OLDS, Alta. – With a shy smile, Chad Crest knew he had the supreme championship in the bag at the Calgary Stampede.
The 18-year-old dairy producer from Athabasca, Alta., had already won the grand and reserve champions at the 64th annual provincial 4-H show held in Olds July 16.
During the final showdown for junior members, which was held at the Stampede in Calgary the next day, his champion heifer received the big prize that included a $200 cheque.
An experienced showman, he has won numerous championships through 4-H and junior dairy programs.
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His champion was a September Holstein heifer named Corona that he plans to continue showing. His reserve was an unrelated female born last summer that will be among his entries at the Western Canadian Classic Junior Dairy Show in Armstrong, B.C., Aug. 23-28.
“We’ve had offers to buy her, but we decided to keep her and promote her,” he said.
Judge Dan Fornwald liked the body type with the deep ribs, good balance and sound feet and legs.
“They like that type. We breed for that type on our farm,” Crest said.
Showing cattle provides him with off-farm income. He shows his own animals and fits and grooms for other producers from as far away as Utah.
“I’m not home too much in the summer,” he said.
The cattle he showed in mid-July were part of his 4-H project this year, in which he raised eight head.
Crest has finished high school and continues to work on the family farm, Skycrest Holsteins.
His sister, Kaitlyn, is also involved in the farm and 4-H.
“This was the first year she was in the same age category as me. It’s always a big rivalry,” he said.
This year he was the champion showman and she won reserve.
Sticking with 4-H dairy projects can be a challenge for young people, said Alberta 4-H specialist Rob Smith.
There once were as many as 40 clubs, but that has fallen to six.
“A lot of these clubs come with a large share of geography,” he said.
However, strong leaders and a commitment to get to the annual western junior dairy show keeps many going. Each province provides 30 contestants.
That desire to continue is strong in the Hunter family, where all four siblings work on projects with the dairy club in Lacombe, Alta. The three sisters, Veronica, 20, Rebeka, 19, and Jacklyn, 17, and their brother, Evan, 16, come from a farm between Meeting Creek and New Norway.
Some club members live three hours away from others so they have learned to use the phone and e-mail to stay in touch. Meetings are held once a month at a member’s home.
However, the family is nearing the end of the 4-H path.
Veronica is an agronomist with Cargill and Rebeka is a nursing student at Red Deer College. Both have managed to find the time to stay involved through 4-H and junior programs because they love the dairy business and youth activities.
“This is my last year in 4-H. I did it with a full-time job,” Veronica said.
While there are so few clubs available for dairy enthusiasts, the Hunters see those in place continuing because there are a number of younger children showing an interest in the clinics and projects.
