Community support drives 4-H show season across rural communities

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Calgary, AB (Rural Roots Canada) – As 4-H show season gets underway across Alberta, members are stepping into the final stretch of a commitment that started months ago.

For many, Achievement Days are the payoff. The moment when late nights or early mornings washing and grooming livestock, or hours spent on a life skills project, get put in front of judges, buyers and neighbours all at once.

4-H Alberta Youth Advisory Committee representative Davis Gottenbos has been through it many times. He comes from a beef background and says the pressure of show day is something members spend the entire season working toward.

“It’s the culmination of hard work they put in throughout the season. It’s all these hours of work that go into them, and it’s like a big payoff for the members to see all their work displayed in one place at the end of the season.”

What people see on show day is only part of it. Gottenbos says the effort behind the scenes is something people outside of agriculture might not expect.

“It’s the early mornings when you’re working with animals and the late nights getting your animals groomed up and ready for the show.”

For members showing cattle, that means getting animals washed, building out their coat and keeping up a feeding and care routine over months. Gottenbos says he built much of his early 4-H career around steer and heifer projects tied to his family’s beef operation, and that showing a finished animal was the result of everything that went into it

“Getting to display some of my family’s beef and using our feed program to display a finished animal is a big deal for us.”

Gottenbos says the value of those projects goes beyond the ring. Working through cattle projects, he says, taught him initiative and responsibility at a young age, and those skills have followed him into his studies at the University of Calgary.

None of it runs without the community behind it, though. He says sponsorships, volunteer leaders and buyers who show up to local sales are what keep clubs going.

“You simply can’t operate without the great community leaders that we have.”

He says that support goes both ways. Members who grow up feeling invested in are often more inclined to want to give back, and organizations that buy projects or sponsor events are doing more than supporting a show.

“They are investing in future leaders when they’re giving their time or money to support these 4-H members,” said Gottenbos.

For many, the money from a livestock sale gets reinvested in their project the following year, building toward a herd of their own. Others use it for post-secondary. Gottenbos has done both, using early earnings to grow his cattle projects before later putting that support toward his education.

“It’s a pretty cool little circle of investment,” he said.

He says that for anyone thinking about attending a local show this summer, they don’t have to come as a buyer to make a difference.

“Members love coming and chatting to you about their projects. They love taking you through the stalls and letting you see a behind-the-scenes look.”

Across the province, 4-H clubs are preparing for local achievement days, where members will present their work to judges, buyers and community members. Show dates and locations are available through 4-H Alberta.

The post Community support drives 4-H show season across rural communities first appeared on Rural Roots Canada.