Cattle event steers youth to experience

MOSES LAKE — Moos resounded throughout the Kenny Ardell Pavilion at the Grant County Fairgrounds Friday morning.

The animals and their owners were there as part of the Washington Angus Association Steer Futurity & Junior Angus Show.

"It's predominately Angus steers, and it's an ultrasound show," explained Dan Lewis, Angus Association junior Angus advisor. "Ultrasound is where they check meat quality on the steers without terminating their life, and it gives the kids an education on genetics, breeding the Angus breed into the cattle to get better meat quality."

He added that Angus has always been the leader in meat quality, bred in those cattle for many years.

"People have tried other breeds, they've tried crossing, but in the end everybody always has to have some Angus in their cattle to get them to do good on the rail and do good in the supermarket," Lewis said.

He said that the event, now in its third year, has grown from 28 steer the first year to 74 steer and 30 females in a show for registered animals and junior Angus members.

"The steer deal has really taken off," Lewis said. "I can see the difference in the animals from last year to this year. The kids are gearing up for this show."

The event included a $4,000 jackpot with money donated from Agri Beef in Moses Lake, Washington Beef in Toppenish and Purina Mills, Lewis said.

The animals were weighed and scanned with the ultrasound Friday morning. The ultrasound measured for back fat, rib eye and for intramuscular fat, the amount of fat in the meat that creates tenderness, Lewis said.

Lewis stressed that the ultrasound is just a tool, and a tool not many people have seen, which means many people gather together when their calf is being tested.

"It'll trick you, because the prettiest steer out here will probably not have the best ultrasound," Lewis said, noting that that was the case Friday. "The ugliest steer that's here, the ultrasound was really good."

Mark Merrill and his wife Linda, owners of the Northwest Reproduction Center in Ellensburg, operated the ultrasound.

"What this does is it gives the judge some figures on what's underneath the skin, so they are not just looking at the live cattle, trying to see if they're going to grade choice or less, or how much back fat they have," Mark Merrill said, noting that it is desirable to have less back fat and bigger ribeyes. "In the old days, they just put their hands on them, felt and guessed."

Vegetable oil is put on the steer so that the ultrasound waves can pass through the skin and penetrate.

"If you don't put that on, you can't get a picture," Mark Merrill said.

The information is put in a computer program, Lewis said, for the kids to learn the next day what their cattle's carcass would be worth.

It's why the event has the support of many in the industry, who would like to see better quality carcasses coming from 4-H students, Lewis added.

The event has utilized the ultrasound all three years, and been located at the fairgrounds all three years as well.

"It sounds like we'll be here the first weekend in August for the next few years," Lewis said, noting that the event has a contract with the fairgrounds for the next five years. "Ultimately, we're hoping to get 100 steers, that's where we figured we would probably top out. I think there's still a big portion of kids out there that we haven't gotten to yet."

Anyone aged between the ages of 3 and 21 can participate, Lewis said. Most children start at 9 years old, but there is a peewee contest for anybody under that age. "We'll get them started as early as we can."

The event is set up to be educational, Lewis said, and the desire is for the kids in Grant County to have an extra chance to show and train their steer before the Grant County Fair. Lewis has seen the results, with five of six championships in 4-H Champion Reserves at the fair in attendance last year.

It was Darla Sheppard's second year participating, her father Mike said.

"She needs the experience showing, and then the animals get experience just before the fair," he said.

Mike Sheppard said that the ultrasound reading for Darla's steer was not very good, either this year or last. But at fair last year, the Sheppards did really well.

"It's a tool they can use, but it's not totally accurate, as we have found out," he said. "But that's OK, we don't come here for the numbers."

For Marc Bales, also in his second year, the ultrasound numbers were a little better this year and last.

"It's just nice to have some practice coming into this fair, and then I know where they're coming in for the Grant County Fair," Bales said. "It's a lot of fun, you get a lot of experience from it, meet new friends and you just have some fun with your animal, get some practice in and just enjoy."