Press Release
The second meeting of United Beef 4-H Club was held May 31 at 7 p.m. at the Schrams’ house.
President Hayden Haw called the meeting to order and we recited the 4-H pledge.
All but one member were present.
The meeting began with a quick ice-breaker, then we reported the heart girth measurements of our steer or heifer.
With an elbow partner, everyone shared three beef terminology glossary definitions, which we had added to our book.
The minutes from the previous meeting were read. There were no errors or omissions, and everyone was in favour of passing them.
Next, everyone answered the roll call: “What is your favourite breed of cattle and why?”
We then took turns reading the section, “Breeds and Crossbreeds,” and were reminded to complete it before the next meeting activity.
Members also took turns answering the roll call: “When was your project calf born?”
We then read the chapter entitled “Selecting and Raising Heifers.” We again were reminded to complete it before the next meeting section.
Members then went outside and practised tying a quick-release knot around panels of a fence.
President Haw adjourned the meeting at 8:40 p.m. and thanked the hosts.
The third meeting took place June 14 at the Leblanc residence.
The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by President Haw, with 11 out of the 13 members in attendance.
Everyone recited the 4-H pledge, then each member discussed the exercise that required them to gather local breeding information and to select a breeding program that would best suit their needs.
Many members said they would prefer a cross-breeding program, particularly a dam and sire combination that produced easy calving offspring with potential for a growthy finish.
Next, Andrea Schram read over the minutes from our previous meeting. We found no errors or omissions, and everyone was in favour of passing the minutes.
We then began the following chapter entitled “Practical Herdsman Skills” and took turns answering the roll call of naming one skill you know how to do that requires a tool.
Some members said they can tag, clip, or trim calves’ hooves with the appropriate tool.
We then continued learning about herdsman tools for castrating, dehorning, tagging, and tattooing cattle throughout the chapter.
We proceeded to the next chapter, “Feeding and Nutrition,” and each member named a food that a ruminant animal such as a cow can digest.
As we read the chapter, we learned about the four different stomachs of the calf (the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum), as well as many different nutrients that provide energy for calves.
In conclusion of the chapter, we read over the before-the-next-meeting activity of collecting a nutrition label from our own food, as well as our steer or heifer’s.
For a team activity, the club was split into two groups. Each team had to complete two tasks: labelling herdsman tools and answering feed and nutrition questions.
The meeting was adjourned by President Haw at 8:45 p.m.
