Sixteen-year-old Kodie Meeks, of Chiefland, said she started raising homegrown feeder steers and entering them into contests when she was 9.

But last year was the first time she won.  She was reserve champion at the 2009 Levy County Livestock Fair with a Black Angus Macros named Oakie.

“He was so sweet,” she said.  “He was just like a big old Teddy Bear.”

A 750-pound Teddy Bear, that is.

Every day after school, she’d take him out walking.  She’d wash him.  She’d dry him.  She’d use a show stick to get Oakie comfortable having his hooves placed in the proper position.  A lot of time and energy went into getting Oakie ready for the livestock show, she said.

It’s easy to become attached, she said, especially after spending so much time with the animals.

“When you’re about to sell them, it’s like, ‘Do I have to?’”

But Chiefland High School FFA advisor and agriculture teacher Dallas Locke said, “It’s just kind of a life lesson. We raise animals to be . . . turned into beef.”

Locke, who was in the room when Meeks was being interviewed, reminded her about the $2 per pound she received for Oakie when he was auctioned.  Her attitude shifted a little.

Chad “Cracker” Johnson, a Levy County commissioner who also fills in as an auctioneer at livestock shows, said, “Yeah, you’ll see some teary eyes at the end.  You take a kid who’s been responsible for an animal, and they’re going to get attached.”

But Johnson, like Locke, believes it to be a learning experience.  It teaches children responsibility, he said.  A life is dependant upon them.  It teaches them about where their food comes from.

“Food comes from a production atmosphere, not the grocery shelf.”

It also teaches them about profit and loss, he said.  And it’s a way for many young people to connect with the past, especially if their family started out in agriculture.

Johnson said less than 2 percent of the population in Levy County earns their living through agriculture. But many young people in the area not involved in raising crops or livestock are only a generation of two removed from it, he said.

“I was one of those kids that was a generation removed,” he said, explaining that he learned a lot from his grandfather, who raised cattle.

“There are some great lessons to take from it,” he said.  “I’m a huge advocate for it.”

As for Meeks, she has another steer set for this year’s competition at the Levy County Livestock Fair, though she admits she hasn’t named him yet.

Locke said Meeks has a good shot at winning this year, but added, “The competitors are awful tough this year.  From what I’ve seen, there are a lot of good ones.”