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Junior
Beef Show
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[JULY
14, 2004]
URBANA -- One of the
highlights of the 2004 Illinois State Fair Junior Beef Show is the
Performance Cow-Calf Class. This class provides the most expensive
and elaborate award presented at the Illinois State Fair. In
addition, it provides one of the most lucrative premiums offered at
the fair.
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Implemented at the 2003 fair
was the division of the show into two age groups with winners
competing for their age champion. The classes are divided into the
Young Cow Division, comprising 2- and 3-year-old females, and the
Aged Division, made up of the 4-year-old and older females. This is
a change from the 2-year-olds comprising one class and all the other
females in the mature cow class.
Historically, the silver punch
bowl awarded to the grand champion cow was one of the most expensive
and impressive awards of the Illinois State Fair. For 2004 there
will be two silver awards presented, with one of these for the grand
champion young cow and one for the grand champion aged cow. As in
the past, rules will limit the possibility of any exhibitor of cows
winning these more than once in a lifetime.
Special recognition needs to be
given to supporters of the Performance Cow-Calf Class. The late Fred
Killam from Jacksonville was a major force behind the development
and continuation of the class. Killam obtained the seed money from
commercial firms in Illinois to initially pay the premiums and buy
the silver punch bowl set. Recently, the Illinois State Fair picked
up the premium for this class, with the trophy being jointly funded
by funds generated by Killam and the Illinois Beef Association. The
Fred Killam family, under the leadership of Bill Killam of Lake
Forest, a former exhibitor in the ISF Junior Beef Show, will
continue to provide support for the 2004 Performance Cow-Calf
trophies.
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Exhibitors planning to show in
the 2004 class should remember that there is a Jan. 1, 2004,
ownership requirement. Also, cows must show with their most recent
natural calf at side. Cows whose most recent calf is a weaned bull
are not eligible to show. Age spread for the calf at side is from
Aug. 15 the preceding year for fall-born calves and extending up to
a calf born just before the current Illinois State Fair.
Another plus for the
Performance Cow-Calf Class is that heifer calves at side born from
Jan. 1 to March 31 of current year are eligible to show in their
breed's (or AOB) heifer show, thus providing the opportunity to
obtain additional premiums for the pair. In addition, a special
accommodation of the class is that the pairs are released at the
completion of the show on Thursday.
Exhibitors wanting additional information should contact Dave
Seibert, superintendent of the ISF Junior Beef Show and animal
systems educator with University of Illinois Extension, (309)
694-7501, ext. 224.
[University
of Illinois news release]
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