Connor King, a sixth-year member of the Pembina West 4-H Club first won Club Champion with his steer Dwayne at this year’s annual Westlock and District 4-H Beef Achievement Day show and sale June 3. At the end of the day, his steer was selected as the District Grand Champion of the 48 steers in this year’s show.
King won Club Champion with his last year’s steer, but didn’t get selected for District Champion. He has come up quite a notch since the past year, obviously with a better steer this year. His steer in 2022 made it all the way to District Reserve Champion, so he has been doing well all along. A grade 7 student at Pembina North School at Dapp said he was very happy with his win this year.
King's steer started out the 4-H year at 922 pounds and finished at 1,574 pounds for a 2.99 ADG. Carl’s Tirecraft of Westlock purchased the champion steer for $5.60 per pound It was later learned the steer dressed out at an impressive 1,014 pounds, or 64 per cent and is believed to be an AAA carcass. Obviously the kind of carcass the market is looking for; a high percentage dressed weight and AAA grade to boot.
The District Reserve Champion Steer title this year went to Ella Huot, a fourth-year member of the Double Diamond 4-H Multi Club. Her steer, Luigi, started out the 4-H year at 890 pounds and finished at 1,730 pounds for a 3.85 pounds ADG. Westlock Vet Clinic purchased the 1,713 pounds sale weight steer for $5.00 per pound
Huot had a terrific year in 4-H, winning several female titles as well, including Club Champion Heifer, District Grand Champion Heifer, Champion two-year-old Cow/Calf, Champion 3-year-old Cow/Calf and overall Grand Champion Cow/Calf, plus Intermediate two year Cow/Calf record book and Intermediate Horse title.
The quality of cattle, both females and steers, this year gave Conformation Judge Leah Jones a challenging role this year, and the care and handling of the animals shown by members also gave Showmanship and Grooming Judge Hanna Gregoire (Leah’s niece) lots of challenges as well.
The show itself was a challenge this year too. Generally held outside at North Central Livestock (NCL) near Clyde, the June 3 show this year was moved indoors ahead of time, with rain in the forecast. NCL management and staff, anticipating this, had cleaned out the show barn ahead of time, and when the 4-H leaders decided to go ahead with the indoor move, staff and leaders both worked together to quickly move in a couple of bleachers and set up a sturdy show ring in time for the 8:30 a.m. show start. The rain began to fall shortly after, leaving all to feel the move was justified, inside and dry. As the saying goes, “The show must go on!” and necessity, as the mother of invention, was put to good use by many hands to make it work.
A photo backdrop was also quickly set up in the north sales ring at NCL, with good lighting. Although it presented a few challenges for some members handling their steers and heifers, it generally went well.
So in spite of having to move the entire show indoors quickly, everything worked quite well overall, and another Westlock District 4-H Achievement Day is in the books, and members are wrapping up their 4-H year, completing their record books and some perhaps deciding what to do with the money their steers made.
Another note of interest, this was the final year for Macy Kaliel, a member of Double Diamond 4-H Multi Club. Her great-grandfather, the late George Kaliel, organized the now long-gone Fawcett 4-H Beef Club 60 years ago. Macy’s dad, Rod, said there had been a Kaliel in 4-H ever since. But the 60 year Kaliel dynasty in 4-H ends with Macy, and Rod says it will be just a few short years before another Kaliel in the family will likely be in 4-H.
Also of note, Carl’s Tirecraft of Westlock was the volume purchaser of 4-H steers at this year’s sale, buying a total of six steers, including the District Grand Champion
Unofficial figures show the 48 steers in this year’s show sold for a total of $264,093 on 68,333 pounds of live weight, an average of 1,423.6 pounds at an average sale price of $3.86.48 per pound.
