or call them. One of the sale barn owners ALWAYS makes a special point to come buy one of our steers! They have even made arrangements to send someone else to buy our steer when they were also having a sale that day. This year, they purchased two of our steers at the sale.

You might not be farmers, but you have to buy feed for your steer somewhere. Have your child write them a letter. Pay attention at the sale and learn who the buyers are. Someone from the sale committee can help you with this or someone from your extension center. It does not have to be someone that you do business with, but you might be surprised who is there buying. For example, the local bank, the local grocery store, etc. My kids even write letters to our State Representative and Senator, because they usually come to the sale. They usually buy a baked goods item, but my kids still write them letters.

If I notice a particular buyer before the sale starts (especially one that we have written a letter to), either my husband or I and the kids will go over to them, thank them for coming, and again ask that they bid on our steer if they can. I also pay attention to who bids while my child and their calf is in the sale ring. After the calf sales, my husband or I and that child go to the buyer and thank them. We also go to everyone who bid on the calf and thank them for bidding on it. We definitely send the buyer a thank-you note in the mail after the sale.

Around here, everyone puts little "ads" in the local newspaper, also thanking each buyer. Again, this is recognition. We have a local business that makes really nice wooden plaques with engraved brass plates. They are really nice and not that expensive. I purchased a plaque for each business that bought one of our steers this year, because my husband has long-time relationships with all each buyer. They have the 4-H clover on them, the year, they business name, and my child's name. They say something like "Thank you for purchasing my market steer and thank you for supporting the 4-H program." The business then hung the plaque on their wall for all of their customers to see.

Good luck to you!

 

[5PCC]

By the way...our sale is set up like this...

First to sale-Grand Champion
Second to sale-Reserve Champion
Third- Champion Rate of Gain
Then all the BLUE ribbon entries are thrown into a hat and drawn out.
Then all the RED ribbon entries.
Then the WHITE ribbon entries, although I can't remember having a white ribbon in a while.
You would think that it would be best to sale towards to the top of the sale, but actually...the animals sell better towards the middle and then taper off a bit again at the very end. This is a trend that is seen most years (with a few exceptions).

 

[Limiman12]

And yes, I AM a democrat and YES a fan of Obamacare.  But then, I'm sure the nay sayers on here with the deep pockets have no idea that teachers with families pay over $1000 per month for health insurance.  But that's another forum................  Thanks all.

I thought Obamacare was gonna fix all that and save everyone so much money......

 

[RyanChandler]

And yes, I AM a democrat and YES a fan of Obamacare.  But then, I'm sure the nay sayers on here with the deep pockets have no idea that teachers with families pay over $1000 per month for health insurance.  But that's another forum................  Thanks all.

I thought Obamacare was gonna fix all that and save everyone so much money......

First you have to understand how risk pooling works.  Lesson #1 - Fill in the blank.  As the number of enrollees increases, premiums ________. 

 

[aj]

Obama got it down to 2,000 dollars a month. (clapping)

 

[RyanChandler]

Obama got it down to 2,000 dollars a month. (clapping)

If you can find the same level of coverage in the private mkt for a less expensive rate, then go w/ it! The exchange was created for those who couldn't. 

 

[aj]

If you like your ######........you can keep your######..........steer planet grin.