Department B – Beef

A huge thank you goes to Enders & Shirley for their sponsorship of our Beef Barn this year.  

BEEF

Showmanship August 16, 2023 at 12:30 pm in Show Barn

Open & Breeding Show half hour after showmanship ends

Market Beef Show 6 pm

Sponsored by Enders & Shirley in 2023

1. All open show entries due to the Beef Chairman or online by July 31st of the year before the show. There will be a $5.00 ENTRY FEE for all exhibits in the OPEN BREEDING Show.  Registration papers to be shown upon arrival at Fairgrounds, along with entry fee payment. All animals in 4-H/FFA heifer classes may compete in OPEN HEIFER Classes for an entry fee of $5.00 per head.
2. Tie-out for beef cattle shall be 8:00 p.m. All trailers must be parked in designated areas.  Trailers should not be parked along the gravel road leading in and out of the livestock barn area.
3. If a 4-H or FFA exhibitor has two (2) animals in the same class, only another 4-H/FFA Junior Beef Exhibitor in the current year at the Clarke County Fair may show one of them.
4. All bulls born before January 1 of the year of the show must have a bull ring or nose lead in their nose at all times while on the fairgrounds. All bulls must be registered.
5. All bedding and manure shall be placed in designated areas. All bedding in barns and tie outs must be cleaned out by the exhibitor the end of the fair clean-up day.  Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of premiums.
6. To show in specific breed classes, animals must have breed registration papers, be 50% or greater of that breed, and may only be shown in one Breed division. Steer certification certificates will not be accepted.
7. The Junior Heifer Open Show is open to all 4-H/FFA members of Clarke County and surrounding counties.
8. All beef projects must be in possession and ownership of the exhibiting 4-H/FFA member by the December weigh-in.
9.  All beef entries must be in place no later than 12:00 noon Fair Sunday.
10.  All heifers exhibited by 4-H/FFA members must be owned and registered by and in care of the exhibitor by the following dates shown in the schedule below:

Born	Owned & In Care of Exhibitor by:	Registered in Exhibitors Name by:
Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2021	April  1, 2023	May 1, 2023
Jan. 1- April 30, 2022	April 1, 2023	May 1, 2023
May 1- Aug. 31, 2022	April 1, 2023	May 1, 2023
Sept. 1- Dec. 31, 2022	April 1, 2023	May 1, 2023

 

11. Showmanship classes will be divided into Novice, Junior, Intermediate and Senior. Novice Showmen will be those youth who have not shown beef as a 4-H/FFA project previously at the Clarke County Fair and are the age of 12 or under as of September 30, 2023. Junior Showman will be those exhibitors who will be between 9 and 12 years of age as of September 30, 2023. Intermediate showmen will be those exhibitors who will be between 13 and 15 years of age as of September 30, 2023 and Senior Showmen are those exhibitors who will be between 16 and 19 years of age as of September 30, 2023.

12. The Junior Beef Show is open only to Clarke County 4-H/FFA members enrolled in 4-H/FFA projects by December 1 of the current project year.  All 4-H/FFA market beef entries must be in the care and remain in the ownership and care of the 4-H/FFA member making the exhibit by December 1 of the current project year. Entries are accepted in good faith that feeding, management, and care of the animals have been conducted as part of 4-H/FFA projects by the exhibitor. If an animal is not housed on property owned or rented by an immediate family, then the exhibitor must notify the Livestock Committee in writing and explain why to receive committee approval. From time of purchase, the member must have personally managed, cared for, and fed the project animal he/she enters, except in the case of illness or other circumstances beyond the owner’s control and not covering a total period of more than 30 days. All exceptions made shall be determined by the Beef Committee.

13. All registered heifers must meet the minimum requirements of their breed associations. Registration papers for each heifer must be brought to the show and checked by one of the show’s chairmen and all pending pages will not be accepted. Tattoos must match registration papers. A copy of registration papers must accompany entry forms.

14. In order to participate in the breeding show; heifers must not be registered with any breed association.  Both straight bred and crossbred heifers are acceptable in the junior and open commercial beef heifer shows.

15. Cow-calf exhibits are not eligible for the champion female class.

16. All 4-H/FFA market beef projects must be tagged to be eligible for the Clarke County Fair.

17. During the fair, market beef entries for open and junior competition will be graded by the Wednesday of the fair. The beef cattle committee will determine the classes by breed and by weight within each breed if necessary. Each breed will exhibit separately. Classes will also be established for British Cross and Continental Cross entries. All entries grading select minus will be shown in a feeder class near the conclusion of the breeding show in the afternoon and will not be eligible for the sale.  Beginning with the 2024 show season; market beef will be shown by weight only.

18.  Market heifers may be shown in the market beef show.  Market heifer entries must be spayed by a licensed veterinarian and proof of spaying must be provided to the beef committee before December weigh in.  

19.  Animals unacceptable because of lack of quality, lack of finish, or other defects including being a stag/free martin will not be sold or processed through the fair.  They may be shown in a prospect class; if the exhibitor would like.

20. Each junior exhibitor may show two (2) market beef entries in the Junior Beef Show, and they can sell both entries in the sale provided they meet sale requirements. One dollar ($1.00) per head may be deducted from the sale price for the beef referendum.

21. The Grand Champion and the Reserve Grand Champion of the live show must be sold.

22. All market beef entries eligible to be sold must weigh at least 900 pounds and grade select or better. NOTE: Entries grading select minus will not sell. Any questions will be referred to the Beef Committee.

23. During the judging and selling of the beef entries, only exhibitors and members of the Beef Committee or someone designated by the committee may enter the show ring or sale ring.

24. Exhibitors who sell their entries are expected to care for them until they are removed from the grounds.

25. Market entries shown in the Open Market Beef Class are NOT eligible to be shown in the Junior Market Beef Class or sold in the 4-H/FFA Youth Livestock Show.

26. All exhibitors will be required to participate in the Showmanship Show using their own steer or heifer.

27. The Beef Showmanship classes are open only to Clarke County 4-H/FFA exhibitors.

28. There will be no fitting for the 4-H/FFA Beef Showmanship competition. Animals will be cleaned and brushed down only. No prize money will be awarded to 4-H/FFA members in Clarke County unless they participate in the beef showmanship classes.

29. The following fitting practices/products are prohibited regardless of breed or division:  a. Use of paints, paint products and colored adhesives or other color altering products  b . The addition of any hair or hair like substances, including false tail heads and false polls  c. The cutting, tearing or gluing of the hide or underneath the hide or removal of tissue in an attempt to alter the shape of the animal  d. The injection of any gas, solid or liquid under the hide to alter the normal conformation 

30. Any product/solutions/liquids administered internally or externally to alter the conformation of the animal is prohibited. This includes the use of steroids, illegal or unapproved growth promotants, and the act of artificially filling animals internally, which would include stomach pumping, drench tubes, or any other method.

31.  Aerosol cans used for grooming are not permitted in show ring or make-up areas. 

32.  All exceptions made shall be made by the beef committee.

33.  The tag which will be placed in your market entry’s ear at December weigh in is an electronic identification take used by the Clarke County Fair.  To obtain a RFID tag, which is registered to a location that is on file with the USDA, your breeder should be contacted.

Shows

Awards

Adult Beef Showmanship

• This will be a new event
• Funds will either go directly to the VLA or may go to support a local judging team – this year it will go toward the general VLA fund
• Species: Sheep, Goat, Dairy, Beef
• Insurance for the event is supplied by The Farmer’s Daughter and hosted by the VLA
• How it will work:
  • Sign-up for the adult showmanship contestants will go on the day of each species show. For example, Thursday is the dairy show, all that morning and during the show, a VLA member will be available with a sign-up sheet and collect money and names for the dairy adult showmanship.
  • At the conclusion of each species show, we will hold the adult showmanship contest.
  • Each need announcer will then call on all adults nominated to report to the ring. They will then be given an animal to show.
  • Judges for the adult showmanship will be the paid judge and each division’s overall showmanship winner
  • Adults will pay to enter the showmanship class or others may nominate them and pay. If a person is nominated and does not want to compete, they must then pay to get removed from the class. (Cost to enter $10 and the cost to be removed is $10)
  • Example: John wants to compete in the adult showmanship class, so he signs up and pays for himself. John would like his wife, Sue, to also participate in the adult showmanship class and he signs her up and pays her $10.  Sue does not want to do this and pays the $10 removal fee.
  • This event will need an event insurance policy which The Farmer’s Daughter owned by Scott Donnelly has volunteered to provide.
  • This event is sure to be a crowd pleaser, especially by the 4-H kids.

 

If you have any questions regarding either of the events, please reach out: Scott Donnelly 540-671-6087 dsdonnelly@live.com OR Laura Jackson 540-272-0140 Ljackson@mdvamilk.com