by Doug Toburen
CNHI
Parson, Kansas —
It’s fair time across the country and the hustle and bustle of getting animals fit and trimmed and in shape for the ring is oftentimes more work than actually showing them—unless cattle are being prepared for the Super Cow/Calf Show at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kan.
The Super Cow/Calf Show is a whole different breed of show than those held at most county and state fairs.
In this show, open to all Kansas commercial cow/calf operators, producers exhibit pairs in pasture condition with no fitting allowed.
An entry consists of one cow and her natural calf. No bull calves are allowed. The age of the cow and birth date of the calf must be known and provided by the exhibitor.
Cows will be judged on type, structure, muscling, natural fleshing and soundness of udder, eyes, feet and legs. The same criteria will be judged on the calf.
According to Ron Holland, superintendent of the beef show at the Kansas State Fair, this year’s judges will be Dave Nichols, K-State beef specialist and Ken Schmucker, herdsman for John Oswald’s Gelbvieh operation in Hutchinson.
Judges will independently score each cow and calf. The total score of both judges will be used to rank pairs in the respective divisions.
“This type of show is very important to the cow business,” Norman Roth, Sterling, Kan., farmer/ rancher and show participant explains.
Roth has been in-strumental in bringing the Super Cow/ Calf Show back to the Kansas State Fair.
According to Holland, the show had been very successful but interest had waned in recent years.
“I’m not sure how long the show had been running but they didn’t have it the past two years,” Roth said.
Roth contacted the fair board to see what he could do to get it going again.
“Basically, they were happy to have it at the fair and they asked me to try to come up with sponsors and more participants,” he says.
As he began looking into companies that might be interested in sponsoring the show, Roth was pleasantly surprised with the reception he received.
“There were a lot of people that were interested in being sponsors of the show,” he says.
According to him, Frank Elliott, southern sales representative for Linn Post & Pipe out of Stillwater, Okla., was very instrumental in helping get sponsorship money.
“We are happy to be involved with the show by furnishing equipment and help at the show,” Elliott explains. “This is a great show designed for the commercial cowman.”
According to him, nothing is more important to the industry than having shows like this.
“A lot of commercial producers are updating their programs and have a very important part in the beef industry,” he says. “This show spotlights the progress commercial producers are making.”
Those reasons and several others are exactly why Norman Roth, his wife, Cindy, daughter, Cami, and son, Colton, are excited to get the show back at the Fair.
“It’s fun to go out and compete with guys who are doing things right,” Roth says. “It is a good, friendly competition.”
According to his wife, Cindy, Cami and Colton don’t show in 4-H and this gives them an opportunity to take cows and calves out of the small herds each have put together and compete against other Kansas producers.
Roth, Holland and Elliott all are excited about the show and encourage any cow/calf operator in Kansas to come take part.
“Something else that makes this show neat for the participants is the fact that it is a one-day show,” Elliott says. “You bring them in, show them and then you take them home that day.”
According to him, the people involved with the show have gone out of their way to make it convenient for the producer.
This year’s Super Cow/Calf Show is slated for September 13.
Those interested in participating in the show need to be registered by August 16. The entry fee for the show is $25 per pair.
Sponsors of this year’s show include:
•ABS
•Central City Scale
•Reno County Farm Bureau
•Sweet Pro Feeds
•Valley Vet LLC
Payout for the show winners is as follows:
•Grand Champion Pair—$600 plus five straws of ABS semen.
•Reserve Grand Champion—$400 plus five straws of ABS semen
•Third Place Overall—$250
•Fourth Place Overall—$150
•Fifth Place Overall—$100
That Kansas State Fair will be held Sept. 10-19. For more information on the Super Cow/Calf Show, or to enter, contact the Kansas State Fair office at (800) 362-3247 or go to www.kansasstatefair.com.
