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Published on 03/04/04

Freezing in a barn a learning time in 4-H, FFA

By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia

I don't drink coffee at night. But I did at the State Livestock Show at the Georgia National Fairground in Perry, Ga.

That was the night north Georgia got snow, west Georgia got mixed snow and sleet and Perry got ice-cold rain. Even with thermal underwear, sweater, insulated coat, rain parka and a hat on, I thought I was going to freeze to death.

But I wasn't the only one freezing.

Almost 2,000 4-H Club and FFA members from all over Georgia were at the livestock show from Wednesday through Sunday. They were showing some beautiful cattle, sheep and, if you can call a hog beautiful, hogs.

And they were all cold.

Chilly job

My job Wednesday night was helping check in more than 600 breeding heifers. I spent about 3 hours sitting in a huge metal barn, checking the registration papers and ear tattoos of black Angus, red Angus, Charolais and Hereford show cattle. Other cattle breeds were checked in the same way.

If the tattoo number on the registration paper matched the number in the heifer's ear and the registration paper and entry form matched, the 4-H or FFA member owning that heifer got a contestant number to compete in the breeding heifer show on Thursday and Friday.

In all, 279 steers, 221 dairy heifers, 77 breeding ewes, and 1,300 hogs were checked into the show on Wednesday and Thursday.

In spite of the cold rain, these 4-H and FFA members kept giving their animals the best of care through the weekend. Even the rain and mud didn't stop them from looking after them.

Valuable lessons

That kind of responsibility is part of the learning process in this project. Kids learn to faithfully provide for the animals in their care, even when conditions make that hard. Training animals for the show teaches them the value of consistency and persistence, too. And the fact that the kids have to look after another living creature teaches them that we, as humans, are responsible for this world we live in. They learn to be good stewards of the earth.

Kids learn to get along with each other, too. They pitch in and help each other out, partly because they learn that getting beat is part of growing up. Their time to win will come, even if it isn't in the show ring.

Livestock projects teach kids the kinds of things that will help keep this world a nice place for their kids to live.

My hat's off to all of these young people in the livestock project. Well, except for that Wednesday night in that cold barn.

(Mike Isbell is the Heard County Extension Coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)

Mike Isbell is the Heard County extension coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Mike Isbell
Mark Williams
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