BARTOW — Last year’s youth fair didn’t go so well for Kimberly Harwell, whose steer suddenly fell ill and died just a month before show time.
The 14-year-old Lakeland native, who is leaning toward a career in either veterinary or sports medicine, had better luck this year, coming away from Polk County’s 71st annual Youth Fair with the top prize for a steer in the open market category.
An eighth-grader at Lake Gibson Middle School, Kimberly spent a good portion of Friday afternoon grooming Apollo, a striking, 18-month-old crossbreed weighing in at 1,362 pounds. His future, though, is bleak, as he was expected to fetch a pretty penny at Friday night’s cattle auction, a youth fair tradition.
There’s a good chance that Apollo will end up as the feature dish at a company picnic, something that Kimberly, a veteran in Future Farmers of America circles, knows all too well. Parting with an animal that she’s cared for, and labored over, these past 11 months, is the inevitable outcome of the agriculture business.
Prideful of winning top prize, she looks forward to next year’s contest.
“I really wanted to be great at it,” Kimberly said of her efforts to raise a show-worthy cow. “He (Apollo) is amazing. He’s structurally correct … And he’s longer than most. That way you get extra steaks.”
Animal husbandry runs strong in the Harwell family. Kimberly’s older sister, Katie, 17, took second place in the grand champion carcass class of steer, where the quality of beef, such as meat-to-fat ratio, outweighs other considerations.
Katie, a senior at Kathleen High School where her father, Doug, is dean, intends to study agricultural science at the University of Florida. She urges younger students to get involved in youth fair activities and agricultural clubs.
“There’s so much more than just farming (involved),” she said. “(You learn) about nutrients, soil types, fertilization, marketing.”
Hundreds of students from FFA and 4-H clubs throughout Polk took part in this year’s week-long fair, which ended Friday with a recognition ceremony hosted by Polk School Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd.
Students won ribbons and trophies for all manner of categories, from growing picture perfect tangerines to raising prize-worthy rabbits, chickens and hogs.
And then there’s Jayden Black, 10, a fifth-grader at Victory Christian Academy, who garnered a bevy of ribbons for archery skill, barbecue sauce, jellies, chili, woodworking and more, not to mention a few prize-winning goats.
Why goats? “It’s a lot easier than (raising) cows,” said Jayden, who hopes to take over his dad’s business — Luke’s Lawn Care — one day.
— Eric Pera can be reached at eric.pera@theledger.com or 863-802-7528.