Both Walton Webcasting and Purdue University Extension proved in 2020 that you can hold livestock shows virtually. If necessity is truly the mother of invention, it certainly worked in this case. Without it, some counties wouldn’t have had any livestock shows for 4-H members who worked with their animals all year. However, being able to do something and deciding if that’s the right way to do it are two different things.
Thomas Buckham, a sheep producer from Schoolcraft, Mich., made it clear when he judged the 4-H sheep show in Johnson County, Ind., in late July that thousands of 4-H’ers in his state weren’t getting a chance to show. In Indiana, several counties, like Johnson County, opted for one-day shows of each species, with attendance limited to only exhibitors, their families and helpers. Buckham noted that it was a great opportunity for the kids in Johnson County to get time in the show ring.
We agree. In fact, we suggest the goal that everyone involved with 4-H livestock shows, including Purdue Extension, make it a top priority to ensure that one way or another, live shows return to all 92 Indiana counties in 2021.
Some feared virtual shows would lend themselves to cheating, and perhaps they did. The fact is that certain people will cheat, whether it’s a virtual or live show. The bigger point is the type of experience 4-H’ers receive from virtual vs. live shows.
About the kids
My wife, Carla, and I are proud of our grandson, Graham Curtis. It was his second year showing sheep. He didn’t bring home any purple banners this year, but he grew up as a showman and as a young man, right before our eyes.
“We brought home something more important than a purple banner this year,” Carla told me on the way home. “Our grandson grew up today. He was so much more confident. He tossed off halters and showed like a pro, and he wouldn’t do that last year. What a difference a year makes.”
And what a difference a live show makes. Submitting photographs for a virtual show might have helped his computer skills, but he already spends way more time on his tablet than Grandpa and Grandma think is necessary. Even if he had prepared a 90-second video showing his sheep and uploaded it for a judge sitting in Michigan to review by computer, he would have learned little more than computer skills.
If you want young people to grow through the experiences of 4-H, like perhaps yourself and thousands of others have, they need to experience 4-H in real life. That’s because it’s preparation for real life.
You can’t duplicate the nervousness before going into a show ring, or the intensity necessary to command a judge to look at your animal, virtually — it’s impossible.
Our kids are learning about computers, social media and artificial intelligence in plenty of other places. If they learn about those topics through 4-H projects, too, that’s great. But when it comes to 4-H livestock shows, they need to learn about interaction with their animal and with each other — live, in the show barn and in the show ring.
To accept anything less in 2021 won’t be doing justice to the next generation of 4-H’ers. After all, 4-H was, is and always will be about the kids.
Comments? Email tom.bechman@farmprogress.com.