The 2017 Fayette County Junior Fair Dairy Show was held Wednesday at the sales arena with Anita Pursell and Victoria Schappacher taking the top prizes.
The dairy competitions began at 11 a.m. Wednesday with seven dairy feeder classes. The competition was as hot as the day as exhibitors attempted to claim the grand champion position. Jeff Fisher judged the event and decided to award Anita Pursell’s project Grand Champion Dairy Feeder.
“It is exciting, very exciting (to win grand champion),” Pursell said. “We push them on full feed as soon as we can, since the middle of May I walked with him every day, and I don’t know sometimes it is just luck. (To the younger exhibitors) It is okay if you don’t do good your first time because it is just your first time. You just need to keep on practicing and believing in yourself.”
Fisher said that he chose Pursell’s dairy feeder because it was one of the most structurally correct calves that he saw in the ring. He said think about what is in a steak: bone, meat and fat. Once the animal has the right bone structure, Fisher said an exhibitor can build the right muscle on their animal. Fisher also said that Pursell’s calf had a really nice long level top, which is where they get high value steaks.
Michael Schappacher won the reserve champion dairy feeder prize Wednesday and Victoria Schappacher was named the Overall Dairy Feeder Showman.
After a brief break, the dairy steer projects competed between four classes to determine a Grand Champion Dairy Steer. Victoria Schappacher once again claimed another victory as she not only won the Grand Champion Dairy Steer prize, but also solidified her position in Saturday’s Showman of Showmen competition by being named the Overall Dairy Steer Showman.
“I didn’t think I was going to win anything today,” Victoria said. “I’m pretty good and I feel blessed. Thank the good Lord that nobody got hurt today and the animals behaved. Things worked out today and my family really pushed me this week to keep going and get this animal where he needed to be, so he could be a great representation of what an animal should look like.”
“In terms of grand champion, I talked about how this steer is a big great healthy, bulky steer,” Fisher said. “That animal is balanced. He is extremely long-bodied, so I feel you will be able to cut an extra steak or two out of him, which adds a lot of extra value. He was very well-conditioned. This young lady does an excellent job of feeding him. He had great fat cover over his ribs all the way to the rear flank. That makes me think he is easily a great choice premium as a seller.”
