4-H livestock competitions have had their share of controversies over the years. Now 4-H officials have a potential new issue to deal with.
DTN reports that the 2010 Iowa grand champion steer was a clone of the animal that won the same event in 2008. The crossbred steer was shown by Tyler Faber of Sioux Center, Iowa. According to the DTN report, Faber’s father, David Faber, is president of Trans Ova, a livestock production company in Sioux Center. The cloned steer was produced by Bovance, a joint venture between Trans Ova and the cloning firm ViaGen.
Iowa 4-H livestock superintendent Mike Anderson says show officials found out the animal was cloned on Friday, after the steer had won the grand champion award two days earlier. Anderson says 4-H has no rule preventing clones from being shown—and he doesn’t think 4-H would create a rule on cloning because there’s no way for them to determine whether an animal is a clone.
According to the DTN report, livestock shows have not addressed issues with cloned cattle or hogs, but the status of clones is an issue in the horse industry. Thoroughbred and quarter horse racing associations have bans on cloned animals.
By the way, the joint venture firm, Bovance, also paid the record 45-thousand dollar winning auction bid at the Iowa State Fair’s sale of champions to ensure the company would get to keep the cloned steer. A Bovance spokesman said the company bought the steer to keep in place the voluntary industry measure against meat from cloned animals going into the food supply for the general public.
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is the 4H community that accepts this win so stupid and submissive that they’ll sit back and allow some rich snotty-nosed kid to walk away with an already established winning cloned animal???
what is wrong with the parents of the kids WHO DID NOT CHEAT????
AS A PARENT OF A KID WHO DIDN’T CHEAT—i’d be absolutely livid!!!
as a horse owner and familiar with the cloning controversy in the horse industry…i’m livid that the state fair administration isn’t banning clones!
(***This comment has been edited by Cyndi Young – swear words removed.)
This animal was selected as a MARKET Steer, meaning it is supposed to go to market and be put in to the food chain. What’s wrong with this picture? Does anybody have any morales any more?
I find nothing wrong with this. We show cattle and have for 20 years.Just because you have cloned a champion does not mean the clone will be the new champion . Every judge is different and any one knows that does show, just because you win one day the very next day or even the same day under an different judge you may be dead last. Styles change.And not everyone likes the same thing. That what makes the world go round. When you auction anything the buyer gets to chose what they do with the animal. Many times these auctioned animals are put on someones ranch. What about the White Houe turkey he gets a reprieve. If I buy it I have the choice.
There are two issues here – one about whether cloning is ‘cheating’ in a livestock show and the second about the meat from a cloned animal making it’s way into the food supply (whether that of your own family if you are the buyer, or the general public because a grocery chain is the buyer). If people do not know that an animal is cloned there is no way to prevent the meat from getting into the food supply – and unfortunately not every 4-H family is honest and will confess to having cloned their animal. I was in 4-H and showed livestock and think it can be a wonderful learning environment, but it can also be twisted by those who only care about winning and money. It’s sad to think that maybe we have come to the point where we have to drug test and DNA test every 4-H and FFA animal in order to stop adults from doing something they should already KNOW is wrong.
I agree with Melanie’s comments having had a similar experience way back in the 1980′s when I decided I didn’t want to go to state because I placed 30th dead last in my weight class at the district show. Thankfully my dad was having none of that and less than 2 weeks later walked out of the arena leading the states Grand Champion Market Steer, He was bought by a family we didn’t previously know who ran a farm that introduced inner city kids in trouble with the law to domestic farm animals and the care and rewards of what we all already know and love. Besides in my day it wasn’t cloning but other things that were illegal and people still found ways to get around the system so why shouldn’t the way things work teach kids the truth about what happens in real life is what’s reflected and there’s going to be people who choose to do all sorts of things , right or wrong that’s just the way life is.
As a 4-Her myself and have showed calves before I think this is ridiculous. This isn’t a show for the parents to relive what their past was. Its the kids project and they are supposed to raise the animals themselves, I mean don’t get me wrong if they do the lab work themselves and raise it then thats a great science project, but come on its a show to see how the kid has done and grown in responsability by taking care of the animal not finding out new ways for the parents to cheat. Whenever there is big money involved its about the parents or about the parents just giving their kids whatever they want so they shut up. Personally, my brothers and I have shown our own calves right from the pasture like you should and our fair isn’t lacking any competition, but we still win sometimes. And really whats all that for, 10 minutes in a ring getting judged and a pretty ribbon or trophy? Do it for the fun of it, not for good business opportunities.