Townsend woman judges Lake County Fair
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RONAN — Checking back fat on a market steer or quizzing a 4-H kid about the beef industry might not sound fun, but Virginia Knerr enjoys the activities.
Knerr, the petite, redheaded Montana State University Extension Agent in Townsend, drove to Ronan and judged showmanship and market beef, hogs, lambs, goats and dairy for the Lake County Fair.
Knerr is a native Montanan, who grew up in south central Montana. A 4-H kid herself, Knerr raised and showed horses, beef, sheep and dairy. She was on the livestock judging team in college at Montana State University and became a MSU County Extension Agent. Now 25 years into the job, she still likes it. Knerr raises cattle and said horses are her hobby.
Judging three to five shows per year keeps Knerr busy. County agents in Montana like to vary the judges so the same folks aren’t judging the same kids all the time.
Knerr has judged the Alaska State Fair two times. She also does a lot of work with carcasses on the rail.
Asked about 4-H stock and ribeye size, Knerr said, “What I see from 4-H animals (steers) are more 10 to 12 inch ribeyes, with a smaller percentage of 13 to 14 inch ribeyes.”
What she wants to see is a 14-inch ribeye that’s grading choice with only .35 inch of back fat. Herefords need a half-inch of back fat to grade choice.
Knerr said her judging policy is to give every kid a chance to show his or her animal to its potential.
While she checks out their animals and their showmanship, Knerr also talks to the young people about their animal and the beef, sheep or swine industry.
For beef kids, one question she asked was, “What is one of the issues facing the beef industry?”
While it’s important to raise a quality animal, Knerr feels kids should know what cattle are selling for and problems a rancher faces.
As for advice for Lake County kids who have swine projects, Knerr said she thinks kids are honing in on the kind of hog to reach market weight.
“They’re shooting for 260 to 280 pounds,” Knerr, and they need to consider feeding and genetics to meet that goal.
For 4-Hers who raise market beef, Knerr said, “You can take almost any animal and make it a market animal, but you need to look at your feeding programs.”
It’s not enough to just pour the grain; kids need to know what each nutrient in the feed does for a steer.
“Do you understand what you are feeding and why?” Knerr asked. “Why (a steer) needs more energy and protein to begin with and then why change (the feed) to finish the animal?”
When the fair judging ended, Knerr would head back to Townsend to spend time in the meat lockers, since the Broadwater County Fair was held a week before the Lake County Fair.
