Managerial Program Opens Opportunities For Esch to Show at State Fair

By Richard Franta Sales & Editorial Intern
Thursday, July 31, 2008 9:00 AM CDT

With the Wisconsin State Fair and Pierce County Fair schedules overlapping, Jayne Esch, River Falls, admits that it can be hectic at times. Showing a heifer at back-to-back fairs can be rather tiring, but it’s even more straining when the fairs are on opposite sides of the state. Even so, she loves it anyway.

Esch, 17, will be a senior at River Falls High School this fall. She enjoys being involved in a variety of clubs and activities. She participates in drama, plays trombone in Jazz Band and has done Forensics. She is involved in FFA and is a member of the Martell Rushers 4-H Club. Esch is also active in Ecology Club and Global Awareness and Change Club.

After high school, Esch plans to attend college and major in economics. She’s still deciding which university she would like to attend, but has selected a course of study. “My interest in economics comes from a great history teacher that I had this past year. His teaching made me want to blend my interests in math and current events for my college major,” Esch says.

A few years ago, Esch and her older sister Ellen became involved in the 4-H dairy project. The Esch family bought two cows for the girls to show. However, Esch was only able to show once before her cow was sold.

The family had limitations on how much they could do with the dairy project. With only a small amount of space in the barn on their 60 acre hobby farm, they could not keep too many animals. Their remaining cow faithfully gave the Esch family a bull calf each year, therefore eliminating the possibility of having more calves to show.

Thankfully, 4-H has an excellent program for youth who want to show animals but cannot own them. The managerial program allows 4-Hers to work with an animal and show it while someone else retains ownership.

Pierce County’s dairy judging coach, Bob Traynor, helped the Esch family continue in the dairy project. Traynor is herd manager of Honeycrest Farms, Inc., Spring Valley. Well-known for having many successful bulls in AI, Honeycrest Farms was a great place for Esch to further her interest in the dairy project.

“It has been great having the Esch girls show our heifers. Jayne is easy to work with, and very patient with the cattle,” states Traynor.

Esch says, “Bob has taught me a lot, and he definitely makes it fun to show cows and be in dairy judging.”

With the managerial program, Esch chooses a heifer and then fills out the paperwork so that it can be shown. She works with the heifer all summer, training it to lead and properly fitting it for the fair.

“It is wonderful that anyone can have the experience of working with a heifer and showing it at the fair, even though they don’t live on a farm,” Esch says.

Besides showing dairy Esch is also involved in dairy judging. This year she was fourth high individual at the district contest and her team placed third overall.

With two fairs in two weeks, Esch’s schedule is tight. It is a five hour drive from Pierce County to the State Fair grounds. After the State Fair Esch will help Traynor wash and fit the other cattle that are being brought to the county fair. “Between the fairs there will be a couple days filled with wet clothes and cow hair,” she jokes.

“After spending two weeks at fairs you are pretty tired, but it is always a lot of fun,” Esch says.

Besides dairy Esch also enjoys showing goats at the county fair. She raises and shows Fainting goats. When startled, a Fainting goat’s muscles will temporarily seize up, causing the goat to walk with stiff legs or “faint” by falling over on its side. The fainting process is not hurtful to the goats and its quirkiness has made it popular on small farms.

Esch laughs about an event that happened when she took her goat, Elizabeth, to the fair. “I was walking her around on a leash like a pet. We were going through the beef barn when a steer started backing out of its stall. Elizabeth became afraid and fainted, even though she was in no danger since the steer was tied in the stall. I then had to drag her away from the steer with everyone staring at my fainted goat. It was pretty embarrassing. They always seem to faint at inopportune times,” she laughs.

Youth from Pierce County have only been showing dairy cattle at the state fair for six years, with Esch’s sister being one of the original exhibitors. “When my family went down to see Ellen showing at the Wisconsin State Fair it looked like it was a great time and I really wanted to do it,” Esch says.

Even though they’ve been going for only a few years, the trip already has many traditions built in. Esch loves eating sundaes at the State Fair, which are available in the Wisconsin Products Pavilion. “They’re really good and we typically end up having at least a couple,” Esch comments.

She says, “Showing at the Wisconsin State Fair is a great time. After a week of playing cards until you’re sick of them, getting up in the middle of the night to wash cows and hanging out with the other kids from your county, you’re exhausted but have had a lot of fun. I’m very happy that 4-H has the managerial program, which allows me to show a heifer and have this excellent experience.”

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