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Youth development big focus on Beef Expo Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Agri News staff writer
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. -- Youth development is big focus of Minnesota Beef Expo, which took place Oct. 18-21 at the state fairgrounds.
Families travel from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska to attend.
"What this whole show's about is youth development," said Greg Harder, the event's youth activities coordinator.
A group of families listened to Kyle Rozeboom, coach of the University of Minnesota Livestock Judging Team, as he led a youth workshop on selecting a show heifer and showmanship techniques in Warner Coliseum Oct. 19.
"I try to have an ideal in mind (when selecting show heifers)," he said.
Rozeboom pointed out specific points to look for on a heifer's body such as soundness, frame size, muscle and balance to judge if it has an ideal appearance and structure.
He added that it's important to select a heifer with a breed that will work best for you. Some breeds come with a higher price tag and popular breeds such as Angus and Hereford will have more competition in the show ring.
"Your job in showmanship is to show that calf to the best of its ability," he said. "You're not there to show yourself."
Members of the University of Minnesota Judging team demonstrated what to wear, how to act and how to maneuver cattle in the show ring.
"I think showmanship starts from day one, when you first get the calf home," said Rozeboom.
This includes teaching the animal to stand still during competition, he said. Rozeboom recommended training heifers to stand still for an hour, so that they feel comfortable staying still during the short time of a show.
He discussed techniques on setting the cow's feet, how to use a show stick and that a scotch comb should always be placed in a back pocket with the teeth of the comb facing toward you, to avoid rubbing against another person or animal.
He also encouraged competitors to get show ring-savvy by studying a judge's preferences in early classes of a competition so that when it's their turn to enter the ring, they have an idea of what the judge is looking for.
"It's fair game for them to do that," he said.
Rozeboom said he always likes it when competitors can get their cattle set up quickly in the ring and don't need to do a lot of circling during a show.
The workshop was sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council.
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