A Looking Glass Steer

Being a farm kid used to be simpler. That was our thought upon learning that this year’s grand champion steer at the Iowa State Fair’s 4-H Market Beef competition is a clone of the 2008 grand champion steer. This year’s winner — who weighs 1,320 pounds and is named Doc — was “conceived” from an ear punch taken from his esteemed predecessor. The result was a cloned bull that was then neutered to produce Doc the steer.

Both winning animals were owned by the Haber family, from Sioux Center, Iowa, which runs a livestock reproduction company and is partners with an agriculture cloning firm. So far, there is no rule against showing cloned animals in 4-H competitions.

Just to complete the strange circuitousness in this story, Doc was purchased back at auction by his breeders in order to keep him from merging with the general beef supply after slaughter. That is in accordance with a voluntary moratorium on cloned meat requested by the Department of Agriculture.

Because Doc’s cloning wasn’t revealed until a couple of days later, fairgoers who attended the judging were deprived of the full “Groundhog Day” moment. The ethics of cloning animals is complicated enough. But we think it’s safe to say that the showing of cloned animals seems unfair, if only because the technology is well out of the reach of most farm families, who have to make do the old-fashioned way with cows and bulls.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/opinion/27fri4.html?th&emc=th

I attended the fair here to see livestock of two kids I know well. I see how hard they work with their cows and steers. It was important to them that their family and friends attended and supported their work.

I guess times are changing, but let's remember these kids.

And had the judges and public known, the ick factor, in addition to the inherent unfairness of showing a recycled former champion, would have stopped 'em cold.

That said, I'm happy they're having success in cloning - despite the fact that the "old-fashioned way" is sloppy, but oh, so much more fun.

...that 4-H (at least in my state) got popular as a way to teach kids about hybrid corn -- at the time a technology the parents didn't trust.

But when the kids were growing 100 bushel/acre corn, while mom and dad were hitting 30, hybrids caught on.