Seniors get a closeup look at Smokey the steer

BUCYRUS - Smokey mooed and swatted his tail as 14-year-old Colton Worden explained to a group of senior citizens the intricacies of raising cattle.

The 1,235-pound Charolais beef steer will be at the Crawford County Fair all next week.

"His half brother is named Bandit," Worden told the crowd. "So we have Smokey and the Bandit."

Smokey's visit to the Crawford County Council on Aging on Tuesday was the first time he'd ever been in public. The trip was arranged by Courtney Moody, the council's activities coordinator.

The event was one of several creative ways Moody has helped the seniors interact with one another since the COVID-19 pandemic closed her office doors to the public this spring. It's been a boring year overall for those who rely on the organization's usual activities.

"They have mostly stayed at home and only gone to the store or somewhere they have needed to go," Moody said. "They haven't gone anywhere for fun."

While looking over a list of obscure holidays, she discovered that July 14 was Cow Appreciation Day. It didn't take long for her to find Worden and his pal, Lane Bauer, 16, and invite them and Smokey to visit with the seniors.

Since this year's fair will not feature a senior citizen day out of concern for the novel coronavirus, many of those who attended Tuesday's event will likely not go. Smokey could be the only steer they see this year.

"It was an amazing coincidence that it worked out that way," Moody said. "It was great to have this little miniature fair experience."

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Worden, of Nevada, is a member of the North Robinson Blue Ribbons 4-H club. Bauer, of New Washington, is in Dairy Maids and Gents.

They told the audience that Smokey eats about three pounds of food each day. When he's older, that will more than double to about seven pounds.

"They get molasses, oats, cottonseed hulls, corn and various other things," Worden said.

Smokey might seem big, but he's really just a baby. He was only weaned from milk last month.

"You give these guys another year to grow before you butcher them," Bauer said.

Youth who exhibit such steers at the fair can either sell them to another 4-H member who wants to show it the following year or return it to the farm.

"He's going to come back home," Worden said. "I'm going to work him over the winter and take him next year."

The seniors asked several questions about the beef project, like whether it could produce milk. The boys explained that dairy cattle are raised for milk, and that beef cattle are raised for meat. They've never heard of someone drinking milk from a beef cow.

"I guess if you were desperate, you could drink it," Worden said with a chuckle. "I don't know."

They also talked about safety around the rear of the animal, especially while washing their hind legs.

"Will they kick you or something?" one senior asked.

"Yeah," Worden answered, "if you make them mad."

Once Smokey is washed, the boys will fluff his hair to make him look nice and thick. Beef steers are judged on their fullness. They think Smokey looks pretty good.

The 4-H experience has taught the boys that there's a lot of paperwork behind raising cattle, not just time shoveling manure and feed. They have to complete project books that are reviewed before the fair begins. Record keeping is very important.

"It shows you, if you start your own cattle company, what you have to do," Worden said as he ran his hand across Smokey's back. "It doesn't seem that difficult, but it's a lot more difficult than you would think."

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