EDMONTON – Having fun, meeting new people, and, oh yeah, showing cattle is what brings a group of young cattle producers back to the junior futurity classes at shows across the Prairies.
“I just love showing cattle,” said Jessica Hehr of Ponoka, Alta., sitting on a tack box chatting with a group of kids beside a row of resting cattle.
Hehr, Robert Dixon of Vermilion, Alta., and Alyssa Clark of Calmar, Alta., are taking part in the junior futurity class at Farmfair.
While other kids their age are hanging out at the mall, this trio is up early washing, feeding and trimming cattle for the top-level junior cattle shows in Canada.
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“It’s very competitive,” said Hehr, 16, in Grade 11, dressed in the prerequisite Carhartt overalls.
The junior futurity class was developed in the late 1960s as a way for youngsters to feed, train and develop their own cattle during the main cattle events.
The junior futurity class should be renamed the junior breeder class, said Rolly Batemen of Turner Valley, Alta., a onetime junior futurity member who as an adult brings his Shorthorn cattle to shows across the Prairies.
“The kids you see here are tomorrow’s breeders,” said Bateman, who sees the children of the people he went through the program with now showing cattle.
Through the program the kids learn about marketing, public speaking, showing cattle and dealing with the visitors who walk past their stalls, said Bateman, who added the program is similar to 4-H, but at a more competitive level.
“These are the next generation of competitors,” said Bateman.
Like the older exhibitors, the junior futurity members are up early in the morning to bring their cattle from the tie-out area to the barn to feed, wash, trim and get them ready for the show.
“You have to like cattle to do this,” said Dixon, who will miss almost three weeks of school this fall to show cattle at the Lloydminster Stockade, Farmfair in Edmonton, Canadian Western Agribition in Regina and a 4-H show in Denver, Colorado.
“You really have to have a passion for it.”
Dixon has been showing cattle in junior futurity for three years.
“It’s a great way to showcase your cattle and display your talents.”
He won reserve supreme champion bull calf at Farmfair.
Like any event, after the competition is finished the socializing begins. The fairs are often the only time the kids see each other.
After the awards are presented, the members get together for pizza parties or visiting.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Clark.
