Siblings take home top titles in Market Beef Show

MT. PLEASANT — Wayland siblings Morgan and Cole Meyer went one two at the Henry County Fair Market Beef Show, last week, taking the titles of Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion.

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Morgan, a 15-year-old freshman, first took champion for the Purebred Division then procured Grand Champion Market Steer with her purebred Main Anjou Steer, Otis.

Her younger brother, Cole Meyer, a 13-year-old seventh-grader, followed right behind his sister as he won Champion Market Heifer with his cow Penny.

Each Meyer sibling competed in their own division before ultimately going head-to-head in the final drive.

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“It was pretty awesome,” Morgan commented on winning the top title with her brother Cole.

The family’s superb beef-showing skills also made their way to their younger sibling 10-year-old fourth-grader Blake who finished fourth in Overall Market Animal and Champion County Raised Steer with his crossbred steer, Memphis, during his first time showing.

According to Morgan, the siblings each begin their journey showing cattle the first year they are eligible, which is fourth grade, and Blake says he has waited “quite a while, now, since I learned about it,” for his chance to get in the show ring.

“It's very scary once you show it the first time,” Blake said. “But as you keep going on and on, you just get better to it and you get more used to it.”

Despite feeling scared his first time showing, Blake said it was also very exciting to do so well at his first show.

For this winning sibling trio, working with farm animals is a compete family affair as they come from a family farm just outside of Wayland where they raise cattle, pigs, and turkey as well as grow corn and soybeans.

While their parents do assist in the initial procurement of their show animals, all the Meyer children raise and care for their cattle themselves.

According to Morgan, she has worked with Otis, an all-black steer except for a little bit of white on his belly, since her parents first helped her find him through a friend last November.

“He was solid in how he looked, and he walked really well, and I saw a lot of potential in him,” Morgan said. “I think what makes him stand out is that he has a lot of hair, and it really shows off how muscular he is and how big framed he is.”

“Otis is a really special calf that I've really enjoyed working with,” she added.

Even though it was only his first time showing, Blake had an opinion on why his steer, Memphis, is a good pick.

“He gots a lot of hair,” Blake described. “He gots muscular, very muscular, and he walked really nice and gots a deep belly.”

According to the Meyer siblings, a deeper looking cow makes them look fuller, which is something judges look for.

According to Cole, his tan-colored heifer, Penny, was born in April and Cole has put in the work choring her since he first got her last fall.

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According to Morgan, preparing for the fair is a lot of work.

“It was a really long process of washing them down every day and blowing them off and then putting them in the cooler and spraying them with product,” Morgan said.

That’s right, the cows are put into a cooler as they prepare them for show, but not to keep the steaks cold.

“We put them in an air-conditioned room, which ranges from 55 to 60 degrees in there, and it helps their hair grow because they think it's cold, and so they need hair,” Morgan said.

The Meyer siblings’ mom, Michelle Meyer says she is proud of all the hard work they’ve put into their show cattle.

“They have worked and sacrificed a lot to spend time with their animals, so it was amazing, and I'm unbelievably proud of them,” Michelle said. “Their dad and I, we will give them guidance, but they're the ones that are in the barn every day, morning and night, doing the work with them.”

“It is a very big commitment, and between the morning and night, when we take them out … it's around four hours every day,” Morgan explained.

According to the Meyers, they spend a lot of time together as they chore.

“Sometimes we get along, sometimes we don't,” Morgan said. “It’s a lot of quality time together.”

With all that time over years of showing cattle, Cole says he has learned a lot from his sister from taking care of his cows to how to show.

“I think the biggest thing is just to never get your hopes down,” Cole said. “Like, keep working at it. There's, like, just keep working hard. It'll pay off in the end.”

Their younger sibling Blake also feels like he has had the opportunity to learn from his siblings.

“They taught me how to show use a show stick, how to have their legs right, because if you have your left back leg forward, it makes it more deeper,” Blake explained.

With the conclusion of the Henry County Fair, Cole says they will keep with the same routine as they prepare for more shows.

“We want to keep the hair on them and them and we're taking them to the showdown,” Cole said.

Cole will take Penny to an open competition in Keosauqua called Battle of the Boarder, and Morgan will take her Grand Champion Otis to the Southeast Iowa Showdown.

According to Morgan, following the Southeast Iowa Showdown in Donellson July 29, whoever earned Grand Champion there will then proceed to the All-Iowa Showdown, “which is the best of everything in Iowa.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com