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Shuswap 4-H members hope to profit from steer projects

Three Queest Mountain 4-H Club members are bringing steers to beef show and sale in early July.
17416219_web1_copy_190626-EVN-Flynn-the-steer
Ali Logan poses for a photo with her steer Flynn. (Contributed)

Queest Mountain 4-H Club members have put a lot of work into raising steers to ready them for market.

They hope their time and effort will pay off at the Okanagan 4-H Beef Stock Show and Sale.

More than 30 4-H members from across the B.C. Interior will be participating in the sale, which runs from July 2 to 6 in Armstrong.

After an opening ceremony on the evening of Tuesday, July 2, and an instructional day on Wednesday, the show itself runs Thursday and Friday.

The weekend is capped off with the grand finale steer sale on Saturday at 10 a.m. following the buyer’s breakfast and parade of champions at 8 a.m.

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Queest Mountain Club leader Michelle Wolff states its members would appreciate help in finding buyers for their steers.

Wolff recommends splitting a side of beef with a group of friends and sharing about the sale with friends and colleagues in order to ensure the hard work of the 4-H club members is rewarded.

“Not only do you get to fill your freezer with top-quality beef, you will also support a youth that is passionate about livestock and being a young farmer,” an email from Wolff reads.

Three Queest Mountain 4-H Club members have been working with steers.

Ali Logan, 14, has raised a Black Angus cross steer named Flynn from a start weight of 818 lbs when she purchased him in October 2018, to 1,490 lbs as of early June.

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Mykal Martin, 13, is in her second year doing a market steer project. She has raised her steer, Forest, from a starting weight of 711 lbs.

As of May 29, he weighed 1,330 lbs. Martin hopes to make enough from the sale of this year’s steer to buy another for next year.

Martin has her hands full also working in a heifer project.

Kaily Jeffrey’s steer is named Franks Red Hot or Frank for short. He is a Red Angus cross.

Twelve-year-old Jeffrey’s steer had doubled in weight since October weighing 1,287 lbs up from 614 lbs.

Jeffrey says she wants to be a veterinarian specializing in large animals when she grows up and will put the proceeds from the sale of her steer towards her education.

Along with the steers, Wolff said the club will be bringing eight heifers to the show.

A predetermined bid can be set on any of the steers in the show even by those who are unable to attend.

Those interested in more information on purchasing a steer can contact Wolff at 250-833-9335 or co-leaders Lara Matthews and Susy Bairstow at 250-253-0465 or 250-253-2540.


@SalmonArm
jim.elliot@saobserver.net

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17416219_web1_190626-EVN-Forest-the-steer
Mykal Martin poses for a photo with her steer Forest who she raised for a 4-H project. (Contributed)
17416219_web1_190626-EVN-Frank-the-steer
Kaily Jeffrey poses for a photo with her steer named Franks Red Hot, or Frank for short. (Contributed)


Jim Elliot

About the Author: Jim Elliot

I’m a B.C. transplant here in Whitehorse at The News telling stories about the Yukon's people, environment, and culture.
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