In the six years he has been showing beef around the state, 4-Her Tyler Hough, of Mount Airy, has learned a lot and is happy with his progress.

"This is my best year of showmanship with heifers," said Tyler, in a telephone interview, at times leaving this reporter incredulous that this is a 13-year-old young man on the other end of the line. He clearly knows his way around a side of beef.

Jennifer Carroll, of Ellicott City, 11, who has a Market Steer project for the second year, also found herself further along on the growing curve.

"Field Day gave me a chance to get to know my animal better as well as learning a lot more about animals in the education round," Jennifer said.

This year's livestock sale will take place Aug. 8 at 6:15 p.m.

We first met these two young people back in early January when they brought their market steers to the fairgrounds to be tagged and weighed, mandatory requirements for all 4-H'ers with a market project.

In a few days, the 63rd Annual Howard County Fair begins and both Tyler and Jennifer will be showing their animals during the week, and leading them into the public arena for the 4-H livestock sale on the Friday evening of fair week.

And while the work begins as soon as the 4-H family purchases their cattle with the 4-H'ers involved in the daily and weekly chores such as feeding, washing and clipping, they still have many opportunities to acquire knowledge and check their progress along the way.

The 31st annual Howard County 4-H Beef Field Day held April 26 at the fairground gave the 4-H'ers a chance to weigh their animals and attend a mandatory educational round robin program. It was a chance to bring their animals into the ring for the first time and see how they react in unfamiliar surroundings.

Jennifer, who doesn't name her animals to make it easier to part with them at the auction, had some rough going in the show ring as her 1,030-pound Angus steer -- up from 669 pounds back in January -- got out of line a few times. The young girl took it all in stride.

"When I walked into the show ring my steer was not cooperating, but that's okay because I got to know my animal better and working with my animals will help my chances at the fair," said Jennifer, a third-generation 4-Her. She also said she learned a lot at the round robin from tips on clipping to facts on ringworm and how to show your steer. Her steer currently weighs 1,235 pounds.

For Tyler, the day was a great success with the young man winning the intermediate and overall grand championship ribbon in showmanship. Tyler modestly explained that it is getting easier to work with the cattle because as they age they usually become calmer around people.

His heifer, Sophie, his showmanship animal, also took the Reserve Champion Shorthorn Heifer prize.

Tyler has three market projects but is allowed to sell only one at the fair. Tyler thinks his steer, Hocus Pocus will be more market ready at the time.

Rob Rynarzewski, judge at the 31st Howard County 4-H Beef Field Day, knows it's more than the age of the animal that works magic in the ring.

"Tyler has a good working relationship with his animals," said Rynarzewski, who went through the system himself, starting in 4-H when he was 8 and showing cattle and sheep. He understands how it feels to be on the inside of the ring.

"I go up and try to offer them (the contestants) a bit of advice to help them make it better," Rynarzewski said.

The judges check for foot placement and how the 4-H'ers pull their animal in and make eye contact right away. Rynarzewski said he looks to see how well the 4-Her can maintain control of the animal.

"The first couple of years I knew I had to watch and learn. My showmanship gets better and I get more confident each year. Tyler said. "This has been my best year of showmanship with heifers," said the young man, offering advise handed down from his grandfather, Dale Hough, who started the family beef farm in Mount Airy: "You win, be quiet about it."

Buy the beef

Part of the market beef project is promoting the product. Each 4-Her has to put together an information packet to present to prospective customers. A power point presentation is one option in these hi-tech times and was one of the topics at the education round-robin on Field Day.

Patty Carroll, Jennifer's mom, said the beef sale is open to everyone and that many 4-H'ers line up different companies or organizations who support their efforts and bid on the animals once the sale is open.

"Four families in a neighborhood could get together and buy a steer and each would end up with a quarter side of beef," said Carroll explaining further that after the sale the animals are processed at different meat lockers in the area where they are cut into steaks, ground beef or hamburgers according to the buyer's choice. The processing plant will cut, wrap and freeze the meat for the buyer at a price, usually around 48 cents per pound.

In addition to market steer, there will also be small animals such as rabbit, market hogs, meat goats and market lambs for sale. Buyers need to sign-in and get a number before the action begins. Whether or not you intend to buy it's always a lively show as the buyers vie with each other for the prize.

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