Growing Up In A 4-H Family

Photo submitted 4-H member Rhett Keaton washes off the bottle calf he showed at this year’s McDonald County Fair.
Photo submitted 4-H member Rhett Keaton washes off the bottle calf he showed at this year’s McDonald County Fair.

Rhett Keaton

Age 8

My name is Rhett Keaton. I am 8 years old and I live on a beef cattle farm in McDonald County.

4-H has basically just been a part of our family. My parents were both in 4-H and my older sisters are in 4-H now. I've been a Clover Kid since I was old enough and was just waiting until I could move up as a member. So it really wasn't a choice or a matter of if I was going to be in 4-H but when I could officially be a member. I've looked forward to being old enough for the past couple of years.

I have learned many things in 4-H this year. We have had several different speakers and field trips during our meetings recently. I have learned about conservation and wild animals such as different furs and we even visited a place that treats injured wildlife. I also got to visit the fish hatchery and learned many interesting things about the fish they raise there. During our meetings, I have learned about making motions and voting on things we discuss. We have watched videos on running a meeting and what members are supposed to do during a meeting. I've also learned how to do demonstrations in front of an audience.

My only project this year was beef cattle. I learned it takes many hours of work and dedication to get calves ready for the fair. Since I showed a bigger calf this year and not a bottle calf, I had to make sure she was familiar with me and very gentle. I didn't want her to act crazy when we took her to the fair. We started working with my heifer shortly after she was born and thankfully she was easy to halter break and acted very good at the fair.

The thing I've enjoyed most about being in 4-H is attending member camp at Roaring River. While at camp I made several friends, played games, went fishing and so much more. I am looking forward to next year.

Community on 10/08/2015