96 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTLRE 



one pure-bred Hereford and one grade of the same breed. He took first 

 and second at the Marion county fair, and came to the state fair to take 

 second In the calf-breeding contest, third in the fat Hereford grade class, 

 and first in the fat pure-bred Herefords. 



"This is the first year the boys have been able to do this," said C. E. 

 Bishop, state club leader, in referring to the prizes won by calf club steers 

 in open contests. "It shows a big improvement in the care of the stock 

 and in the quality of the calves. The boys are developing a better eye 

 for stock, and they are buying stuff of better quality." 



There were one hundred and eighteen exhibitors in the calf-feeding con- 

 test, and fifty received awards. 



The farm bureaus of the state played a very important part in giving 

 the needed local support to the calf feeding work. For instance, the Mar- 

 shall county association paid the expenses of shipping the beeves to the 

 fair and back, besides aiding in the selection and the care of the calves. 



"We claim the best bunch of stickers in the state," asserted W. A. Bu- 

 chanan, county agent of Marshall county. "We started the work this year 

 with forty-seven head and finished with forty-four. Two of the three 

 that did not finish were put out by disease or accident, so that the boys 

 have just about a perfect record for finishing what they start." 



Fourteen of the forty-four were brought to the state fair. Seven of these 

 won places in the contest. The best two won sixth and seventh. All forty- 

 four are to be in the Marshall county contest at the coming fair, where 

 four hundred dollars in prizes has been offered in this class. 



Harry Haddock, of Rhodes, who won sixth place at the state fair with 

 Poncho Lad, is hoping to stay at the head of the Marshall county delega- 

 tion at the coming fair. He has a victory last year to his credit, and a win 

 this season will give him permanent possession of the Marshalltown Fair 

 cup. One of the interesting features at that fair for the boys will be the 

 giving of a prize for the best groomed and best shown calf. 



The Marshall county section of the bams was one of the neatest and 

 best looking of any at the fair. The boys had a good team-work system, 

 and planned so that one boy was on duty every hour. The team-work 

 idea carried even farther than that. Howard Richardson, of State Center, 

 whose Broad Hooks took fifteenth place, broke his arm a few days before 

 the fair, and could not make the trip. Henry Howard, another Marshall 

 county boy, took charge of the yearling and showed him at the fair. So 

 young Richardson will get his ribbon and his prize money, even if he 

 missed the fun. 



According to Mr. Buchanan, a good part of the responsibility for the 

 good showing made by the Marshall county boys rests on the breeders of 

 the county. Marshall county breeders have supported the club steadily, 

 and practically every man has agreed to furnish one calf for the feeding 

 club work. This gives the boys a chance to get stock of quality that 

 would be impossible to secure in any other way. 



Pigs were hardly the attraction that the baby beeves were, but the pig 

 club members still managed to put on an exhibition that was well worth 

 seeing. Seventy-one pigs were shown. 



