by Cassidy Gibbs
On Saturday, Oct. 17, the Minarets FFA program held its very first Meat Market, an event in which students that have been raising livestock get to show and sell their animals. This project was called a “cooperative,” where all of the students work together in raising the livestock as a team instead of individually. At the end of the cooperative, the team shows the animals for sale. There were a total of four different species at the market, those being goats, pigs, sheep, and rabbits. Rabbits were a little different compared to the rest of the animals; they were the only species to have Showmanship. Showmanship is about presenting an animal in front of a judge and handling it to the students' best ability.
FFA advisor Eduardo Rubio thought it went well for it being the first event of its kind, especially under the circumstances of COVID-19. When asked about sales success, he stated, “Yes, all of the animals got sold… we didn’t have a problem with that, thankfully.” He was proud of all of the students involved in the cooperative. Rubio also said, “For me, it was so rewarding to see students actually up there with their animal, and all of their hard work and dedication to all of these animals... at that moment it was just worth it all.” Though there were a couple of minor bumps along the road, such as some animals were a little difficult to load up and take from the farm to the barn but the turnout was still high.
Sophomore Kenley Thomas was specifically involved in the goat and rabbit cooperative. She too thought the event was successful. When asked about the best part of the project, Thomas said, “...getting outside of my comfort zone and meeting new people.” Thomas explained that the rabbit showmanship was fun for her, and she thought that all of the preparation paid off. Thomas said, “We were preparing for so long, and it went great and smoothly for showmanship, I think.” Both Rubio and Thomas look forward to the Spring Meat Market, expectations high following the success of the past week.