By Kristine A. Harger
Special to The Star-Herald
PRESQUE ISLE — It’s all about carcass merit.
Confused? You wouldn’t be if you’d been at the 2011 4H Baby Beef Show held Aug. 3 as part of the Northern Maine Fair. This year’s show featured 15 contestants from across the County, showing steer they had been raising for the past several months.
Carcass merit has to do with the quality of meat the steer will yield once it’s slaughtered. Judge Kevin Woltemath told the crowd gathered for the show that a “big concern” of his is whether the steer are “market ready.” That is, “is there real potential for customer satisfaction … on the plate.” Among the qualities he said he looks for are the structure and balance of musculature, along with fat cover.
The four steer he selected as finalists for Grand and Reserve champions — the top two heavyweights and top two lightweights — “have a lot of quality about them,” he said. “We can hold them up as … ideals.”
Grand Champion went once again this year to Patricia Donovan of Mars Hill. In addition to the top prize, Donovan and her 1,365-pound Maine Anjou, George, also took top heavyweight steer, first in senior showmanship and second in senior fitting. She plans to use her earnings from the auction to buy a car and and help pay for college. She also received $1,000 from Nutrina to reimburse her feed costs for George.
“I knew it was going to be tough when we came out, but we tried really hard and it paid off,” she said after the show. “He (George) was nervous at the beginning of the show, but he did really well.”
Reserve Champion went to Carter McLaughlin of Mapleton, who just completed his third year in the Baby Beef Club. He and his 1,367-pound Angus-cross, Remington, also took first place in intermediate showmanship and fitting, and Remington took second place in the heavyweight class.
“I learned a lot just this year,” said McLaughlin, who will enter ninth grade this fall. “You have to work really hard to get the steer trained and taught right. You spend a lot of time with it, but it pays off.”
Other participants in the 2011 show were:
Grace Braley of Mapleton, showing her Angus-cross, Big Dave. Braley placed second in showmanship and first in fitting in the novice class. She and Big Dave also placed first in the lightweight class.
Caleb Buck of Mapleton, showing his Maine Anjou, Clyde. He placed third in showmanship and fourth in fitting for the senior class.
Jacob Buck of Mapleton, showing his Angus-cross, Anonymous. He placed fourth in showmanship and fifth in fitting for the senior class. He and Anonymous also placed second in the lightweight class.
Olivia Garrison of Mars Hill, showing her Angus-cross, Luke. She placed first in showmanship and fourth in fitting in the novice class.
Spencer Garrison of Mars Hill, showing his Angus-cross, Bo. He placed third in both showmanship and fitting in the novice class.
Corey Guerrette of Caribou, showing his Angus-cross, Hemi. He placed fourth in showmanship and second in fitting in the novice class.
Garrett Hemphill of Presque Isle, showing his Angus-cross, Cleatus. He placed fifth in both showmanship and fitting in the intermediate class.
Grayden Hemphill of Presque Isle, showing his Angus-cross, Ed. He placed third in showmanship and fourth in fitting in the intermediate class.
Amanda Hotham of Fort Fairfield, showing her Hereford, Freezer Pleezer. She placed second in both showmanship and fitting in the intermediate class.
Melissa Hotham of Fort Fairfield, showing her Hereford, Big John. She placed fourth in showmanship and third in fitting in the intermediate class.
Ben McKenna of Mapleton, showing his Red Angus-cross, Heinz. He placed sixth in showmanship and third in fitting in the senior class.
Logan McLaughlin of Mars Hill, showing his Hereford-cross, Wesley. He placed fifth in showmanship and sixth in fitting in the senior class.
Nathan McLaughlin of Fort Fairfield, showing his Charolais, White Lightning. He placed second in showmanship and first in fitting in the senior class.
