CALF_News_April_May_2021

25 CALF News • April | May 2021 • www.calfnews.net show programs alive in the increasingly blighted state. In 2020, a remarkable thing began to form, giving one faith in human nature. In the middle of the pandemic, many junior shows, open shows and ag events shut down across the nation. Private citizens and aggressive, open cities stepped up to fill the void, donating time, money and some- times their front yards so kids and livestock producers could show their livestock. It hap- pened everywhere, and these shows hosted a few head up to thousands. After the National Western Stock Show was canceled, Oklahoma City picked up the time slot in January with a Cattlemen’s Congress, hosting livestock folks who would have normally gone to Denver. It was reported as a rousing success. The Junior National Hereford Expo was moved on short notice to Kansas City last summer, and went on without a hitch. It is the largest purebred junior show in the United States. Some national expos proceeded as close to normal as possible. The American Royal in Kansas City and North Ameri- can International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, for example, went on with their livestock shows, restricting atten- dance, requiring masks and asking (or begging) for social distancing on their loudspeaker systems. Locally, many Extension-sponsored summer shows that were canceled were picked up by parents, breeders and friends of agriculture. Some states, less encumbered by COVID restrictions, were places of great relief and family activities as farm kids were able to get together with each other and their livestock. Native American Reservations An example of “Plan B” is the coopera- tion of American Indians in California. Their reservations, being sovereign nations, are not affected by federal COVID mandates. Many have excellent facilities and are happy to welcome events such as livestock shows that are unable to take place in other parts of California. The Rolling Hills Casino and Resort in Corning has been particularly gracious in hosting livestock events. It is owned by the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians. Last August, they housed the California Youth Expo, a show to compensate for the loss of the Cal Expo. A major private show, “The Show,” will be held for sheep exhibitors in Sparks, Nev., in June. It will be held at the Nugget Casino and Resort. Ahart, who is one of the responsible parties for organizing the event, says the show will compensate for the loss of so many fairs in California and is entirely funded by sheep breeders for their junior customers. More than $130,000 has been raised thus far. It will be a terminal show, giving kids a venue to end their annual projects. Thanks to the private sector, there’s still some hope for our stock shows to recover. But one take away from this experience is that California Gov. Gavin Newsome and former Gov. Jerry Brown have removed all funds from California fairs, to the anger of the rural community. It has had a crip- pling effect on the state as a whole, and the rural population in particular. Hopefully, the rest of the United States can learn a lesson from California and avoid their sad situation.  ENCROACHMENT Continued from page 23 We Bring Information and Management Together! For more information email sales@turnkeynet.com, or call (800) 999-0049. Turnkey Computer Systems, LLC . 6117 Amarillo Blvd. West . Amarillo, Texas 79106 . Phone: (806) 372-1200 www.turnkeynet.com T he Turnkey Visual Management System is a decision support and analysis tool for feedyard management. INTRODUCING THE VISUAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FROM TURNKEY • Decision Support • Buyer Analysis • Vet/Feed Statistics • Customer Management • Customized Data Views • Multi-Yard Comparison • Customized Data Alerts • Scheduled Reporting