The fall would not be complete without the South Carolina State Fair and the Angus shows. Recently two-year-old Wynn Bartee was taken to the SC State Fair by her parents, Bill and Elizabeth. It just happened to be the day between the dairy show and the beef show. After spending a day enjoying the sounds and sights, her comment on her trip to the fair went like this, “I went to the South Carolina State Fair. There were nooooo horses and noooo cows. The baar-aaarrn was clow-sed.” That reaction would be a normal disappointment of any true cow or horse lover at a state fair finding the cow barn closed.

But the Angus cows did show up a few days after Wynn’s visit and the show went on in the baar-aaarrnn. The 2005 SC State Fair Open Angus Show began on Friday, October 14 at 10:00.

The Open Angus Show class winners had adults and juniors competing. The grand champion Angus heifer was shown by Cory Watt. His entry, Whitestone CWF L Power P106 was the champion junior female as well as the class winner in the March junior yearling class. The reserve grand champion female was shown by Drake Yon but owned by Sally. Her heifer, YON Hazel R61 is the October 2004 daughter of Sitz Alliance 6595. She first won senior calf champion.

One junior heifer calf class was split. Grandfather Ted Bourne led Breann Steadman’s March heifer Patton Lady Agnes 526 into the junior heifer calf class and walked out with the blue ribbon.

The winner of the second junior heifer calf class was Louis Inzeo of Pamplin, VA with WHF Jestre SS21. The late senior heifer calf and reserve senior calf champion class was Tim McCauley of Sumter with BCF TC 104 Blackbird P224. Sally Yon with Yon Hazel R61 accepted the blue ribbon for the early senior heifer calf and also champion senior calf.

John Petty of Clover placed first in the late summer yearling and then won champion intermediate female with Pettys Royce Pride 304. Katie Pruitt of Abbeville followed by winning the early summer yearling heifer class and reserve champion intermediate female with Black Grove Pride 554.

The April junior yearling heifer class was topped by James Kellett of Simpsonville with Black Grove Formera 544. Cory Watt of Iva stood at the head of the March junior yearling heifer class and then won champion junior female with Whitestone CWF L Power P106. Sally Yon of Ridge Spring won again in the early junior yearling heifer class. Then her heifer, Yon Witch P309, won reserve junior champion female.

Tim McCauley of Sumter with BCF Ili Ezi RA 226 competed and won first in the late senior yearling female class and then took champion senior female. The early senior yearling female and reserve champion senior female ribbons were awarded to Russell Wood of Willow Spring, NC, with Patton Monica 337.

The bulls were next. Louis Inzeo of Pamplin, VA, won grand champion bull and champion senior yearling bull with WHF Angus Classic. Ted Bourne of Donalds led Cedar Creek 41–93 2508 to the reserve grand champion and junior bull calf class winner. Louis Inzeo led WHF Gangbuster to win late senior bull calf and reserve champion senior bull. Russell Wood of Willow Springs, NC had champion senior bull with WCC Bounce P181. John Wesley Edmunds of Clover had champion junior yearling bull with his Edmunds New Promise. Dr. Dave Nichols from Manhattan, KS, judged the Angus Open Show.

The next day on October 15 at the junior Angus portion of the beef show, Sally Yon of Ridge Spring, took the grand champion Angus heifer with her early junior yearling class winner, YON Witch P309. Sally showed the January 2004 daughter of Twin Valley Precision E161. Right behind her as the reserve grand champion Angus female stood Breann Steadman of Greenwood with her class winner and calf champion. Breann was showing her Patton Lady Agnes 526, the March 2005 daughter of G 13 Structure.

Others juniors were class winners. Garrett Metz won the early junior calf and the reserve calf champion with Buckanan’s Yellow Rose G38. The.late senior calf winner was Destiny McCauley with BCF TC 104 Blackbird P224. Corbin Yon’s Yon Witch R85 took the blue ribbon for the early senior calves. John Petty stood first with his late summer yearling, Pettys Royce Pride 304. The early summer yearling class had Katie Pruitt at the top with her Black Grove Pride 554. Cory Watt won the class of late junior yearlings with Whitestone CWF L Power P106. Katie Pruitt topped the senior yearling class, leading her Lemmon Blackbird 157N heifer.

Showmanship exhibits the skill of the youth with the cow. Shaney Beth Spires won the junior showmanship class. Sally Yon stepped up to first for the senior showmanship class. Clint Rusk from West Lafayette, IN judged the juniors and their entries.

Samuel Hall of Clover got a big boost to his college fund at the SC State Fair. He won one of two $2500 scholarships awarded by the Farm Bureau. The contest for the highly prized scholarships was intense with 15-16 juniors competing in a multi-faceted contest.

On November 5 in Ridge Spring, SC, the Yon Family Farms had their fall bull and female sale. The next day Sunday, November 6 the officers and directors of the SC Angus Association met to plan the Carolina Futurity for March 2006. The officers and directors decided to accept nominations for the next election of their directors and officers. Nominations are due on December 1. During the days of November 13-15th the American Angus Association held their annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Show.

Stay tuned for an American Angus Outreach Seminar near you. In a continued effort to better communicate and interact with its members at the local level, the American Angus Association will conduct a series of Outreach Seminars for the third year. The seminars start in December 2005 and will continue into the winter and spring of 2006. The first Outreach Seminar in December is set is set for Wednesday, December 7 at the Holiday Inn Grand—Montana in Billings.

Association staff and directors will be on hand to discuss current Association programs, including the AngusSource^SM marketing program and genetic selection tools. They will also discuss the future of the beef industry and the role the Association and its members will play in the future of the beef business.

“These seminars were designed so our staff can visit with the membership in their own backyard. In addition to informing the membership about current Association programs, we also want to know what ideas are on our members’ minds,” says Jim Shirley, Association vice president of industry relations and director of commercial programs.

For more information about scheduled Outreach Seminars, go to www.angus.org or contact the Association at 816-383-5100.

Our state and county fairs are only one way Angus breeders can reach out to the general public to teach them about the farm life and agriculture in America. More and more people have little or no experience with the production of food on the farm and the needs of the farmer. The United States has been an example of the best methods of food production, allowing the U.S. farmer to harvest enough food to help supply the world. As we enter this holiday season, let us remember in this adaptation from Psalm 23, ”(Our) cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow (us) the rest of (our) life.” May God continue to bless us so that we can share our knowledge and abundance with our neighbors.

Thank you to Evelyn Edmunds, Lydia Yon, Ron Metz, Chris Perry and the American Angus Association for helping provide the news for this article. Send any news for the SC Angus Association to Windy Bartee at tumblet8@bellsouth.net or call 803-222-7533.Look for SC News at www.scangus.org.