Ten-year-old Beth Funke made $594 over the weekend from selling
her prized turkey at the county fair, which makes baby-sitting
money look like chicken feed in comparison.
Ten-year-old Beth Funke made $594 over the weekend from selling her prized turkey at the county fair, which makes baby-sitting money look like chicken feed in comparison.
A member of Adams 4-H which serves Gilroy, San Martin and Morgan Hill, Funke tried her hand at turkey-rearing for the first time and emerged a winner. Her 33-pound bird was chosen out of dozens as the best at the fair and named Supreme Champion Market Turkey.
“I was shocked because it was my first year and (I didn’t think I was) going to do anything good,” Funke said. “It’s kind of exciting.”
Her winnings will be split between her college fund and buying a goat, a lamb and more turkeys to add to next year’s flock, she said.
Like Funke, many Gilroy youth are experiencing the joys of life on the farm and turning a sizable profit while they’re at it.
The school farm on Kern Avenue is quieter than usual this time of year since dozens of animals were sold off to market at the county fair. Run by the local Future Farmers of America chapter, the farm is usually clamoring with the typical squawking, snorting and braying of barnyard animals. However, the success of the Gilroy FFA at the fair can be seen in the lack of animals at the farm.
The chapter racked up dozens of awards after a year of hard work, faithfully feeding and exercising their animals.
One of the chapter’s members, Magen Stone, 17, walked away with more awards than she could carry. In her 14th year of showing animals, Stone’s an old pro and likened caring for her animals to having a child. The students must feed the animals twice a day and don’t get a break, even when school lets out.
Stone’s commitment paid off this year. She brought home about $2,000 in profits after selling off her pig, turkey, rabbit and goat.
The students have to be careful to keep in mind that the animals are eventually going to be sold for their meat, FFA Director Heather Nolan said.
“They are raising the animals for food,” she said, and the animals are judged accordingly on the quality of the carcass.
“Pretty much, they get judged on how good they are going to taste,” Stone said.
The FFA students don’t just feed and exercise their animals either. Through FFA and Nolan’s agricultural science courses at the high school, her students have learned how to castrate pigs, artificially inseminate sheep and a number of other practices not suited for the faint of heart.
Gilroy FFA award winners
Champion FFA market hog: Travis Ketchu
Reserve Champion FFA market hog: Daniel Krueger
Reserve Supreme Champion market hog: Travis Ketchu
Champion FFA market lamb: Justin Paige
Reserve Supreme Champion market lamb: Justin Paige
Reserve Champion FFA market goat: Magen Stone
Champion FFA market turkey: Magen Stone
Reserve Champion FFA market turkey: Travis Ketchu
