Phillip Theising, 11, Bardsdale 4-H, raised a replacement heifer and was awarded 4-H Champion/Reserve Champion. Phillip's champion replacement heifer, Penelope, fetched $10,000 at auction.

Samantha Points, 14, Bardsdale 4-H, raised a replacement heifer that was awarded 4-H Reserve Grand Champion and received a top bid of $3,000 at the auction.

Timmy Klittich, 16, Fillmore FFA, raised a 150 lb. FFA Champion/Reserve Grand Champion market lamb.

Story and photos by Bob Crum

[continued from last week] Tons of hard work, hours of toil and a little serendipity paid off in a huge way at the Ventura County Fair. Eleven Fillmore, Piru, Bardsdale youngsters raised animals for show and auction that won championships. Incredible!

Jeffrey McGuire, 16, Fillmore FFA, raised a 1,345 lb. market steer that was awarded FFA Reserve Grand Champion.

Jeffrey is deaf and relayed his story with his mother interpreting.

Jeffrey was prepping his large animal and I asked his name.” Diesel” was the reply. An unusual name so I repeated the question. “Yep... Diesel.” Because, as Jeffrey explained... his ears go up and he's all black which reminds him of a diesel truck. Makes so much sense I should have known. How about raising such a large animal. “No problem,” replied Jeffrey, adding, “he was pretty easy but a lot of work” Work? I could imagine but wanted particulars. “Every day, wash, feed and walk Diesel,” explained Jeffrey. “Every day... some days twice a day,” he added. And time it all took? “Two hours a day,” according to Jeffrey. Considering that I don't wash my hair every day, I naturally wondered why such attention to Diesel. “Because, Jeffrey explained, I want Diesel to look good every day.” To that end... Jeffrey uses shampoo and conditioner and blow dries him afterward so his hair is fluffy. Sounded like Jeffrey is a walking beauty parlor for steers. I didn't ask but I'll bet that if Diesel requested a massage... Jeffrey would oblige.

Although the auction culminates the year for animal raising, Jeffrey had shown Diesel prior to the Fair and in doing so Diesel won four grand championships.

Jeffrey bought his steer from Roger's Livestock. No doubt for good reason. “Roger's Livestock has good breeding lines... lots of muscle... lots of hair... things I like,” explained Jeffrey. But does a 16-year old pick out his own steer, one wonders? “Yes, I pick it out, explained Jeffrey, adding, “I look at his muscles, his hair... I like long hair... and how it walks. At the time of selection, the steer weighs about 500 pounds. Well, might as well pick what you like so long as the steer wins championships.

Of course Jeffrey is anxious to raise another steer... from Roger's Livestock for next year. And one thing is for sure... Jeffrey will have the best groomed steer at next year's Fair and his name maybe... ahem... Peterbuilt?

Jeffrey was paid $8.00/lb. X 1345 = $10,760.

Phillip Theising, 11, Bardsdale 4-H, raised a replacement heifer and was awarded 4-H Champion/Reserve Champion. Phillip's champion replacement heifer, Penelope, fetched $10,000 at auction!

Being only 11 I presumed this was Phillip's first replacement heifer. “Nope”, replied Phillip, my second.” And next year? “I'm going to raise a steer,” said Phillip. OK, why switch to a steer one wonders. “Because I want to do a bred and fed and I have a bull calf down there and was going to cut him and raise him next year to take as a bred & fed.” Yes... if I understand correctly, that makes perfect sense. But perhaps there's more to the story so I continued to prod. “It'll put me in a different class so I'll get to show more”, Phillip said, adding “and I like showing so I thought it'd be good.” Of course. Now I understand.

Now... how about interesting experiences raising Penelope? “No, not that many”, said Phillip. No trouble? “Well... one time she kicked me”, he said. How come, I asked? “I was brushing her in the wrong place and she hit me in the knee.” How much did that hurt I wondered. “Not that much” he said.
Did you have a little chat about that I asked? “Oh yeah!” And... “well, I know not to brush there but I kept brushing... but in a different spot. Did you apologize? “No,” he promptly said. Did Penelope? “Yes”, he said, adding, “hopefully!”.

Did you get Penelope locally I queried? “No, I got her in Nevada because I like raising Herefords instead of the Angus cattle and the breeder we found had registered pure Herefords... the closest I could find,” said Phillip.

Later on in life Phillip is looking forward to his own ranch... and raising a herd of Herefords. Why Herefords one wonders. “Because they've been left out and I want to raise a breed that nobody else does.” OK. How come Herefords aren't that common? Phillip replied: “Because they were initially raised in England.” OK... what's the more common breed? “Angus,” said Phillip. Ah yes, Texan Angus I said. “Scotland!,” said Phillip promptly correcting me. I knew Angus originated in Scotland... I was just testing him. Phillip easily passed the test because he knows his cattle. I don't!

And the auction money? “Put it towards another Hereford for next year,” he said. Hereford? Well... so much for the steer project he mentioned earlier. Or maybe Phillip was just testing me!

Phillip received $10,000 for his replacement heifer.

Samantha Points, 14, Bardsdale 4-H, raised a replacement heifer that was awarded 4-H Reserve Grand Champion and received a top bid of $3,000 at the auction

Samantha's heifer's name is Magic. How come? “Well,” Samantha said, “when I first put a halter on her, she was looking around like this is a magical place so I gave here the name Magic.” Could Samantha be a heifer whisperer I wondered? “Not yet,” she said.

How about experiences raising Magic. “It was pretty fun but sometimes she got a little antsy but other than that she was actually a pretty well behaved cow.” Antsy? “She would skip around a lot and head butt,” explained Samantha. Hmm... that's got to hurt. How much do you weigh I asked Samantha. “I do not know how much I weigh,” she said, adding, “but Magic weighs 1,034 pounds.” OK... so when she head butts you... does she knock you down? “Yes!” was the quick reply. And you thought? “That hurts!” And then what did you do? “I yelled,” she said. And then? “She hopped away.”

Next year? “I'm planning on raising another replacement heifer, another cow calf, and possibly another turkey.” Piece of cake considering that at the present, Samantha has five animals in her care at her grandparents ranch.

One wonders how much time is devoted to raising a ½ ton animal. “Depending on whether I have sports (volleyball, basketball, baseball) that day, and school homework, I spend 3-5 hours every day with my animals,” said Samantha.

What about the animal feed bill? “Yes it does take a lot of feed and I'm very thankful for my grandparents because they help pay the debt for feed and every year... when I get my auction check we give them $1,000 to pay back for the feed.

There's more. Samantha has a sister also in the 4-H program. Do they compete? “Yes,” said she said, “we do compete with our cow and calf and breeding projects” Is it heated competition? “Sometimes yes,” said Samantha, adding “and this year I haven't had too much luck winning against my sister but I do have to admit that I'm proud for her and I hope that she keeps succeeding like she is.” More than a subtle expression of maturity.

Samantha's future plans? “I'm dreaming of becoming the world's first girl baseball player and I'm not sure how that's going to work out but if I don't I’m looking forward to getting a sports education or getting a ranch of my own,” said Samantha. First girl baseball player? Major league baseball? I asked. “Yes,” said Samantha, explaining, “I grew up playing baseball with all my friends. I tried softball for two years and didn't like it. And I thought that maybe baseball needed a change because it's been the same for quite a few years. And I want to make a change.” Of course... why not?

The auction money? “Maybe put it towards college or use it to buy more animals for next year,” she said.

Timmy Klittich, 16, Fillmore FFA, raised a 150 lb. FFA Champion/Reserve Grand Champion market lamb.

Good year? “Best year I've ever had,” said Timmy. And last year? “This is my sixth year raising lambs,” Timmy said, adding, “this is the first time any one in my family has done that good.”

And next year? “I don't know. People are saying you did lambs you should move on to steers and I was like aaaaaah no, they're a ton of work. I see people out there (school farm) from 8 a.m.to 5 p.m. every day but I don't know if steers are for me. I might try it eventually,” said Timmy.

And the champ's name is... Seis. Seis? “I couldn't think of a better name... normally I like to name them by something they do... but this year he didn't really do anything... he'd just kind of run and eat but nothing that really stuck out as a trade name for me. Seis because he's my sixth lamb so that's his name.” So there!

In the beginning: “My original plan was to raise every animal,” explained Timmy. “My first year I raised a pig and then I did a lamb and I thought this is pretty easy, pretty fun. Then I was going to do a goat and I was like... naaaaah... I don't think I want to raise a goat... I'll wait a little bit and then go to steers eventually maybe. So much for plans.

Though Seis was relatively easy to raise, it was not all peaches and wool. “I was out of town for a few weeks and I came back to find Seis had gained some weight so it wasn't all muscle,” explained Timmy. Continuing: “When I came back I had two weeks before the Fair so I had to exercise him a bunch... run him to get him back into shape for the Fair.” In effect Timmy re-toned Seis for the grand finale.

And the auction money? “I'm going to save it for college,” he said, adding, “Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.” Another Cal Poly student. For? “Ag business.” To follow in dad's footsteps? “We'll see, I'm not quite sure yet. I might do a dual major and minor in a few other things.” Most ag interest? “Not quite sure, I just like agriculture in general and how it helps the world.” Odds are Timmy will merge into the family business... Otto and Sons Nursery. Just a hunch.

Seis was bought for $40.00 lb. X 150 lbs. = $6,000.00.

Paula Laureano, 18, Fillmore FFA, raised a 263 lb. pig that won Grand Champion Barrow show... all male pigs.

Last year Paula raised a gilt.. female pig. Paula explains the difference: “males have more fat and the females are more muscular. But it differs every year and it depends of where you get your animal.”

Raising Gizmo was not without challenges. “He was dropping his stomach, not getting filled out,” explained Paula. “He was getting really muscular which was odd because usually he would have more fat but he's fattened up now.” And to fatten up Gizmo? “I gave him MorePhat, lots of oats and beet pulp which is supposed to drop their stomach.” Drop their stomach? “Because they have flanks which is by their hams so dropping their stomach makes them look more filled out and builds them up making them look full,” explained Paula. That's it! My stomach's dropping a bit so maybe I'd better start cutting back on the dang beet pulp! Thanks Paula!

Obviously there's a lot more to raising a pig than walking him in the morning and dropping some slop in the pen. “Yes,” proclaimed Paula, “cleaning the pen every day and bathing it every other day, it's actually hard work.” I get that! Which is why I'm not raising pigs!

Paula will be applying her sale proceeds to Moorpark College to study psychology. Why? “I like working with the kids, you know, it's something I like to do,” she said. Adding, “afterward I plan to transfer to Humbolt State because that have a really nice native American program there and I am a native American (Chumash and Paiute) so... I want to actually relate to all the other native Americans there and actually feel like I am into my culture.”

For next year, Paula will be going back to her Bakersfield breeder and getting another pig. Sure... why not?

Yes, some animals won championships… most didn’t. But spend any time with any of the kids and you quickly realize that every one of them that raised an animal is also a champion. They fully understand and execute their responsibilities and their dedication to their animal is remarkable.

But no kid could undertake such projects without the dedication and assistance of their parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles, neighbors and teachers. When you see a youngster with a steer or goat or pig... realize that there's an incredible support team behind that kid. All together... their value is priceless.

To all the kids in the 4-H and FFA programs... from one and all… congratulations. You have accomplished much for which we are all very proud. Now get back to work!!! Petunia's pen is a mess!