4-H club preparing for Mineral County Fair

SUPERIOR – Mineral County 4-H participants were busy last weekend with an event on Saturday designed to raise money to support a field trip for the organization and another event on Sunday which featured the high pitched squeals of some less than enthusiastic four legged participants.

The busy schedule started Saturday with a carwash and bake sale in the parking lot of the Big Sky Motel in Superior. About a dozen 4-H members washed cars by hand while managing to occasionally spray each other with water from a garden hose. According to Mary Jo Lommen, leader of the 4-H Swine Project, the event was a way to raise money to send the group to a livestock show in Spokane.

“The livestock kids from Mineral County are raising money so we can spend a day over there,” Lommen said. “We want them to see the kids at a larger show so they can learn from it. So far it’s going well. Hopefully we will make enough money to go.”

The second event on Sunday was a way for the group to monitor the progress they have made with their animals and gauge how they need to proceed in the months leading up to the Mineral County Fair where they will showcase their hard work at market and competition.

The event, held near the animal holding pens at the fairgrounds in Superior, was a weigh-in for predominantly those 4-H participants raising pigs. The animals were weighed before having an identification tattoo placed on an ear. While some of the pigs were somewhat cooperative, most let their displeasure be known with high-pitched squealing that only subsided once they were back in the comfort of their pens.

Montana State University Extension Agent Dave Brink said it was important for 4-H members to know how their animal was coming along in health and weight so that they know how to regulate the animal’s diet accordingly.

“By getting an initial weight at a certain date, they can track how much feed they have to feed per day and how much gain they can have,” Brink said. “So by the time the fair comes around, they meet a target weight of anywhere from 230 pounds to 290 pounds. The tagging and tattooing is to verify identification. It helps them understand how to correct problems. It’s very important for them to maintain records during the length of their projects. They are learning important life skills like record keeping, animal husbandry, humane treatment of the animals and raising, showing and presenting the animal to buyers.”

Brink said he was happy with the progress made by the 4-H members. He said the weigh-in was an important learning experience for the members.

“It can be challenging,” Brink said. “The kids are learning how to feed and when to feed and how to keep the animals healthy. It all contributes to raising a quality market animal.”