Youth showing steers during the annual Saline County Steer Show Tuesday included Breinne Clemens, whose reserve grand champion sold for $2,700 to a group of local buyers. [Click to enlarge]

When the annual Saline County Steer Sale rolls around in late August, buyers and residents who make their way to the county fairgrounds for the auction see the culmination of each youth's hard work in raising a steer from a calf to a market-ready animal.

Jason Price, a vocational agriculture instructor at the Saline County Career Center and advisor for the Marshall FFA chapter, explained that the youth who enter their respective steers in the auction have actually put in countless hours of hard work.

"The kids usually start in February when they buy their calves," Price said. "For the next seven or eight months, they are taking care of those calves twice a day for hours on end."

Justin Schroeder's steer sold for $1,450. [Click to enlarge]

Price went on to say that not only do the kids raise their calves, but in the process, gain an immeasurable amount of maturity themselves.

"It's such a positive thing to get involved in," he said. "It teaches the kids responsibility and accountability because nobody else is going to do their work for them. So they really start learning responsibility at an early age."

Price also said the growth he and parents see over those seven months each year is nothing short of amazing.

"When you first see these kids, some of them are about 8 years old. You watch their growth and progress and it's amazing," he said. "By the time they're ready to end their careers, the growth we've witnessed is very rewarding."

Contact Eric Coley at

marshallfaith@socket.net