By By Suzanne Digmon Staff writer
Trey Flowers, son of John and Becky Flowers, won 1st in Class in the livestock Show-Steer competition at the Pensacola Interstate Fair. A fourth-grader at A.C. Moore Elementary, Flowers won two ribbons for first in class, as well as $190 in prize money.
Rocky, the award-winning steer, was purchased from Maple's Farm in Auburn. Flowers' older brother, John, bought him the steer. "The bad part about it is I have to pay him back, " Flowers said. The 11-month-old steer weighed in at 1,185 pounds and sold at the fair for $2 per pound. It cost Flowers $375 to feed Rocky from March until now. His steers are kept at his family's farm, an old dairy; Rocky will go to a new home at the Lucedale Stockyard in Lucedale, Miss. when the fair ends.
Grooming such a huge animal is no easy task, and Flowers knows this for a fact. "Nobody can call me lazy," he said, after describing all the work that goes into raising steers. Flowers has put approximately 80 hours of labor into Rocky, including standing on a ladder in order to wash the animal's back. Besides Rocky, Trey has two other steers he plans to show in Brewton and Evergreen. He hopes to go to a state show in March.
Flowers' older brother, John Flowers, has been teaching him all about steers since he began handling steers four years ago. John Flowers also placed at the fair, winning Future Farmers of America Grand Champion, Supreme Reserve Champion, and 1st in class. John Flowers is a senior at Escambia County High School.
Besides all the glory of winning first in class at the Pensacola fair, Trey Flowers was interviewed by the Pensacola News Journal and 102.7 WXBM. Founder of the show steer contest at the Pensacola Interstate Fair, Calvin Winters, even made sure to shake Flowers' hand. Flowers' mother, Becky, said that Winters was thoroughly impressed with Flowers handling of the steer.
Flowers entered the competition under the 4-H program of the Poarch Creek Indians. There are 13 children in the program, which John and Becky Flowers started eight years ago. The group meets at Perdido River Farms in Poarch. According to Flowers, the 4-H program in Poarch is gaining recognition. "They had heard about us, so we were invited to participate, " Becky Flowers said Friday. The 4-H hopes to go to shows in Mobile and Andalusia, also.