DATE: Saturday, May 17, 1997                TAG: 9705170269

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   67 lines

FARM-RAISED 4-H PROJECTS GIVE YOUNG OWNERS A FULL-TIME JOB

The city's international ties are taking center stage at this year's Jubilee, but Friday's 4-H livestock show and auction featured strictly home-grown talent.

In a parade of squeals, grunts and baas, livestock projects completed by local members of 4-H, an agriculture-based club for 9- to 19-year-olds, were judged in the morning and sold in the evening.

Almost 70 young people groomed, prodded and showed hogs, lambs and steers in hopes of winning show ribbons and good market prices.

The projects are fun but hard work, said Elizabeth A. Renz, 13, as she rubbed the soft wool of her lamb, Alex - short for Alexandria - whom she has cared for since February.

``From the time I get home from school to the time I eat, I'm working,'' she said.

On the morning before the sale, a freshly bathed Alex stood in her pen, wearing a T-shirt to keep her clean while she waited to be judged.

Renz lives on a farm in Hickory with her family, their chickens, horses, turkey and ``a thousand cats.'' In a family whose livelihood is tied to livestock, Renz learned early to understand that raising animals for slaughter is part of life.

``I used to have a cow,'' she said. ``We used to breed her and raise her babies and eat those.''

Last year, however, Renz cried when she sold her animals. It's tough selling the lambs, she said, ``because they have the most adorable faces.'' She also raised a steer and a hog, both to be sold. She said would miss the steer the most.

``He's gentle and sweet,'' she said of Jocko, the steer she raised from a 480-pound weakling into a behemoth who tips the scales at 1,035 pounds. Renz, in comparison, weighs a mere 110.

The 4-Hers also were judged on their presentations, according to Chesapeake 4-H agent Denise Shepherd.

``It's what we call fitting and showmanship,'' said Shepherd, herself a 4-Her during her childhood in Kansas. ``Then the animal is just a prop for our 4-Hers to show their ability.''

Care and control of the animal are important.

``C'mon, baby,'' said J.R. Heckler, a bearded 17-year-old in his first year with 4-H, as he urged his hog, Roxanne, through a maze of fencing leading from the pen to the show area.

Heckler joined 4-H this year at the prompting of some friends. He said the club was a lot of work - more than he expected. But his hog fared well, taking first place in its category.

``It's pretty tough,'' said Heckler. ``You do a lot of work. You check on them a lot. But I've got a better understanding of animals. You realize they have feelings, too.''

Kolly Allen has been around 4-H for 14 years, 11 of those working with livestock. A graduating Hickory High School senior, she is on her way to Old Dominion University next year to study biology. She is leaving the farm, but said she has enjoyed the challenge of raising animals for 4-H.

The 19-year-old raised several animals for show in her last year, including the ``Beach Babes,'' three swine named Bambi, Barbi and Betsi.

But a 1,170-pound bull with a black spot over one eye is Allen's show-stopper. She called him Grande Finale.

``This is my pride and joy,'' she said. ``Most of them are like puppy dogs. They're hard to let go.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MORT FRYMAN/The Virginian-Pilot

When 1,170 pounds of steer gives you a big, wet smooch, all you can

really do is grin and bear it. Kolly Allen, 19, of Chesapeake,

raised Grand Finale for show this year, her last in 4-H competition.

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