By Joey Villarreal.
It’s freezing outside, and junior Griffin Stimmler needs to make sure his chickens are fed, watered, and monitored morning and night. These chickens can win Griffin up to $250.
After winning first place in the local stock show on Jan. 6 and 10 in the county show, Griffin Stimmler closes out his Future Farmers of America, FFA, season and is beginning to prepare for the next one.
“Stock shows are an event for FFA where you raise an animal of your choice and show it,” Stimmler explained. “Prizes include a sum of money, and first place gets a buckle.”
These shows feature animals like chickens, goats, heifers, and rabbits. Students must have enough knowledge in order to choose their best animal to show.
“Chickens are fed to be as big as possible,” Griffin said. “We have to make sure they are bathed and clean before shows.”
Stimmler showed both chickens and rabbits and was crowned grand champion in both species in the local stock show.
“I’m very proud of my results this season,” Griffin said. “Animals cost a lot of money, so I’m glad I was able to win some of it back.”
In the county stock show, Stimmler got 10th place with a pen of three chickens. This made his animals in the top 20%.
“It is significant because a lot of hard work and planning goes into making sure those projects are taken care of,” FFA advisor Cindy Easley said. “Just taking the time to attend several clinics during the year to gain more knowledge.”
Now that his season is over, Griffin moves on and is beginning to process more animals for next year.
“Chickens are pretty disgusting,” Stimmler remarked. “But I got some money, so it’s great.”
