Cattle take front stage at Westmoreland County Fair
From time to time, Kathy Kerber has thought about getting rid of her dairy show cows.
Kerber, who owns Timberlane Farms of Herminie with her husband, Joe, had never shown a cow, and her children were too old to continue. However, Kerber saw the cows as a teaching instrument for her young grandchildren and their friends and decided to keep them.
"I think caring and showing a cow teaches (a child) a tremendous amount of respect for themselves, respect for the animal and the time it takes to prepare these animals" for the contest, Kerber said.
All 18 of Kerber's show cows were on display Friday at the Westmoreland Fair, collecting a virtual rainbow of ribbons in the livestock judging contest.
The 56th annual fair in Mt. Pleasant Township culminates tonight with the Demolition Derby and the 4-H dance.
Annisa Wolfe, 12, of New Stanton was one of the children who showed Kerber's cows yesterday.
Her cow, an 8-month-old Guernsey named Bitsy, placed second in the 4-H division, fourth in the open competition and qualified to move on to the district livestock competition next weekend.
Wolfe, who is friends with some of Kerber's grandchildren, talked about the responsibility it takes to be successful in showing a cow at the fair.
"We have to walk the cows to practice (for the show), feed them in the mornings, make sure their feet are set up a certain way, bathe them, clip them and clean out their ears," Wolfe said. "We're responsible for our own cows."
The contest was judged by Dwight Stolzfus of Pennwood Farms in Somerset County. Gary Sheppard, director of the Penn State Cooperative Extension in Westmoreland County, said the judging process is a complicated one that has a lot to do with the ages and breeds of cow.
All cows are judged on mostly their physical appearance and "traits that predict the animal is going to live a long and productive life," Sheppard said.
Among other criteria, the cows are judged on udder traits, straightness of legs, spring of rib or open rib (which shows the capacity of an animal to digest food) and their "top line," or the overall straightness of their back and skeletal system.
Sheppard said the popularity of the livestock competition is a direct reflection of the county's agricultural heritage.
Sheppard said agriculture in Westmoreland is a $58 million industry, with $18 million of that coming via the dairy industry. "Those numbers just show you that is a pretty big piece of who we are in this county," he said.
Wolfe's mother, Karen, said her daughter has always had a passion for horses -- for show and barrel racing -- but is just exploring showing cows, thanks to Kerber.
"She does competition gymnastics, she's a (West Hempfield) middle school cheerleader, but if she had to choose, she would be involved in animal competitions," Karen Wolfe said. "I always said it was an obsession, but I realized it's not -- it's a passion."
