Exhibiting cattle | A former 4-H member teaches feeding and grooming techniques
MYRNAM, Alta. — Kirk Stierwalt has lived his life around the 4-H motto “learn to do by doing”.
Stierwalt lived by the words not only as he grew up but also later in life when he raised his children. Now, he’s passing it along to youth from all over the United States and Canada as he helps teach them how to prepare cattle for showing.
“My first beef showing was when I was seven years old but it didn’t count until I was nine when I was old enough to be a member of the 4-H club. There wasn’t much opportunity to learn showing techniques so as an adult we decided to start these clinics,” said Stierwalt, who owns and operates Stierwalt Cattle and Clinics and began teaching clinics in 1987.
Read Also
Canada’s rural crime problem far from fixed
Farmers on the Prairies are worried about crime rates and safety, but an effective approach to meaningfully reduce rural crime remains out of reach so far.
Stierwalt of Leedy, Oklahoma, was teaching a clinic in Myrnam from April 19-21 and his clinics appear to have gone over well.
“We will certainly be having Kirk come again as he brings with him some core values that we really appreciate,” said organizer Leila Hickman.
“He teaches the youth about family values, he stresses the importance of safety and of course he is a leader in the industry when it comes to showing beef.”
Youth were invited from within the region but invitations were also extended to anyone who wanted to come out for the weekend. About 60 youth came out for April 20 and about 40 4-H members signed up for the entire weekend.
Stierwalt said teaching youth helps keeps him stay updated on all the new products offered and skills.
“New things come out in technology, products and other stuff every year. So it almost takes care of itself because what we do here this year won’t be the same as next year just because there will be new clippers or blades or new techniques something like that by next year,” he said.
“The thing about it is, I come from the angle that I showed (cattle), but I am also a parent who had kids who showed, and so I know what they face as parents. I also judge a lot of shows so I am also dealing with a lot of kids and people’s emotions and so if you have never dealt with that from a parent standpoint, you have never seen how delicate some of the kids are.”
During the clinics, Stierwalt explores the many different areas young cattle exhibitors must be aware of.
It all starts with the calf, he said.
“If it isn’t fed right, it really doesn’t matter what kind of clip job you put on it. You have to have the feeding done right and you have to have the grooming done right and you have to have management done right and you have to show it right.
“I can save them a lot of trial and error because we live and breathe this every day. We see what works and what doesn’t so we are trying to get people stepped off in the right direction.”
Stierwalt said he likes to return to communities each year to see the progress the participants have made.
“It is fun for me to be a small part of seeing the kids reach their goals. What they are worried about this year won’t be what they are concerned about next year because the more they come to these clinics, the more they learn and get further into the details of really showing well.”
