The Maine 4-H Beef Team is a cooperative extension of the University of Maine, and provides youth with hands-on education in the beef cattle industry.
Their education is put to the test at the Big E — formally known as the Eastern State Exposition — where 4-H students participate in a beef show, auction, and other agricultural activities. The animals students bring to the fair are in their care for a year before showing at the Big E.
4-H is a national youth development program of the US Department of Agriculture, emphasizing participants’ use of head, heart, hands and health. Youths ages 12 to 18 can choose from a range of projects, such as livestock showmanship to building a robot.
Gushee only takes the best with her to Big E, and keeps an eye on student’s skills as they participate in smaller shows during the spring and summer.
“You have to do your homework at home, it’s not going to come overnight,” Gushee said of the skills that make a good showman.
At the Big E, the Maine team competed in showmanship, Skillathon tests, a cook-off, and more activities , Gushee said.
They competed for points to win the coveted 4-H Sweepstakes, which recognizes excellence in an activity.
But, the competition is not just about a student’s knowledge of beef steers and heifers.
Respect, discipline, professionalism, teamwork, and caring for animals without help are the qualities Gushee values the most.
Those qualities are essential for fulfilling the responsibilities of adult life, she said.
Kristen Grondin, 4-H animal science liaison for the Maine beef team, said the skills 4-H students learn in the barns can prepare them for their futures.
“They’re not learning just about showing cows. They’re participating in public speaking,” Grondin said. “They’re learning about being part of a team and meeting people from New England.”
Kiley Gavett, 15, has been in the cattle and 4-H world since she was nine, and said she makes friends everywhere she goes because of 4-H.
“You learn a lot from 4-H you could never learn inside of a school,” Gavett said.
At the Big E showmanship contest, she showed her steer, Big Boy, with confidence.
Gavett is extremely disciplined when it comes to facing obstacles in showmanship, and said she improves her skills every year.
“When I was little, I wasn’t able to pay attention,” Gavett said. “So now, the more that I show, the more that I learn, and I get better at showing.”
Because of her love for animals, Gavett hopes to become a large animal veterinarian in Maine.
Jeff McCarthy, father of twin 4-H teenagers and a former 4-H member, said his daughters worked towards the Big E for months.
Isabella and Olivia McCarthy, 15, have sacrificed playing sports and other activities to put full focus on beef, McCarthy said.
“They’re in the barn every single day. All year long,” McCarthy said. “Every chance they have to do a school project on something related to livestock or agriculture, they take advantage of it, just so they can start working on their skills.”
McCarthy, who was a student under Gushee, said 4-H judging contests helped him overcome his fear of public speaking.
“I was a very shy kid, and now you wouldn’t know it because I can go into a board meeting and talk for hours,” McCarthy said.
This year, the Maine team lost the sweepstakes by one point, but that didn’t change how Gushee felt about her students.
“I’m very happy,” she said. “I’m not taking credit for everything these kids have done…They already know what to do. I’m just their chaperone that’s keeping them going.”