For many showmen in western Illinois, the Prime Beef Festival not only marks the end of the summer but also the end of the showing season. Lynn Shimmin with the Warren County Prime Beef Festival committee says 38 cattle entered the cattle show between three divisions; pen, festival, and open.
The pen and festival division at the festival makes this show unique. Showman enter and choose their cattle from a lottery that is chosen 250 days before the show. This year, Shimmin says seven kids participated in the pen division of the show.
“Bowdie Gavin was the Champion Pen, and his cattle were also Champion Rate of Gain. Then we had the festival single show, Sawyer Kramer won that and his steer was also Champion Festival Rate of Gain steer,” says Shimmin. “And then Reagan Shike showed the Grand Champion Open single, and those open cattle are different because they have selected them themselves and either bought them or raised them and shown them at their County or FFA or State Fairs as a requirement to be able to exhibit there. Brooklyn Miller was a Reserve Festival Single, Dayne Gittings was Reserve Champion Open Single, and Davin, Reagan, and Rachel Shike showed the Reserve Champion Pen.”
Regan Shike showed the Grand Champion Open single. She says that while her steer may have a longer beauty routine than her, her hard work has paid off in the shoring.
“We did pretty good at County I got Reserve Champion on Open Day, and I won Rock Island County Fair and did pretty good at State Fair too,” says Shike. “Every day I go out to the barn and I work with him for a few hours, like I give him a bath, and he actually has a longer hair and skin routine than I do. Part of its genetics. But going out there and brushing on it and rinsing and blowing it every single day really makes a difference.”
Blake Hennenfent judged the cattle show at the Prime Beef Festival.
“That red steer that won the second show, man, he was pretty cool,” says Hennenfent. “That’s for being, again, being this late in the summer, that thing’s got great hair still, still really fresh and opened up, and just heavy muscle, just really, really good type of steer.”
The Warren County Prime Beef Festival is taking place through September 7th. Check out more PBF events here.
