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Schell’s three months of preparing Stormy came down to Friday’s Winona County Fair 4-H dairy steer show.
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Pete Schell, 16, of Lewiston, Minn., uses electric clippers to carefully finish the tailhead of his Holstein named Stormy before the 4-H dairy steer show Thursday at the Winona County Fair in St. Charles, Minn. Schell has been active in 4-H for the past 11 years.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News) |
Schell didn’t look nervous, but the tension was palpable inside a large pole barn.
For Schell and many others growing up in Winona County, 4-H competitions are a rite of passage. Often, a family tradition passed on from generation to generation. Organizers and competitors say it’s not just about winning or becoming a farmer.
Preparation takes weeks, months and even years. Along the way, the hard work and heart required instills a strong moral fabric and forges new relationships at a time in society where many children are becoming further removed from farming.
“It’s the experience of being here,” said Carolyn Dingfelder, University of Minnesota Extension Service’s Winona County 4H program coordinator. “It’s all about kids having responsibility.”
Schell felt 4-H competitions have taught him about farming and life.
“It keeps me out of trouble,” said the 16-year-old from Lewiston, Minn., looking at his hands blackened with Holstein hair dye. “You get to meet new people and you get close to them and it kind of becomes a family.”
The 4-H competition at the fair covers several livestock breeds, including dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, swine, goats, poultry, llamas and rabbits. This year, 107 dairy cows competed, including Stormy.
About 100 livestock move onto the Minnesota County fair competitions. Judges award only one grand champion purple ribbon in each livestock category. It’s like the Super Bowl winner of livestock.
Schell said he’s done “decent” in the past, but he always aims for purple. Last year, he took home a purple ribbon with a leased Holstein named Regina.
Schell slept on hay bales next to Stormy on Thursday night and got up about 4:30 a.m. to prepare. He washed her down using laundry soap and blow dried her black-and-white speckled coat. He sprayed shine on her black spots and fly guard on her legs to keep her from kicking. He used baby wipes to clean her ears.
Judges scrutinize leg positions, Schell said. Front feet squared together, and the closest back leg to the judge should be slightly back from the other. Stormy does it with a flick of Schell’s wrist on her halter and small noises.
Dairy steer show judge Dave Kjome of Rochester, Minn., said he has been judging county fair 4-H shows about 50 years. The 72-year-old said he’s allotted about three minutes to make an assessment of a dairy cow — or what he called a quick “appraisal.” He looked for a clean, well-groomed cow with deep, open ribs.
Kjome questioned the competitors on the cows’ birthdates, how much time they’ve spent with the cow and who did the clipping. It’s not to trip the kids up, he said, but to determine how much work they put in.
“I’m not a Santa Claus, and I don’t give out ribbons to give out ribbons,” Kjome said. “I’ve seen tears. That’s why I try to encourage these kids for down the line.”
Herdsmenship judge Jim Hobbs of Dover, Minn., also scored competitors daily on the behind-the-scenes aspects. He looked for clean hay bedding and raked alleyways that weren’t an obstacle course of cow pies for visitors.
Nervous step-cousins Sabrina Macsurak and Courtney Schams of Ridgeway, Minn., said once they step in the show ring, they don’t care what ribbon they get. Sisters Leah and Maggie Brosig of Altura, Minn., agreed.
“The most important thing is that you try,” 12-year-old Maggie Brosig said.
Contact Amber Dulek at 507-453-3513 or amber.dulek@lee.net.
4-H members vie for the blue in the Winona County Fair show ring Friday.
Sesquicentennial recognition at the fair
Churches
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart successor of St. Thomas/St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
Cedar Valley Lutheran Church
Central United Methodist Church
First Baptist Church
First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
Fremont Presbyterian Church
Holy Trinity Catholic Church/Parish
Homer United Methodist Church
Lewiston Church of the Brethren
Minnesota City First Baptist Church
Rigeway/Witoka United Methodist Church
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
St. Martin’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
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Case IH
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Winona Daily News
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Bittner n Marg Family
Buck Family
Campbell Family
Roger Church Family
Henry Dabelstein Family
Erick Erickson Family
Peter Erpelding Descendants
Chauncey Fitch Family
La Vern Fritz Family
Gallien Family
Wilhelm, Theodore and Randy Haedtke Family
Heim-Brown Family
Joseph Anton Hilbe Family
Charlotte M. and Michael S. Hundty and Judi A. Wetzel Family
James Kiekbusch Family
King Family
Michael and Anna Koenig Family
Henry Lacher Family
John Lafky/John Fafka Family
Jonathan Smith and Mary (Ramer) Lewis Family
Halvor and Kari Myhre Family
Nahrgang Family
Neyers Family
Northrup Family
Oech Family
Papenfuss Family
Gene Pelowski Sr. Family
Raymond Pflughoeft Family
Rivers Family
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Nicholas Simon (Zeiman)/Le Suhr Family
Robert Daniel Steadman Family
Stoos Family
John Tschumper Family
Arndt Warnken, John Warnken, Helen Warnken Haedtke Family
Whetstone-Denzer Family
Vernon Zander Family
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Babcock/Peters/Hackbarth Farm
Ken Bergman Farm
Richard and Joanne Brown Farm
Wayne A. Christopherson Farm
Russell Church Farm
Don Corey Farm
David Delano, Susan Andrea and John Delano Farm
Audrey and Milton Ellinghuysen Farm
Bruce and Jan Harem Farm
Adeline Haxton Farm
Jerry Heim Farm
Everett W. and Beverly J. Hill Farm
Wirtland Holstein Farm
Ordell and Leann Jacobson Farm
Keller Farm
Kreidermacher Farm
Uriah Parker MacAnnay Farm
Marg Farm
Mastenbrook Farm
William J. Michaelis Farm
Arthur Moldenhauer Farm
Nilles Family Farm
Harold and Ruth Paulson Farm
Persons Farm
Ray Radatz-Thackeray Acres Farm
Roberton Farm
Victor and Sheriann Vail Family Farm
