Brother and sister duo bring home national honors from Iowa Shorthorn cattle show
At the annual conference, youth had the opportunity to participate in numerous contests, including arts and crafts, photography, graphic design, public speaking and a quiz bowl to show off their knowledge. There was also a salesmanship contest, where contestants vied to persuade judges to 'purchase' the animal they were showing. The team fit competition involved full preparation of an animal for showing, including grooming the animal and then showing it to the best of their ability in order to exhibit its positive aspects and de-emphasize the negative. Young chefs competed in a beef cook-off contest, and herdmanship.
The June 24-29 show and conference was put on by the American Shorthorn Association. The association's mission is to promote the Shorthorn cattle breed in all aspects of the beef industry. Six-thousand junior and adult members have nearly 15,000 cattle registered. The junior portion of the organization is "dedicated to the betterment of its members, promotes valuable skills and fosters friendships that will last a lifetime." Their motto is "Juniors Today, Leaders Tomorrow." The focus of the conference was on education, communication, stewardship, leadership, mentorship and teamwork, through various contests, educational seminars and social events.
"I like the show barns on show day and where everyone has one goal and that is to make their cattle look good to the best of their ability," said Landon. "I also like that with Shorthorn cattle you are able to compete all over the country, and that you are able to breed shorthorns with crossbred bulls and get crossbred club calves."
McKalynne, 9, is going to be a York Elementary fourth grader, and likes the Shorthorn breed "for their different colors and they have good attitudes."
There is a great deal of work that goes into showing cattle. "We spend the weekends washing and working with our cattle's hair to get the hair the way we want it," noted 15-year-old Landon, who will be a sophomore at New Philadelphia High School this fall. "We also rinse and work hair every day. We practice walking and showing our cattle, time permitting. For us, this is a year-round project. Being members of the National and Ohio Jr. Shorthorn Association, we go to many national shows, like the Shorthorn Jr. Nationals, which are held in different states every year. We also show at the Ohio Beef Expo, Ohio Shorthorn Preview and state shows, the Ohio State Fair, Keystone International Livestock Exposition in Harrisburg, Pa. and the North American Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky.
"We have been raising Shorthorn cattle for about 10 years," he continued. "As a girl growing up, our mom showed polled Hereford cattle and she always wanted to show Shorthorn cattle, so we tried it."
The young people have been doing much more than trying. At the national competition, Landon took fourth place in the team fitting contest and third in the photography contest for his age group. McKalynne placed fifth overall in kiddie showmanship for children ages nine and under.
Landon and McKalynne are the children of Mike and Leanne Helmke of New Philadelphia, and are also very active in the local youth 4-H program.