4-H Makes Big News

If you read the Robesonian or Red Springs Citizen you might have noticed a few more mentions of 4-H lately. Everett Davis, the Robeson County Extension Director has a weekly column that has featured our 4-H program three out of the last four weeks. One of the columns is below (4-H a Good Investment) and I had the fortune of being the guest columnist that week and able to share those 4-H thoughts with everyone. Since then, Everett has shared his thoughts on the 4-H Animal Science program and our recent Vermiculture experiments. If you have the opportunity please click the link for each of these stories and take the time to read them. They are informative and interesting and I hope will give you a broader view of 4-H in Robeson County.

Livestock Shows a Mooving Experience

The drizzle and grey did not keep the lambs or heifers away from the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair's annual 4-H livestock show Saturday. The morning began early with weigh in for the 4-H lamb show. More than 30 lambs made their way into the show ring to help show why their youth should be seen as the top showmen and then they re-entered to determine the best lambs based on weights.

In the non-compeitive Cloverbud division (ages 5-8) showmanship category, Tate Naylor, Hunter Muse, Mason Hunt, McKenzie Love, and Mary Elizabeth Vorder Bruegge stole the ring and the audience's attention as they worked their lambs around the ring. Each received a special cloverbud trophy for their efforts.
In the 9-10 year old Junior age division Benjamin Herndon placed sixth, Isabelle Love went home in fifth place, Robert Seals took home forth and Ashley Wilson went home with the white third place ribbon. Eugenie Reba Vorder Bruegge and Drayton Hancock took the top showman spots.

In the Junior 11-13 year old age division Bubba McLaughlin took home the blue ribbon, Ruth Helen Vorder Bruegge placed second and Samantha Naylor followed in third place. Rounding out the division was Martha Anne Vorder Bruegge, Megan Baldwin, Steven Boudreaux, and Oliva Forbes.
In the Senior (14-19 years old) age division William Van Gilder took home first place, Heather Goodrich placed second and Jamie Boudreaux took home the white ribbon. Cooper Locke, Danielle Hunt and R. J. Trickett rounded out the division.
When it came to judging the lambs in weight classes Judge Hughes and to take his time to determine the best of the best. In the lightweight division the lambs weighed between 64 and 88 pounds. Of the 11 competitors Jamie Boudreaux placed first, Ashley Wilson with her lamb Walle placed second and Drayton Hancock's Pretty Girl placed third.

In the Middle weight division there were 11 more competitors whose lambs weighed between 90 and 124 pounds. Placing in the top three were Samantha Naylor, Benjamin Herndon with Susan and R. J. Trickett.

In the last weight division, the heavy weight division (125-144 pounds) Bubba McLaughlin took first place, William Van Gilder took second and in third place was Martha Ann Vorder Bruegge with her lamb Leroy.
The grand Champion Competition is determined by bringing all the first place market winners back into the show ring. Bubba McLaughlin walked away with the trophy and bragging rights that his goat is the best of the best. William Van Gilder took his place in the ring but it was Samantha Naylor who took home the Reserve Champion trophy.

After a 20 minute break, and a chance for some of the lambs to load up to go home, it was time for Judge Hughes to break down the 4-H Heifer and Steer Competition. All the competitors this year were in the Senior division, and after 20 minutes in the ring asking questions and observing the showmen with their heifers he placed Matthew Slover in fifth place, Stephanie Carter in forth, Katie Pesta in Third, Sarah Herring in second place and placing top in the showmanship division is Nick Kiker.

In the market show there were three division based on birth date. The first division were the heifers born in 2008, Sarah Herring with Marley placed first and Stephanie Carter with Hot Chocolate placed second. in the 2007 division the competition was a little stiffer. Stephanie Carter and her heifer Cayenne took home the white ribbon while Katie Pest with WPH Miss Time placed second and the blue ribbon went home with Nick Kiker and WPH Miss Dream. In the 2006 division Matthew Slover with Gloria placed third, Stephanie Carter with Mercedes placed second and in first place was Sarah Herring with Margarita.

Just as in the lamb show the first place heifer took over the ring again to determine the Grand Champion. In a unique turn of events Sarah Herring with Marley took Grand Champion and She also took reserve champion with her heifer Margarita.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

Turning the Barn Inside Out

There was hay flying, turkeys rolling, and children laughing through the livestock building at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair Friday night. More than 30 youth came in to see the animals and stayed to play old fashioned barn games. There were traditional games like sack races and horse shoes, some old games with new twists like pin the tail on the cow, frozen turkey bowling and roping a bulls head, and then the game that topped all games....jumping in the hay stack. A large pile of hay was in the middle of the ring and the kids had a chance to jump in and look for prizes. Everyone had a chance to leave with armloads of prizes which included cups, stickers and educational games. You could say they had an utterly wonderful time!

Feathers Fly at the Fair

Can you tell the difference between a laying hen and broiler? If you had attended the Robeson Regional Fair 4-H Poultry show Thursday night you could have had a lesson in everything from how to carry a chicken to what makes an award winning broiler. Judge Summer Russel took time in the ring with each participant talking to them about their experiences, lifting wings, and checking meat areas to determine winners.
In our laying hen cloverbud division, or five to eight year olds, Raven Daughtery, Eli Daughtery and Jospeh Hardee entered the ring with their hens. Our five to eight year old division is non-competitive, it allows the youth to have a chance to learn how to show an animal and have this count as a great learning experience. Each participant left the ring with a trophy for their hard work.
In the junior laying hen division Benjamin Herndon took first place and Ian Daugherty took home the read ribbon in a competition that Judge Russell said was very close. Jeremy Beavers took first place in the senior division as well.
The broilers took center ring next. Our cloverbuds Eli Daughtery and Raven Daughtery showed our judge all the new things they had learned and practiced their showing skills again. In the junior division Judge Russel said it came down to one broiler having just a little more meat on its hip then the other and Benjamin Herdon took home the blue ribbon while Ian Daughtery took home the red.

Judging for the Birds

More than 80 youth from area high schools and counties took part in the annual 4-H poultry judging competition at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair on Wednesday. The youth had six different areas of competition including, judging past production laying hens, giving oral reasons, grading chicken carcases, determining chicken parts, grading breakout eggs, and candling eggs. It took about an hour and twenty minutes for the youth to move through the tough competition this this year and when the scores were totaled the top three junior (9-13 years old) and senior (14-19 years old) individual winners and teams were award trophies.

In the Junior Individual Division Lumberton High School swept the category with two junior competitors. Kelli Alexander walked away with the first place trophy and in second place was Daniel Nance.
In the Senior Individual Division Purnell Swett's Stan Locklear took first place (thanks to getting perfect scores in two areas of competition). Allen Monk took second place thanks to a perfect score in one area and just missing a perfect score by four points in oral reasons. Lumberton High School's Austin Britt came in a close third.
In the Senior Teams Division Lumberton High School FFA team 4, made up of Allyson Ivey, James Pate and Kayla Britt took third place. Purnell Swett High School FFA team 1 made up of Dustin Locklear, Jordan McGirt, Vacques Hines and Stan Locklear took second place. While St. Pauls High School FFA team 4 took first place. Andrew Johnston, Tucker Tharrington, Jacqueline Cuneo, and Shannon Dorch took the biggest trophy and bragging rights back to St. Pauls High School hanks to their excellent judging skills.
Congratulations to all of our competitors.

Getting a Snootfull at the Fair

They were squealing with excitement as the pigs trotted into the show ring at the Robeson Regional Fair Tuesday night. More than 25 pigs strutted their stuff while trying to win Grand Champion pig and the more than 15 youth did their best to steer the pigs in the right direction.
In the 4-H Youth show cloverbud Keshawn Cooper walked away with a trophy for his showmanship effort and a blue ribbon in the lightweight division with his pig. In the Senior division Joshua Bessone took the ring by storm and walked away with two blue ribbons one for showmanship and one for middle weight division as well as a second place ribbon for one of his middle weight pigs. Triton Bullard received a red ribbon for showmanship and a blue ribbon for his heavy weight hog. Triton's brother Sebastian followed in his brother's footsteps with a third place in showmanship and a second place in the heavy weight division.

Following the 4-H show was our youth market hog show. Our 4-H members had the opportunity to participate in this show as well as youth from around the area that do not participate in 4-H animal science projects. In the light weight division Kennon Clark took first place followed by A.C. Locklear and Dakota Locklear in third. The middle weight division was a tough division for judge Will Byrd as he took his time determining which big should go home with the bacon. When the dust settled Joshua Bessone placed first, Trey Lowry second and A.C. Locklear in third. The heavy weight division definitely had some heavy hitters, as A.C. Locklear walked away with the blue ribbon, Trey Lowry took the red and Karli Moore took third. A.C. Locklear's heavyweight hog was named Grand Champion and Trey Lowry's heavy weight hog was placed as Reserve Champion.

When Judge Byrd was done judging the hogs he moved on to the showmanship competition. In the 5-8 year old division Dakota Locklear took first and Lenora Moore took second. A special showman, Joshua Jones took home a special participant ribbon for helping all of the older youth show their hogs (Joshua is 3). In the 9-13 year old age division Try Lowry added another blue ribbon to his collection while Christian Strickland took second, Kennon Clark got a white ribbon while Lavin Lowry took home a yellow participant ribbon. Before it was all said and done there were still three senior showmen that judge Byrd needed to place and after watching them show the hogs, talking with them and thinking back to all their previous rounds in the ring he placed A.C. Locklear first, Joshua Bessone second and Karli Moore third.

Easter at the Fair?

Twitching noses, thumping paws, and nervous children can only mean one thing...no it's not Easter in October, it's the annual 4-H Rabbit Show at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair. More than a dozen youth had the opportunity to show their furry friends and let judge Glen Privette question, look, and handle rabbits in mid-air and chose the best of the best. During the pre-show conference, judge Privette gave our senior showman the opportunity to show their leadership skills by assisting our Cloverbuds, those 5-8 year old's develop their show skills in the ring.
Joseph Hardee, Logan Spivey, and Ashley Rogers entered the ring with their adorable bunnies and each got a few minutes with the judge to learn the tips they will need to be top competitors when they turn nine. After speaking with the judge they each walked out of the ring with their bunnies and a trophy for their hard work and initiative.
Anthony Bullard and his rabbit Rex hopped home with the blue ribbon in the Junior Division. Ally Spivey and Jordan Rogers received a red and white ribbon respectively for their efforts raising and showing their rabbits respectively.
In our Senior Division, the competition was fierce. Judge Privette walked up and down the line several times trying to determine the placings. When it was all said and done Triton Bullard placed first, Allen Monk took second while Joshua Snodgrass placed third. Kelsey Bullard received a participants ribbon for her efforts as well.
Congratulations to all of our participants!