InFocus Magazine

It is a hot summer evening in mid-July. While most kids and teenagers might be flaked out on the couch playing a Wii game, Hope Lewis, Sarah Gunter, Emily Vossler and a half dozen other kids are leaning over the rails of a corral fence.  They watch intently as Hope’s father, John Lewis, demonstrates how to properly lead and ‘square up’ a 1,000-pound Hereford cow for a showmanship competition.

“You need to hold its head up, like this,” says Lewis as he pulls on the lead rope and raises the animal’s head, which is the size of a giant watermelon.  For the life of me, I simply cannot image little Sarah, age 11, handling such a large animal in a show ring.  I am, however, quickly assured that there are always plenty of adults in the ring alongside the pint-sized handlers, ready and able to leap into action and assist should any of the animals get out of control.

“Always keep your calf’s head up to present it to the judge and to maintain control,” continues Lewis. “Remember, in the showmanship class, the judge is looking to see how well you interact with your animal and whether or not you know how to position it for inspection.”

Lewis stops walking the cow, then taps one of its hooves with a pole.  Obediently, the cow moves her leg back until suitably ‘square’ and then stands patiently for inspection.

Learning to show beef and dairy cattle is serious business for these young people, all of whom are members of the Comox Valley 4-H Calf Club.  The two demonstration heifers, Daisy and Clover, and a steer named Frank, are just three of the 4-H Calf Club’s ‘projects’ that have been entered into various exhibitions this August, including the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) in Vancouver and the Comox Valley Fall Fair.

This will be 11-year-old Hope Lewis’ second time at the PNE—she will be showing both a steer and a heifer at the event.   She will be joined by her cousins Jenna Van Velzen, 14, with her steer, Frederickton, and Rhyan Lewis, 10, and her heifer, Clover.  Because Hope and Rhyan have chosen heifers (young females), rather than steers (young castrated males), as their project animals, they will be able to bring Daisy and Clover home to the family farm when the four-day event is over.  Next year, Hope plans to enter both Daisy and her calf in the competition.

For Hope’s steer, Pez, and 12-year-old Blair Schmelz’s steer, Frank, as well as two others who are making the journey from the Island to the PNE, however, this will be their final destination.  At 18 months of age and weighing in at around 1,200 pounds, the Hereford steers are ready to be sold for meat.

“I knew from the start that Frank would be sold at the PNE,” explains Schmelz. “I have tried not to get emotionally attached to him… I understand that cattle are raised for food.  It is just a fact. I expect to get about $2,000 for him and, after I pay back my dad for the cost of feed, I plan to save that money to buy a car when I am older.”

That said, Schmelz turns away and becomes focused once again on what Lewis is teaching.  One gets the feeling that what might appear to some to be ‘aloofness’ is more a coping mechanism, and young Schmelz has mixed emotions with respect to selling Frank.

As if in defense of her fellow 4-H club member, Sarah Gunter, looks at me with solemn eyes and adds with serious conviction, “You have to focus on the fact that the animals have had a good life—a better life than many other animals.  They get lots love and special attention in their lives.”

On the topic of raising and selling livestock, Comox Valley District 4-H Leader Elizabeth Legault says she had lost track of how many times she has stood at the PNE with a young person crying on her shoulder.

“You can’t take the emotion out of raising livestock and the kids never really get ‘hardened’ to it,” says Legault. “For this reason, we try to discourage the really young children from going to the PNE with the intention of selling their project animal. With time, the 4-H kids [like all farm families] come to realize that some animals represent a source of income and food.  But on every farm there are still the favorites that are kept until they get old and die naturally—no different than our dogs and cats.”

Unfortunately, the average urbanite usually only sees the end result of the 4-H association—by watching kids and their hogs, sheep, goats, cattle or other types of animals at regional fairs.  It is important to understand that this is only a small part of 4-H program.

Kids sign up for various 4-H programs in January and don’t even start raising their project animals until spring.  Meanwhile, there are monthly meetings where they learn about animal husbandry and farm safety.  They do a little fund raising and take field trips.  In January, each 4-H member chooses a topic, researches it, and then creates a three-sided education board to be worked on at home.  The range of topics covered is vast and could include everything from farm safety, first aid, technology, or something as simple as how to build a birdhouse.

The education boards are entered into various district, regional and provincial competitions where they are judged according to age-appropriate criteria.  For some people, this would be even more daunting that trying to wrangle that 1,000-pound steer.  The 4-H kids, however, have fun creating and showing off these important projects.

Trina Gunter, adult leader for the 4-H Calf Club, has spent many years involved with the program.  It is her job to oversee the business aspects of its operation and she does this with a firm hand and a gentle heart. It is obvious the kids adore her.  Her role is vast, covering everything from ensuring that proper meeting protocol is followed, that the Treasurer’s Report is accurate, that entry forms for the fairs are submitted and so much more.  Gunter sticks with it, she says, not because she has six children that need to be kept busy, but because it is a great way to teach young people responsibility and valuable social skills.

“4-H kids really do learn by doing,” she says.  “They do everything from muck stalls to practicing how to speak with confidence and poise when asked a question by a member of the general public… and they have a lot of fun while they learn.”

The 4-H clubs also work with community groups, such as Toastmasters, to help club members develop excellent communication and presentation skills.  This helps them with the education board competitions and when showing their animals at various exhibitions, where they answer questions from the general public with confidence, poise and professionalism.

In the spring, the children work with their parents and leaders to choose a lamb, piglet, calf, or other type of animal. They are expected to spend about an hour a day looking after their livestock and must keep record books to log the animals’ progress and the cost of feed.  Activity and commitment increases in July, when the animals have to be groomed and trained for upcoming shows.

All of the skills the 4-H kids acquire and the experiences they have meeting new people, public speaking, traveling, making new friends and generally becoming well-rounded citizens will serve them well later in life, as they become young adults and go away to school or get their first jobs.

The skills offered by 4-H are not new—in fact, the club is more than a century old.  Programs to enlighten youth about new farming practices and technology date back to about 1890.  Even then, the lure of the big cities was considered to be a threat to the future of the family farm.  Creation of the 4-H program, as we know it today, has been credited to an Ohio man named A.B. Graham. His program was established in 1902.  The now familiar 4-H symbol—a distinctive cloverleaf emblem emblazoned with four letter H’s that represent head, heart, hands and health—was developed a few years later.

As times changed, so did the 4-H curriculum, but the core of the program today is still a commitment to provide youth with an opportunity to learn how to become productive, self-assured adults who can make their community and country a good place in which to live. The philosophy of 4-H, as explained in their motto, is as relevant today as it was when written many decades ago: Learn to do by doing.

The 4-H movement started in British Columbia in 1914, when more than 200 young people were involved in a potato-growing project sponsored by the Department of Agriculture. (It was initially called the Boys and Girls Clubs and was re-named ‘4-H’ in 1952, in order to represent the head, hands, heart and health motto.)  Over the past 96 years, 4-H has grown and now has more than 2,350 youth and hundreds of leaders province-wide.

The BC 4-H program has four age categories: Cloverbuds is for kids ages six-to-eight, Junior for those ages nine-to-12, and Senior for 13-to-19-year olds.  Young adults, ages 20-to-21, can become 4-H Ambassadors and travel to various clubs in other regions to share their knowledge and expertise with others. While the kids are responsible for managing their individual projects and running their respective clubs, adult volunteer leaders oversee all activities.

4-H Clubs on Vancouver Island are divided into several Regional Districts—South Malahat, Cowichan, Cedar, Parksville-Qualicum, Powell River, Port Alberni and the Comox Valley.

The Comox Valley 4-H Club currently has about 75 members and 15 leaders active in five divisions: a Calf Club, which includes both beef and dairy cattle; the Tsolum 4-H Sheep Club, Comox Valley 4-H Swine Club, Comox Valley 4-H Horse Tails and the Gumbooters.

Gumbooters is the branch of the District 4-H Club that includes ‘odd stock’—the animals and activities that don’t fit into any of other the other divisions.  This currently includes poultry and other fowl, rabbits, cavies (Guinea pigs), goats, donkeys and dogs, as well as food and crafts. The list of animals and activities changes each year, as long as enough adults step forward to assist.  In previous years, for example, chinchillas, sugar gliders, sewing and small engines have also been included in the mix.

“We established the Odd Stock section in 1995 because the community club had grown to a point where it became too large,” explains Legault.  “This provided an opportunity to add other animals not included in the other clubs. When Shamrock Veterinary Clinic came on as a sponsor, the group was named the Shamrock Gumbooters, and was later changed to Shamrock Odd Stock and Crafts. Over time, it reverted back to simply be Gumbooters.  Shamrock Vet, however, remains our sponsor and we are grateful for their support.”

Other current community sponsors include Lloydshaven Farms, who supply the dairy cows for the Calf Club, as well as the  Comox Valley Exhibition Association, Dodge City Video, Black Creek Farm and Feed, the Comox Valley Farmers Institute, Comox Valley Dodge, Co-op, Casawood Farms and several other individuals and families.

Fundraising is a part of the 4-H program and the Gumbooters kids, for example, raise money to support their activities by setting up petting farms at various local events.  With a menagerie of chickens, goats, rabbits and other small animals, the petting farm helps the 4-H kids raise cash.  It also provides them with an opportunity to practice those all-important public speaking skills while sharing their knowledge of animal husbandry and handling.

“The great thing about Gumbooters 4-H Club is that it enables kids who do not live on farms or have a farming background to participate in 4-H,” says Gumbooters leader, Janet Martyn.

The cost for kids to join 4-H is $60 per year and financial assistance is available to families with several children or those who may not be able to afford the full dues.  But the number of kids that can be enrolled each year really depends on the commitment of adults in the community to come forward as volunteer leaders—more are always needed!  Prospective new leaders can be a young or old, new to agriculture or experienced.

“When I started in the 4-H program many years ago I was a city girl whose children wanted sheep,” explains Legault. “I knew nothing about raising sheep and learned along with my children. Many parents start out this way.”

After an initial interview and a police check, prospective leaders must participate in the provincial 4-H training programs, which cover the gamut from learning the 4-H Code of Ethics, to new developments in agriculture, recognizing signs of child abuse, how to deliver the program, and more.

“Being a 4-H leader is surprisingly very fun,” says Martyn.  “Even though I no longer have kids in 4-H, I continue to be involved because I love to watch them learn and grow.  My children, who are now young adults and have aged out of the program, liked 4-H so much that they still come back to the club to help out.  I also enjoy the friendships that I make with the children, their parents and the other leaders.  Our club is fairly small and, for me, it is like an extended family.”

For John Lewis, his daughter Hope and nieces Jenna and Rhyan, cattle and 4-H is also a family affair.  “Being in 4-H teaches the kids responsibility and they also learn important skills,” says Lewis, 44, whose family runs Courtenay Herefords.  “Our family has been raising beef cattle for 45 years, and dairy before that.  I was in 4-H for 12 years as a kid and it taught me a lot—teamwork, responsibility and a lot of other skills that apply in everyday life.  I want the girls to have the same opportunities that I had, especially in today’s world when everyone is sitting in front of TVs and computers.  It keeps the kids active and gives them a positive focus.”

Emily Vossler, age 15, has been in 4-H for six years and, like her fellow members, has many fond memories of going to the PNE and other fairs, attending 4-H camps and getting involved with the community.

“Some of my school friends just hang out all summer,” explains Vossler, part of the 4-H Calf Club. “But my 4-H friends and I get to be around animals and keep busy doing some really amazing things.  It is a lot of fun going to the fairs and connecting with club members from other regions.  I love it!”

For more about 4-H check out www.bc4h.bc.ca or call Elizabeth Legault at 250.338.1479.  See the local 4-H kids in action at the Comox Valley Exhibition Fall Fair, August 27-29 at the Courtenay Fairgrounds.