4-H member wants to show off at farm show
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — A large part of the Butler Farm Show consists of exhibitors and annual auctions, including the annual 4-H-FFA Livestock Sale at 6 p.m. Thursday, in the Livestock Barn.
Familiar with the ways of the farm show and livestock of her own is 4-H member Sarah Brandon, 18, who lives in Muddy Creek Township with her parents, Charlie and Shannon.
“My mom and nana were all in 4-H,” Sarah said. “I wanted to be in 4-H too.
“One year my family and I went to the farm show and I fell in love with a rabbit. There was this outgoing girl and she talked our ears off. Her mom told my mom how 4-H brought her daughter out into the open.”
The age to join 4-H is 8 to 18, and Sarah is participating in her last year.
What to look for
At the Butler Farm Show, Sarah will be showing meat pens and single fryers with the New Zealand rabbits that she bred. However, when starting, Sarah said she had no idea what to look for.
“My friend sold me her best of show rabbit that she was going to get rid of anyways, once she saw the rabbit I brought to my first show,” Sarah said. “I took the stuff that people didn't want.”
Not only is Sarah a dedicated member of 4-H, but she is also a president of multiple 4-H clubs, including the Butler Bunny Bunch and the Butler Conservation Club. She is also the Pennsylvania State Rabbit Breeders Association Queen.
“I love teaching other people, it's brought me out of my shell,” Sarah said.
SRU freshman
For the past 10 years, Sarah has learned to keep records, develop interview skills and lead and manage: all of which led Sarah to choose her major, business administration, at Slippery Rock University, where she will be beginning her freshman year in 2021.
“Helping is the thing that makes me happiest, other than children,” Sarah said. “I like to make sure that everything is done and be in a leadership position. I rely on my support group, and having a support group is important.”
Alongside hard and soft skills, Sarah also found good friends through 4-H.
“4-H reminded me that it is important to have friends, and if you don't, then you don't have any way to have an outlet for your angst and yourself,” she said. “Animals need to be taken care of, but so do you.”
Although Sarah's time is coming to an end as a member of 4-H, her title as queen allows her the opportunity to talk about the organization more. Sarah plans on becoming a 4-H leader when she is 20.
“(Family and friends) are 100% supportive,” Sarah said. “Everyone has haters, and a lot of people in the rabbit world have watched me group up.”
Rabbit feed
Learning new trips and tricks as her involvement in 4-H and other clubs went on, Sarah said that feeding and watering her rabbits are important. She feeds her rabbits a supplement mix and commercial feed.
Taking this education in stride, Sarah won grand champion in 2018, alongside her brother, who won reserve grand champion. She also won grand champion in 2019 and the best single fryer both years as well.
“I grew up taking scrap rabbits from people who wanted to get rid of them,” Sarah said. “We took those genetics and selectively bred them, and made those rabbits into champions. A lot of people that I asked for help doing that, and who gave me ideas and resources, were our biggest supporters. We got to save a lot of bunnies.”
