Official results released Saturday
The California Mid-State Fair Livestock Show results were announced on Saturday afternoon following several days of online judging as the show and auction moved virtual for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of all the organizations to enter the Livestock Show this year, Atascadero High School’s FFA chapter proved the deepest with the most supreme winners, four.
Atascadero’s Robert Featherstone kicked off the run of ribbons for Atascadero FFA, winning both the supreme champion and reserve supreme champions for meat rabbits. Jonathan Nunez earned supreme champion with his market steer while Morgan Ramos did so with her replacement heifer. Atascadero FFA’s Brayden Kahler closed it out, winning supreme champion with his market hog. Additionally, Tyler Cronkright missed out on earning supreme champion in the meat goat division finishing as the reserve supreme champion.
Bottom: Brayden Kahler stands with his supreme champion hog. (Photos courtesy of the California Mid-State Fair)
However, Atascadero FFA was not the only Atascadero organization to earn the top prize as Rio Rancheros’ Ava Diefenderfer earned supreme champion with her market lamb.
Templeton 4-H’s Lacey Conlan won both supreme and reserve supreme champion in the market broilers while Templeton FFA’s Claire Duenow earned reserve supreme champion in the market lamb division.
Holyn Slyvester of Canyon Country 4-H was named supreme champion in market turkey division, and San Luis Obispo FFA’s Bella Marden took the top honors with her meat goat.
The show operated precisely the way it usually would, except for everyone had to participate wirelessly. The contestants were divided into groups based on the different weights and breeds and prepared a video clip up to 90 seconds of them showing their animal the way they would in the show ring.
The Mid-State Fair staff sent the clips to the judges in the same order that they would have seen them had they been in person and clicked through the clips making their assessments. However, unlike in years past, judges had the ability to click through links multiple times to get a closer look rather than just one shot inside the ring.
Once the 4-H and FFA champions were selected, the top animals were then put up against one another, and a supreme champion was chosen.
Overall, all the exhibitors were the big winners as the fair announced that the 2020 livestock sale brought in nearly $1.2 million for the kids.
While the pandemic may have caused the show and auction to move virtual, it does sound like some of the new features resonated with the public and might be here to stay.
“We received some really positive feedback from the way our auction was set up and how you could view all the kids and all the animals and watch the videos of the animals,” Special Programs Coordinator Hailey Rose Switzer said. “And the extended add-on’s, so that is definitely a conversation right now at the fairground about how we can incorporate that sale, having a preview where people can view the animals before the sale starts, and to have add-ons still accessible online as they were this year.”
The Mid-State Fair also extended its add-on’s this year until Aug. 4. The additional time and wireless aspect increased the animals’ accessibility to those who may be located out of the area and have only continued to bring in more money for the exhibitors.
To view this year’s virtual award ceremony on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/watch/?v=326597545389483.
