Our Richmond County 4-H Goat Show is coming up next weekend. This is an event that you don’t want to miss! It is the sixth in a series of shows that are part of the 4-H Farm Credit Showmanship Circuit sponsored by Carolina Farm Credit and Cape Fear Farm Credit. We have more than 100 entries expected to come next Saturday to show their animals and their skills. Admission is free and there will be food sold on-site.
The Richmond County 4-H Cloverbud showmen this year are Lexi Reep and Ella Shelly. Junior goat showman is Tobey Lunceford. The Intermediate showmen are Ava Berry, Gavin Sessoms, and Savannah Shepard. The Senior Showmen are Coleman Berry and DeLani Reep. These youth have been working hard and representing our county well.
Rules and the schedule are listed on the Richmond County Cooperative Extension website at: https://richmond.ces.ncsu.edu/site-richmond-9/.
Point rankings are listed on the website now, if you would like to keep up with the results of this very competitive program.
At the first show in Randolph County, Savannah Shepard won Grand Champion wether, Reserve Champion doe and 1st place in Intermediate Showmanship. At the Guilford County show, Coleman Berry won 1st place Senior Showmanship, 1st place lightweight doe and 2nd place heavyweight wether. Savannah brought home 1st place heavyweight wether and 1st place Intermediate Showmanship.
Stanly County brought more winnings with Savannah taking home Reserve Champion wether and 2nd place in Intermediate Showmanship. Coleman also placed 2nd in Senior Showmanship. At the Montgomery County show, Savannah, Coleman, and Ava all placed 2nd in their doe classes. Savannah won Grand Champion in the wether show. Coleman and Savannah both won 2nd in their Showmanship classes. We are so proud of their accomplishments!
These youth each have a plan to practice and improve at each show. Based off of the judge’s recommendations, they make changes for the following show. Doing this allows youth to learn how to speak with adults and to be grateful for what others do for them. Seeing a young child shake the hand of the judge to thank him for his time and advice is very heartwarming to see. Seeing that young child congratulate someone who placed higher than them is even better!
The 4-H’ers are currently gathering sponsorship money to pay for our Richmond County 4-H Goat Show. It will be at 1 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Melanie and Dale Dewitt Farm in Ellerbe. We encourage the community to come out and support our hard working 4-Hers.
What these youth learn from showing livestock in the ring is only the beginning. They also learn leadership skills, animal husbandry, nutrition, health, record keeping, self-esteem, and responsibility to name a few. They make friends for life across the state and learn how to communicate with adults and other youth.
The future of agriculture lies in them, as they are the future farmers, doctors, teachers and agricultural advocates in our community. This is why we want to send a huge thank you to our sponsors and to all the parents, friends and family of the showmen who support them throughout the show season! If you need directions to the show or would like to make a donation, please call me at 910-997-8255.
Tiffanee Conrad is the Richmond County livestock agent with the N.C. Cooperative Extension office in Rockingham.
