JUDGES AFFECT SUPERMARKET MEAT CHOICES

No fair would be complete without long pole buildings filled with livestock to be judged, and the SEMO District Fair in Cape Girardeau is no exception.

But there's more at stake in the livestock shows than a blue ribbon for the best looking calf, pig or sheep.

Judges' decisions at fairs across the nation are used to determine what kind of meat ends up in America's supermarkets and refrigerators.

Gary Naylor, a Buffalo, Mo., cattle breeder, has judged beef cattle for 15 years. He's a livestock specialist for the University of Missouri and realizes there's more to a good head of cattle than a good head.

"Only 3 to 4 percent of beef cattle are breeding stock," Naylor said. "What we're trying to do is pick cattle that will help the industry. Right now, we want to increase muscle and decrease fat, because that's what the consumer's looking for.

"Of course, with our steer shows, we know where they're going to end up on somebody's dinner table."

Naylor said judging cattle, or any livestock, takes a trained eye. He said the winning livestock are those that appeal most to that eye.

"We're looking for size for their day of age and quality," he said. "Quality takes in eye appeal. They have to have balance, not too top-heavy or too muscled, but balanced. The cattle have to have a lot of good things going for them."

Bud Gerken judged dairy cattle Wednesday at the fair. He's been in the dairy business for 36 years and started judging 30 years ago.

He's judged at state fairs and has served as the dairy superintendent of the Missouri State Fair for the past six years.

Gerken said that although a judge looks for different things in different breeds of cattle, and dairy cattle are judged differently than beef, there also are similarities.

"The judges are looking for the animal that best represents its breed," he said. "They have to have a good hard top, the udder confirmation has to be tight; those are the things you look for in a dairy animal."

But Naylor and Gerken both said a major part of showing cattle goes beyond mere genetics. They said a good feeding regimen and how the animals are handled has as much to do with a champion animal as breeding does.

"You can't have one without the other," said Naylor. "It can be the best individual in the world, but if it's not managed right, it's still a common animal.

"You could sell someone an excellent calf and without the right care and feeding program, it could become average in shows," he said.

Naylor said the biggest reason people show beef cattle is to advertise their stock. He said fairs give breeders the opportunity to compare their animals with other farmers' stock.

The cattle judge said it's important for breeders to try to learn from other people's successes and try to apply those principles to their own operations.

He said "barn blindness" sometimes keeps cattle breeders from benefiting from the other cattle breeders at the show.

"People have a tendency to feel only the cattle in their barn are the best," Naylor said. "It's bad because you have to get genetics from other breeders to help your herd."

Naylor said the attitude also can lead some people to question his judgment when selecting the champion cattle.

"You'll always have people who feel they didn't get as good a place as they thought they should," he said. "But for this show, I was picked to judge. I'm the expert now, and for another show with another judge, their cattle might get first."

Gerken and Naylor agreed that they judge cattle for one primary reason it's fun.

"Some of the shows, especially the youth shows, I'll sign the check and give it back," said Gerken. "Having two kids in 4-H myself, it's just a great feeling knowing you're helping them out by telling them what they're doing wrong and how they can get better."

Helen Swartz of Lincoln University in Jefferson City judged sheep Wednesday at the fair. Her husband's a full-time farmer and she's helped raise sheep since she was a youth.

She said the greatest thrill she receives from judging is the opportunity to teach youths.

"I especially like judging youth shows and the education of the shows," she said. "I don't always like the politics of the shows, but I try to judge sheep, not shirts, and I don't always make all my friends happy."

Swartz said she always includes reasons for her decisions when she rates the sheep at shows to help the people showing the livestock.

"I try to make my reasons extensive enough so everyone can understand the value of animals," she said. "I try to make my comments in light of animal welfare feeding properly, handling properly and gently so that animal rights activists would find them favorable."

She said many farm children learn their first life lessons while working with animals, a responsibility she said she doesn't take lightly.

"If I see a youngster mistreating animals, I'll reprimand them on the spot," Swartz said. "If we'll treat our animals well, we'll treat people that way.

"Kindness can begin at home, teaching the children how to treat animals, and they'll transfer that over to humans as they grow."