4-H and FFA commercial cattle grading contest June 14

The event will take place at the Stilwell Livestock Auction in Stilwell. The contest will begin with registration at 9 a.m., and prizes will be awarded in several categories.  No pre-registration is required and there is no registration fee. 

The contest is open to youngsters from Adair, Cherokee, Delaware and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma and Washington County, Arkansas.

Kent Barnes, area livestock specialist for the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service (OCES), explained that the contest will help youngsters learn how to describe different classes of beef cattle.

“They’ll be able to pick up a market report and understand exactly what’s meant by phrases such as ‘medium-framed, number one muscle steer’ or ‘boner cow,’” Barnes said.

Barnes credited Jim Loftin, president of the Cherokee County Cattlemen’s Association, as being the driving force bringing this event together.

Loftin said that there used to be a similar event in Stilwell years ago and he thought it would be a good idea to re-start it.  He presented the idea to his association, then to one in Adair County.

“Then we met with the 4-H and FFA folks from the counties adjacent to Adair County, those served by the livestock auction, and pulled together the prime players which became our organizational group,” Loftin said. “After that, we contacted Gary Bledsoe, market development coordinator with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry he agreed to teach the school and then judge the contest.”

Loftin said “everyone” chipped in, with each party focusing on the part they do best.

“The cattlemen associations are sponsoring the awards, the livestock auction is contributing the facility and labor and some of the cattle, local financing organizations have agreed to feed the youngsters, and we’ve just had a lot of cooperation and contributions to help create this opportunity for these youngsters,” Loftin said. “I have just been tickled to death with the relative ease with which we’ve been able to put this together.”

Bledsoe will start the day by offering a school about the USDA grading system, explaining it and providing some examples. Then there will be the contest for the youngsters, where prizes will be awarded.  Later that evening, a school will be offered for adults, without the contest.

“Our goal is to help our communities, organizations and youngsters to be better able to interpret and understand the USDA market reports that they read in the paper or hear on the radio,” Loftin said. “Some folks might hear the price of a 450-pound steer and figure that’s the price for any 450-pounder. But there’s a significant difference in the price offered for good animals than also-ran’s.”

Loftin said this type of information and education has a tremendous impact.

“To improve an industry you need to inject new ideas to change it, and younger folks are generally more receptive,” he said.  “From my own past experience, when I would come home from classes at OSU, my dad was always asking me about what I’d learned, looking for ideas that would help our program.”

If young people have new ideas to try, Loftin said their parents and grandparents might be more receptive to trying them.

“That’s how change takes place,” Loftin said. “If we can help young folks be more knowledgeable of the USDA grades and classifications, then I think everyone benefits.”

In a related event, Barnes will conduct a training session prior to the contest for 4-H leaders, FFA advisers and Cooperative Extension educators who will be training local youngsters. That event will take place at 3 p.m., May 16, at the Stilwell FFA Building.

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REPORTER/MEDIA CONTACT:
Ron Dahlgren
Agricultural Communications Services
144 Agriculture North
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-3737
Fax: 405-744-5739
E-Mail: ron.dahlgren@okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University, U. S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local governments cooperating.  Oklahoma State University in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures, and is an equal opportunity employer.