The second annual Quality Counts workshop in Cooke County was held Oct. 24 at the Martin Trubenbach MISD Ag Center under the direction of Phyllis Griffin, county 4-H agent and her committee of volunteers. The event played host to 84 members of 4-H from Cooke, Grayson and Montague counties, 82 parents and FFA members from Callisburg and Muenster and guest speakers and presentators for the day long event of youth sessions and hands on workshops.

Hosting registration was Denise and Madison Pearse of Era and Chrissy Daniel giving the pretest and Phyllis Griffin, Cooke 4-H agent giving the welcome. Tommy Phillips, 4-H agent of Van Zandt County and a master teacher of beef conducted the overview of the program Quality Counts and a parent presentation. He spoke of showmanship; show conduct, how to assist your child with their project, and character of the project.

Youth conducted workshops were:

The Purpose of 4-H and FFA: Jadi Abner, Muenster FFA and Stephen Wallace of Era 4-H.

Animal Care and Well Being: Tori Hendon of Montague 4-H and Kelli Reed of Lindsay 4-H, It’s a Question of Character: Whitney Taylor and Loni Wilson of Red River 4-H, The Purpose of a Livestock Project: Aron Fleitman of Red River 4-H and Turner Coulson of Grayson County 4-H, Decision Making/setting Goals: Madison Pearse and Tim Farr of Era 4-H, Medication-Use/Following Labels: Tori Hendon of Montague Co and Kellie Reed of Lindsay 4-H, Impact of Livestock Projects on Red Meat Industry: Stephen Wallace of Era 4-H and Paige Dill of Lindsay 4-H and Responsibility of Producing a Safe Product: Kendall Pearse of Era 4-H and Carson Norton of Woodbine 4-H.

In the afternoon sessions participants spent time learning about selection, facilities, feeding program, animal health, show preparation and showmanship in the area of swine, poultry, sheep, goat, beef, dairy cattle, and rabbits. These sessions consisted of hands on with animals clipping and learning to show in the show ring. Conducting the work shops were:

Beef: Tommy Phillips and teen leaders: Jadi Abner and Aaron Fleitman

Goats: Lynn Peters and teen leaders: Murphy Norton, Kendall Pearse, and Kendra Walterscheid, Poultry: Serena Evins and Rudy Paclik and teen leaders: Kendall Evins, Rabbits: Pennye Taylor and teen leaders: Whitney Taylor, Tim Farr, and Maegan Fleming, Sheep: Robin Reynolds Watts and teen leaders: Lindsey Ritchey and Madison Pearse and junior leader Taylor Ritchey, Swine: Patty Norton and Pat Williams with teen leaders: Carson Norton and Cole McAden, and Dairy Cattle: Wayne Becker and teen leader: Paige Dill.

Texas has the highest participation totals in 4-H and FFA livestock projects in the nation. These members have the unique privilege to participate through many different avenues with their livestock projects at the county, district, regional and major show level. The tremendous support, dedication, and continued partnership with all livestock show officials make Texas second to none in extending this great opportunity to our youth. Sponsors of this event were: Dangelmayr Brothers Ranch, Bud and Lynn Peters, Chesapeake Specialty Products, Jeff and Connie McAden, Chris and Robin Watts, and Dangelmayr Show Goats who made this workshop possible.

During the day the participants learned the difference in showmanship (helping and teaching others win or lose) and gamesmanship (do to benefit yourself no matter the cost to others), how to use good medicine in the proper time period, and to be responsible for your animal not parents and friend. Participants were encouraged to use the highest quality standards in regards to personal character as well as the feeding and care of their livestock projects. Participants of the workshop were shown the importance of character and quality assurance and how it will bring us closer to producing the highest quality livestock projects exhibited by the highest quality kids.

“We had a great turn out for this program and lots of parents attended also’, stated 4-H agent Phyllis Griffin. “Special thanks to our sponsors for making this possible, to Muenster ISD for the location and to all my volunteers for the day who assisted in making this event available to all Cooke County 4-H and FFA members.”