NR Homesteaders 4-H Club brings home the bacon

The North Royalton Homesteaders 4-H Club members fared well at the 123rd Cuyahoga County Fair. During this cool and mostly sunny week, they participated in livestock showmanship and market shows with their animals, as well as completed many other non-livestock projects, like sewing, cooking and gardening.
At the Cuyahoga County Fair Market Show, held on Monday, August 5, at 6:30 p.m., Homesteader members took home three grand champion placing. Homesteader Hannah Stasiuk won Grand Champion Market Steer, a Hereford weighing in at 1,165 pounds; Henry Pierce won Grand Champion Market Lamb, and Alex Hechko won Grand Champion Market Hog, which weighed in at 270 pounds. The North Royalton Homesteader members have been hard at work over the past months raising these and many other animals for market.
“Through these projects, they learn about the vital role that agriculture plays in everyday life—and the tremendous effort it takes to put food on the table,” said Amy Gasbarre, a longtime Co-Advisor of the North Royalton Homesteaders. “These projects represent the culmination of many months of work and dedication—nearly a year in the case of the steer project— that these 4-H members have put into raising their projects,” she said.
The North Royalton Homesteaders Club once again enjoyed the support of many longstanding backers at the Cuyahoga County 4-H Junior Fair Livestock Sale on Saturday night, including North Royalton Mayor Robert Stefanik, Augie’s Pizza, and The Olive Tap, as well as new auction supporters, including North Royalton Council President Larry Antoskiewicz, who purchased pens of chickens, and new auction attendee Councilman Dan Langshaw, who purchased Hannah Stasiuk’s 8th place pen of chickens.
“The support of the local community—via their participation in and purchases at the Cuyahoga County 4-H Junior Fair Livestock Sale —is so extremely important; it recognizes the commitment these young people have made to learning about livestock production, and implementing it in their own backyards,” said Gasbarre. “While most of these youth will not go on to run their own farms after they age out of 4-H programming, they become good stewards of the environment, and support sustainable agriculture efforts as young adults,” said Gasbarre.
The North Royalton Homesteader’s Club welcomed the generous support of another new buyer, Chris Posey, owner of Nordonia Landscape Supply, who purchased Hannah Stasiuk’s grand champion Hereford for $2.70 per pound, a pen of ducks, and several non-livestock items sold each year in support of the Bruce Kucharski Sr. Scholarship Fund. Another new buyer this year was Hudson Veterinary Center, who purchased Ben Hechko’s 4th place hog.
“We appreciate Nordonia Landscape Supply generously supporting the North Royalton Homesteader’s Club; through their purchase, they are not only supporting and recognizing the efforts of our individual 4-H members, but sustaining the work of the 4-H animal science program in the county,” said Bruce Kucharski, a Homesteader’s Club co-advisor.
Other local supporters of the auction included Charlie Hosta, from Seven Hills, a longtime supporter of the NR Homesteaders, who purchased Henry Pierce’s Grand Champion Lamb; Tom Sabrey of Strongsville, who purchased Henry Pierce’s 2nd place pen of Turkeys, weighing in at just over 80 pounds total; and Peth’s Landscaping, who purchased Natalie Fitzgerald’s second place lamb. North Royalton Animal Hospital, owned by Adam Hechko, and Brecksville Kid’s Dentistry, owned by Jen Bryk Hechko, also purchased a hog and pens of chickens respectively; Paul Hechko purchased the Grand Champion hog, raised by his grandson Alex Hechko, which weighed in at 270 pounds.
Homesteaders’ alumni are huge supporters of the livestock auction. Welling Farms, owned by Steve and Ashley Welling purchased Natalie Fitzgerald’s fifth place chickens, as well as a pen of rabbits and items for the Kucharski Scholarship fund. Many other Homesteader alumni families – including the Kucharski, Prahst, Durda, Hechko, Bryk, Welsh, and Simko families – are ardent supporters of the auction, purchasing many items, year after year. Many other local individuals and organizations, including Cuyahoga County Farm Bureau and the Cuyahoga County Fair Board, also purchased livestock and other auction items.
During the auction, the Bruce Kucharski Sr. Scholarship was awarded to Ally Mathis, a Homesteader alumna. Ally will be a sophomore this fall at Lake Erie College, where she is studying criminal justice. The scholarship is named after Bruce Kucharski Sr., who was a longtime supporter of 4-H and the NR Homesteaders Club.
In addition to competing in the market shows, which judges the quality of the animal that was raised; 4-H members also competed in showmanship competitions that evaluate their skills in handling their animal. NR Homesteaders did well, earning several 1st place Showmanship finishes, including Hannah Stasiuk for steer, Alex Hechko for both chicken and hog, Ben Hechko for turkey, and Kayla Kucharski for goat. Second place showmanship awards were earned by Owen Szpak for chicken, Henry Pierce for lamb and turkey, and Abbie Burgess for goat, and Ben Hechko for hog. Third place showmanship ribbons were earned by Kayla Perez for duck, and Dakota Burgess for goat.
The Homesteaders Club gained three new members this past year with horse projects: Christina Hauff, Kayla Perez, and Nina Bird. On Sunday, they competed in equine showmanship competition; Kayla earned 1st place, Christina 2nd and Nina earned third.
As the fair came to a close on Sunday night, Homesteader member Hannah Stasiuk, who raised the Grand Champion steer, reflected that “after spending nearly a year raising and selling her cow, it was a different kind of feeling at the close of this fair — that of
bittersweet accomplishment.” She learned the hard work involved in caring for a large market animal and what needs to be done to ensure that the animal’s needs are met as well as what needs to be done to raise quality food. “I will miss raising him, but I know he is serving the purpose he was meant to do.” Stasiuk will return again next year to the livestock sale, unsure of whether she will take on another steer project, which is one of the most difficult projects for a 4H-er to complete.
As Homesteader members Henry Pierce and Natalie Fitzgerald packed up from their week at the fair, they set their sights on competing again at both the county fair and The Ohio State Fair. Both competed at the state fair this year, from July 31-August 3, in the 4-H market and showmanship classes. Henry earned 2nd place in turkey showmanship, 8th in market turkey in his class, and 7th in Skillathon/book judging; Natalie earned 2nd place in chicken showmanship, 4th place in market chicken in her class, and 9th in Skillathon/book judging.
Mark your calendar to attend the Cuyahoga County 4-H Junior Fair Livestock Sale next year!

GNC 7-12-05 Southpark

GNC 7-12-05 Southpark