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Family matters at livestock shows

Exhibiting livestock has been a family tradition for generations for one Michigan 4-H member.

Brad Chapman of Monroe County tells Brownfield he’s been showing livestock since he was a toddler.  “My parents showed and I got into it—I showed my first pig at three and it just kind of escaladed from there.”

Exhibiting cattle, pigs and lambs throughout his youth, Chapman says as his time in the show ring comes to an end, the values and work ethic he’s learned through 4-H projects will carry him into the future.  “You don’t get to eat in the morning until everything else is fed.”  He says, “This year I had six pigs on feed, four sheep and two steers—that’s a lot of stuff to get fed in the morning before I could eat so I was pretty hungry, but it makes you realize that certain things take priority and it makes you be able to manage your time.”

Also a member of Michigan’s National 4-H Livestock Judging Team, Chapman is majoring in mechanical engineering at Michigan State University. He hopes to work near his local community in Southeast Michigan and return to the family farm after graduation.

Chapman spoke with Brownfield during the Michigan Livestock Expo Sale-a-bration auction.

AUDIO: Interview with Brad Chapman