Tomball Magnolia Potpourri - News
Brothers in hog heaven
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| From left, Tyler and Colby Rhea of Magnolia, say they like life on the farm and there is nothing laid-back about raising animal projects for show. |
Tomball/Magnolia Potpourri
By TANA ROSS
A lot of people get up early to get ready for work or school, but Tyler and Colby Rhea get up early for a different reason: to feed their hogs, Oreo and Blue. While it may not be hog heaven for others, it’s a lifestyle the two brothers love and plan to pursue.
Tyler Rhea, 13, a student at Magnolia Junior High School, and Colby Rhea, 11, a student at Magnolia 6th Grade Campus, are in their second year of raising animal projects for the Magnolia ISD Livestock Show, scheduled this year on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 12 and 13.
With the hope of selling their hogs in the auction on Saturday night, for enough to fund another hog project and possibly make a little profit, the brothers have been putting their best efforts into their hogs since early last spring.
“Our parents told us we had to check on them at least three times a day,” Tyler Rhea said. “But sometimes that turned into seven times a day during the summer.”
“I think it’s easier than raising a dog,” Colby Rhea said. “You just feed them, water them, walk them and spray them down.”
Walking their hogs assures the brothers their projects will not be too fat for the judges who rate them on conformation and form — big is good but fat is not. What exactly does the chore list Colby Rhea itemized involve? For an answer to that question, here is a sample of the boys’ weekday schedule:
6 a.m. – Go to the barn and water the hogs. Measure/weigh feed and distribute to the hogs. Spray down the hogs. Clean the hog pen. Walk the hogs.
6:30 a.m. – Breakfast and finish getting ready for school.
6:50 a.m. – Leave for school.
4 p.m. – Arrive home from school, change clothes and go to barn. Water and feed the hogs and check equipment and the pen.
7:30 – 8 p.m. – Walk the hogs for 30 minutes. Feed and water the hogs.
10 p.m. – Dad checks the hogs for the night.
With approved suppliers of animals for MISD students, tags to assure the animal’s identity and required project measurements and records for both feed and the animal, it is clear why this truly is a lesson in animal science for youth who participate.
“I like raising a project because it lets me use some of things I learn in my animal science class in real life,” Tyler Rhea said.
With both parents, Chris and Jennifer Rhea, graduates in agriculture from Texas A&M University, it seems the boys are on their way to a career in agriculture. But for now, it all begins in the show ring on Friday, Sept. 12.
Only the top 20 out of 80 competitors in three classes of hogs — light, medium and heavy weight — will qualify for the auction on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Tyler Rhea will show in the medium weight class and Colby Rhea is expected to show in the heavy weight class. Both boys are hoping for sales that will allow them to recoup their $700 investment and buy hogs for another project next year.
Last year was a lesson to them both, and both say the Magnolia Livestock Blue and Gold Club helped them afford their projects this year.
“We did not place in the top 20,” Tyler Rhea explained. “If it wasn’t for the Blue and Gold Club we may not have made anything on our animals.”
The Magnolia Livestock Blue and Gold Club is an organization of collective buyers that purchases animal projects that do not make it into the sale ring at the auction. Animals purchased by the Blue and Gold Club are donated to Boys and Girls Country in Hockley, a home for children. With the non profit organizations coming together, Blue and Gold President Susan Akagi says it benefits everyone.
“Our goal is to help ensure as many students as possible are rewarded for their hard work and effort,” she said. “The students get the valuable experience of raising and selling an animal project; the buyers get a tax deduction if they want; and the Boys and Girls Country gets to fill their freezer.”
For more information about the Magnolia Livestock Blue and Gold Club, call 281-356-3323 or 281-356-7783, or e-mail craig.wernecke@hp.com. For more information about the Magnolia ISD Livestock Show visit www.magnoliaisd.org.
Schedule of 2008 Magnolia ISD Livestock Show
Friday, Sept. 12:
8 a.m. - Hog Show
12 p.m. - Lamb Show
2 p.m. - Goat Show
5 p.m. - Heifer Show
Saturday, Sept. 13:
8 a.m. - Broiler and Rabbit Show
9:30 a.m. - Turkey Show
11 a.m. - Steer Show
4 p.m. - Buyer registration and dinner
6 p.m. - Live Auction
Visit www.magnoliaisd.org for more information.
Tyler Rhea, 13, a student at Magnolia Junior High School, and Colby Rhea, 11, a student at Magnolia 6th Grade Campus, are in their second year of raising animal projects for the Magnolia ISD Livestock Show, scheduled this year on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 12 and 13.
With the hope of selling their hogs in the auction on Saturday night, for enough to fund another hog project and possibly make a little profit, the brothers have been putting their best efforts into their hogs since early last spring.
“Our parents told us we had to check on them at least three times a day,” Tyler Rhea said. “But sometimes that turned into seven times a day during the summer.”
“I think it’s easier than raising a dog,” Colby Rhea said. “You just feed them, water them, walk them and spray them down.”
Walking their hogs assures the brothers their projects will not be too fat for the judges who rate them on conformation and form — big is good but fat is not. What exactly does the chore list Colby Rhea itemized involve? For an answer to that question, here is a sample of the boys’ weekday schedule:
6 a.m. – Go to the barn and water the hogs. Measure/weigh feed and distribute to the hogs. Spray down the hogs. Clean the hog pen. Walk the hogs.
6:30 a.m. – Breakfast and finish getting ready for school.
6:50 a.m. – Leave for school.
4 p.m. – Arrive home from school, change clothes and go to barn. Water and feed the hogs and check equipment and the pen.
7:30 – 8 p.m. – Walk the hogs for 30 minutes. Feed and water the hogs.
10 p.m. – Dad checks the hogs for the night.
With approved suppliers of animals for MISD students, tags to assure the animal’s identity and required project measurements and records for both feed and the animal, it is clear why this truly is a lesson in animal science for youth who participate.
“I like raising a project because it lets me use some of things I learn in my animal science class in real life,” Tyler Rhea said.
With both parents, Chris and Jennifer Rhea, graduates in agriculture from Texas A&M University, it seems the boys are on their way to a career in agriculture. But for now, it all begins in the show ring on Friday, Sept. 12.
Only the top 20 out of 80 competitors in three classes of hogs — light, medium and heavy weight — will qualify for the auction on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Tyler Rhea will show in the medium weight class and Colby Rhea is expected to show in the heavy weight class. Both boys are hoping for sales that will allow them to recoup their $700 investment and buy hogs for another project next year.
Last year was a lesson to them both, and both say the Magnolia Livestock Blue and Gold Club helped them afford their projects this year.
“We did not place in the top 20,” Tyler Rhea explained. “If it wasn’t for the Blue and Gold Club we may not have made anything on our animals.”
The Magnolia Livestock Blue and Gold Club is an organization of collective buyers that purchases animal projects that do not make it into the sale ring at the auction. Animals purchased by the Blue and Gold Club are donated to Boys and Girls Country in Hockley, a home for children. With the non profit organizations coming together, Blue and Gold President Susan Akagi says it benefits everyone.
“Our goal is to help ensure as many students as possible are rewarded for their hard work and effort,” she said. “The students get the valuable experience of raising and selling an animal project; the buyers get a tax deduction if they want; and the Boys and Girls Country gets to fill their freezer.”
For more information about the Magnolia Livestock Blue and Gold Club, call 281-356-3323 or 281-356-7783, or e-mail craig.wernecke@hp.com. For more information about the Magnolia ISD Livestock Show visit www.magnoliaisd.org.
Schedule of 2008 Magnolia ISD Livestock Show
Friday, Sept. 12:
8 a.m. - Hog Show
12 p.m. - Lamb Show
2 p.m. - Goat Show
5 p.m. - Heifer Show
Saturday, Sept. 13:
8 a.m. - Broiler and Rabbit Show
9:30 a.m. - Turkey Show
11 a.m. - Steer Show
4 p.m. - Buyer registration and dinner
6 p.m. - Live Auction
Visit www.magnoliaisd.org for more information.
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