American cows are just built different.
That’s one of the lessons Iolans Kyser Nemecek and Carly Dreher learned during an international livestock tour from June 19 to July 3. The Southwind Extension District 4-H Livestock Judging Team took home the title of International Champions after competing at the Royal Highland Show in Scotland and the Charleville Show in the Republic of Ireland.
“One of the coolest things for me was just seeing agriculture ‘across the pond’ in a different country,” Dreher said.
Dreher spoke to the Register via Zoom from northern Indiana where she is working an internship between semesters at Butler Community College. She graduated from Iola High School in 2023.
“Seeing how they utilize their tools and even their priorities for judging are completely different. Seeing agriculture in a different country was awesome.”
Nemecek agreed. He’ll be a senior at IHS this fall.
“They get so much more rainfall than we do. They’re able to feed grass all year long and hardly ever use grains or corn to help them grow,” Nemecek continued. “They’re strictly grassfed, so their animals were even bigger than ours. It was cool to see different breeds that we don’t ever see here.
“But their way of thinking makes sense for them, because they want them to have as much muscle as they can and not worry about structure the way we do. They have smaller pastures and more grass available, so their animals don’t have to walk as far.”
Seeing so many different breeds in another part of the world gave Nemecek a greater appreciation for American cattle. “From breeding and raising animals my whole life in the U.S., I feel, genetic-wise, we’re in a good spot for what we need and our priorities. I wouldn’t want to switch to more muscle and less structure.”
THE international tour included Nemecek, Dreher, Emery Yoho of Yates Center, Tate Crystal and Reegan McDaniel of Fort Scott and Brady Hurt of Buffalo. Accompanying the 4-H’ers were Carla Nemecek and Cathy Dreher.
They were part of an elite group of nine American 4-H and FFA Teams from across the U.S., each having earned their spot by winning either a champion or reserve title at a National Livestock Judging contest.
In addition to the competitions, the group attended agricultural seminars, tours, and opportunities to enhance leadership skills and education through interactions with citizens of the UK and Ireland. The team visited diverse livestock operations, including a water buffalo milking facility that produces its own mozzarella cheese, a progressive livestock sale barn, and Netherton Farm, home to one of Scotland’s top Registered Angus herds. They were able to enjoy the Royal Highland Show in Scotland and the Clonmel Stock Show in Ireland.
The show competitions had differences but also similarities, the Iolans said. It reminded them of the Kansas State Fair in a lot of ways, with a fun and competitive atmosphere, plenty of food and live music blasting from all angles.
But the regulations were different. When showing sheep, for example, “all they can do is wash them, basically,” Dreher said. They aren’t allowed to use paint or adhesive but might dye the wool to make it more uniform.
“Having this kind of experience and knowledge helps me realize why we want certain characteristics in our animals here,” Dreher added.
