Rabbits, goats, and cows, oh my!

By Carrie A. Mizell

The 59th Annual Suwannee River Fair got underway on Friday as youth filled the livestock barn in Fanning Springs prepared to show their rabbits, chickens, goats, cows and horses.

Cloverbuds Estella Pelaez, Alex Brown, Mariah Lancaster,
Charlee Hines, and Aubrey O’Steen.

The reserve champion dairy goat was shown by Demetrius Bowers of Windy Meadows 4-H and the grand champion dairy goat was shown by Danielle Holstein of Bell Sr. FFA.

Heifer showmanship winners for the junior division were Douglas Simpson III of Riverside
Wranglers 4-H in third place, and Presley Paulling of Lil Farmers 4-H in second place.

Sabrina Brown of Trenton Jr. FFA won reserve champion in the junior division
of the performance competition at the horse show.

Dairy cow showmanship winners in the primary division were Samantha Johnson-Streit of the Busy Bees 4-H Club in second place and Austin Bagby of Lil Farmers 4-H in first place.

McCall, Harrison take top dairy honors

With 14,000 milking cows in Gilchrist County, youth in the tri-county area have a multitude of dairy cows to choose from when selecting an animal to show at the Suwannee River Fair.
Shelbi McCall, of Dixie FFA, chose well when she picked her grand champion Holstein.
“This is a very strong, correct animal, with very few faults,” said Brooke Reinageal-Counts, dairy show judge. “I would like to have 10 to 20 of these cows in my barn.”
Reinageal-Counts selected a Jersey cow, shown by Lori Harrison of Trenton FFA as reserve champion.
Saturday’s dairy cow show was eventful for both McCall and Harrison, who both also placed in dairy showmanship.
In the primary showmanship division, Austin Bagby of Lil’ Farmers 4-H Club placed first, followed by Samantha Johnson-Streit of Busy Bees 4-H Club in second place.
Kacee Langford of Trenton FFA took first place honors in the junior showmanship division, followed by Aaron Brown also of Trenton FFA in second place and Shelbi McCall in third place.
In selecting Langford as first place winner, Reinageal-Counts said, “I liked your positive attitude and your presence with the animal.”
The judge also told Langford and Brown that she could tell they must practice showing animals together because they work smoothly together.

Dairy showmanship winners for the junior divison were: Shelbi McCall of Dixie FFA in third place,
Aaron Brown of Trenton FFA was second place and Kacee Langford of Trenton FFA won first place.

“You guys gave me a run for the money!” Reinageal-Counts said, after spending nearly 30 minutes trying to decide top showmen and show women in the junior division.
Trenton FFA’s Taylor Langford took first place in the senior showmanship division follwed by Peaches Smith of Bell FFA in second place and Lori Harrison in third place.

Dairy showmanship winners for the senior division were: Lori Harrison of Trenton FFA in third place,
Peaches Smith of Bell FFA was second place and Taylor Langford of Trenton FFA won first place.

“There were three really good show women in this senior class, but it all came down to awareness of the animal you are showing,” Reinageal-Counts said.
Dairy cow superintendent Chris DeCubellis pointed out that 4-H and FFA dairy projects are very rewarding and teach people life skills like time-management, decision-making, resource management and recordkeeping, while instilling a strong work-ethic in youth.
“The 4-H and FFA members who showed animals on Saturday displayed the fruits of their hard labor,” DeCubellis stated. “Recognize that the youth in the show are the real stars; they have all done a great job!”