Des Moines County Fair Beef Weigh In
December 1 the Des Moines County Beef 4-H/FFA Exhibitors, and volunteers weighed in over 200 head of cattle. 197 head are eligible to participate at the Des Moines County Fair held July 24-31, 2013 at the county fairgrounds located in West Burlington, IA. 85 members from Des Moines County participated and 3 members from Henry County were present.
In order to be eligible to show at the Des Moines County Fair, Market Beef Animals, both market steers and market heifers, must be weighed and identified with a 4-H ear tag. Animals that were nominated to participate at the Iowa State Fair in August were indicated on the ID form and had a retinal image captured of each eye. Youth wishing to nominate animals for FFA State Fair and/ or the Ak-Sar-Ben state show in Nebraska had hair samples taken of their animals. Each youth was allowed to identify up to 15 head of market beef for the lead competition. This competition includes separate classes for market steers, market heifers and returning market bucket bottle calves. The Des Moines County Fair Board supplied the location and tags for county fair weigh in.
The 4-H beef project provides an opportunity for youth to learn basic animal care and management and recordkeeping skills. All animals are weighed in December so rate of gain can be calculated at the county fair. Rate of gain is one of the major factors in determining profitability in a beef enterprise.
Recent findings from Tufts University's 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development indicate that young people in 4-H are three times more likely to contribute to their communities than youth not participating in 4-H. Notably, the Tufts research discovered that the structured learning, encouragement, and adult mentoring that 4-H'ers receive play a vital role in helping them actively contribute to their communities. In Des Moines County, more than 300 4-H members and 200 volunteers are involved in 4‑H.
4-H youth are a living, breathing, culture-changing revolution for doing the right thing, breaking through obstacles and pushing our country forward by making a measurable difference right where they live. A big thank you goes out those who volunteered to help weigh, scan, record and clean up to make the beef weigh in run smoothly!
