St. Clair County 4-H’er is Tops in Nation

Auburn, Oct. 13, 2003 --- When 10-year-old Locke St. John packed his bags for a baseball tournament recently, several items might have surprised his teammates.  He tucked a half dozen back issues of Hereford World magazine between T-shirts and his uniforms.  In addition to his love of baseball, the St. Clair County 4-H member loves his Hereford show heifers.

            “Taking care of my heifers is hard work,” Locke said.  “Every day I have to feed them and rinse or wash them.  I had to teach them to walk on a halter, and now I work with them on setting up in the show ring.”

            Caring for and showing livestock is major commitment not only for the young person but the rest of the family as well.

            St. Clair County Extension agent Kent Stanford called 4-H livestock projects a family affair.

            “I don’t know of another program that gets a whole family working together,” said Stanford.  “All of the St. Johns are involved.  Locke does most of the everyday work with his dad, Kent, supervising.  His mom, Joy, makes sure he doesn’t neglect his school work, and she’s his biggest supporter at ringside.  Even Locke’s younger brother, Carter, helps with the cattle.”

            The St. John family is not a traditional Alabama farm family.  Neither Kent nor Joy were raised on a working farm.  Kent, who had worked in industry, now does custom farm work, and Joy is a registered nurse practitioner.  A small neat barn and pasture stand just to the side of their log home in Pell City.

            Locke’s commitment to his animals and his livestock project earned him a major honor this year when he was named the Pee Wee Showmanship Champion at the American Hereford Association Junior National Show in Indianapolis.

            He competed against 53 young people from 33 states.  He advanced from his showmanship class to the semifinals and then to the final show drive.

            “My heifer was just worn out from being shown, but I just kept working with her to keep her showing good and getting set up right,” said Locke.  “The judge put me third to last during the finals.  I think he was looking to see if I would keep working with my heifer.  We all walked our animals and set them up one last time.  Then, the judge walked up and shook my hand.  I was pretty surprised and excited.”

            Locke won a silver belt buckle and a cash prize for his hard work.

            Locke’s parents are proud of their son’s accomplishments.

            “I think showmanship competition really highlights the young person’s work,” said his father, Kent.  “The judge can tell which young people have been really working with their animals and training them to show well in the ring.  Showmanship is all about the work of the young person.”

            Locke’s mother, Joy, agreed.  “A judge can pick out the youngsters who have worked with their animals.  Showmanship rewards that hard work.”

            Kent St. John said he has always emphasized showmanship to his oldest son.

            “Locke began showing lambs.  We thought showing lambs would be a good experience for him, especially showmanship.  You don’t win showmanship by buying a good ‘show lamb’ or ‘show heifer.’  You win showmanship by working with that animal every day and building a bond with it,” he said.

            This was Locke’s second year to compete at the Hereford Junior Nationals.

            “Baseball All-Stars fell at the same time as Junior Nationals. We gave Locke the choice on what he wanted to do.  Both times he chose the Junior Nationals,” said Kent St. John.

            Stanford, who leads the St. Clair County 4-H youth livestock program, said the St. John family is an integral part of the growing program.

            “Both Joy and Kent support all the county’s young people at home and at shows.  They offer advice and support to the kids, especially those just getting started,” said Stanford.

            Kent St. John is working with Stanford to expand the program.

            “I want to see our county have more involvement.  We started with just two or three young people, and that’s more than doubled this year.  Some just need a little encouragement to keep them interested and motivated,” he said. “I try to set a good example for the youngsters.  It’s important to abide by the rules and to have a good attitude even when you don’t win.  If adults don’t act as good role models, they cannot expect the young people to behave differently.”

            The growing program is also garnering recognition just like Locke.

            St. Clair County won the herdsmanship contest at this year’s Alabama Junior Beef Expo.  The Junior Beef Expo is the culmination of the 4-H beef cattle show season.  In order to compete at the expo, a young person must have shown at the district level.

            “That was big for us,” said Stanford.  “The herdsmanship contest rewards county groups who work together.”

Judges score counties on the upkeep of their barn area as well as their public information efforts to visitors. 

As for Locke, he plans on continuing to do what he loves — working with his Hereford cattle and play baseball.

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