Show you TL atu edat be old to raise cattle child menace hits livestock show I 1 youngsters have won 4 cham championships pious bips in 10 years I 1 I 1 by ARNOLD PATTEN released by western newspaper union CHICAGO once upon U a time you had to be a graybeard cattleman or your entry stand ai chance of winning the top honor at chi cagos international livestock exposition the grand champion steer award nowadays youve got to be a youngster and probably ya a girl at that for if recent experience peri ence is any criterion the grand award at this years show dec december ember 2 to 9 may very likely go to a beardless youth who will thereby prove that modem scientific cattle raising can comp compete ete any day with the old fashioned rough and ready tactics four times in the past 10 years the championship has gone to animals shown by youngsters who in earlier years were politely tolerated by the adult showmen its quite an honor too because the winning steer Is selected from among two or three thousand of the finest beet bed animals north america can produce dropped barriers in 1916 the child menace began in 1916 when a special competition was mis introduced trod for steers lambs and pigs owned abid by farm boys A 4 a 71 i 0 IN LOS ANGELES vert verl an derson 18 of Tree monton utah took top honors in the great western livestock show with Snick lefritz frits shown here a nine month old steer ar J I 1 A 7 YOUNG WINNER AND A GIRL AT irene br own 14 year old 4 from mercer county illinois leaves the show ring with herbrand her grand champion aberdeen angus steer and girls between the ages of 10 and 20 A few years later and oldsters r till rue the day top winners of 0 the junior contest were permitted to compete in open classes despite a bit of jealousy these veterans were mere a little proud of farm you youth th on that dramatic day in 1928 when 12 year old clarence goecke a 4 H clubber from iowa trudged in into to the ring I 1 and defeated all con tenders with wilh his hereford baby beef dick like all win winners hers dick was auctioned off at premium prices to a hotel or railroad or maybe it was a steam steamship shIli line anyway he brought a new all time record of 7 for each of his 1150 pounds that meant and the proceeds were used to found a hereford herd on the goecke farm out in marshall county and to provide tor for the education of clarence hi his s brothers and sisters today all iowa farm folks know clarence as a member mern b er of the goecke family firm successful cattle feeders brown wins next year the same year young goecke won the championship a reserve champion ribbon in the junior classes went to another iowa el liott brown next year elliote came back and won the grand championship with in an angus steer lucky strike this steer brought even a better price 8 25 a pound which is still a record today young brown has a purebred aberdeen angus herd not until 1835 1935 did another youth come through at that years show 19 year old cleo E yoder also from iowa took the grand championship with pats blue ribbon yoder Is now farming in partnership with his brother and building up a herd of purebred beef cattle from the head start they had bad in 4 H projects just to prove that beet beef cattle raising is becoming a sissy business the 1938 championship went to of all things a 14 year old goril men and boys alike hung their heads in shame when irene brown an nil nois lassie paraded her 1130 pound angus steer around the ring later he was sold for the only proud male in the stands was D A brown irenes father who runs a acre farm in mercer county and maintains a purebred angus herd break record this year tear this year according to the expositions sit ions management young america is coming back stronger than ever boys and girls from 13 states have listed entries for baby beeves which they will exhibit in the junior contest most youngsters er 9 come from midwest states and others from montana new york oklahoma and texas the graybeards wont really be too angry if another teenage teen age exhibitor wins this year get them oft off in a cornei corner away from the huff and bluff of the show ring and apt to be pretty happy about the whole thing tomorrows farmers are starting young you see and what father hope his son will be a better man than he was |