WESTLOCK – The 49th-annual Bon Accord 4-H Club beef show and sale was held Wednesday, May 24, Sturgeon Agriplex in Cardiff, with members showing females and steers throughout the afternoon.
The trio of conformation judges, Chad Meunier, Kord Phillips and Bob Burla, had some interesting challenges, especially with a fairly consistent group of steers. Showmanship judge for the day was Amy Miller, with Celine van der Schaaf acting as grooming judge.
This year, 27 steers were sold in the evening at a very snappy sale conducted by Nick Gulka of Heartland Auctions, assisted by bid catchers Levi Pedgerachny, Brad Martens and Marty Young. The steers, with a combined weight of 34,855 pounds, sold for $136,116.90 for an average price of $5,041.37 and netted $3.90 per pound.
Brothers Colton and Tanner Fenske claimed champion and reserve champion steer honours this year. Colton Fenske, a sixth-year member of the club, with his steer KILLER won the grand champion steer title. KILLER had a start weight of 803 pounds and a finish weight of 1,678 pounds for an ADG of 4.35 lbs. His 1,639-pound sale weight was purchased by VJV Auctions of Westlock for $4 per lb.
Tanner Fenske, a fourth-year member, won reserve grand champion with his Simmental steer FLASH. This steer started out the 4-H year at 640 pounds with a finish weight of 1,366 pounds for an ADG of 3.61. The steer’s 1,377-pound sale weight was purchased by Pembina Pipelines for $3.45 per pound.
Since 2005, a special award has been presented to the 4-H member who best exemplifies the attributes of Gordon Fuhr, who passed away earlier this year and was the founder of the Riviere Qui Barre 4-H Beef Club and Inductee to the Alberta 4-H Hall of Fame. He was noted for his “prominent leadership, eminent volunteering and outstanding community citizenship.”
This year, the award went to six-year member Cassidy Fenske which she received from Gordon Fuhr’s son, Robin Fuhr.
