What would the county fair be without 4-H and agriculture? Here's a primer on the beef competition:

1The 4-H Dairy Beef competition was one of the highlights Wednesday at the Carbon County Fair.There were 20 entrants across five weight classes with Collin Troxell, 16, of Lehighton, taking home grand champion honors with the 661-pound Big Mac.Emma Gaston, 10, of Lehighton, was named the reserve champion with the 641-pound Wilbur.Kyle Kerr, of Bangor, was the judge.2Most 4-H participants are 8 years old when they start showing animals. Gaston has had tremendous success in her first few years.In addition to notching the reserve champion ribbon this year, she had the grand champion market goat last year.The age divisions for showing dairy beef cattle are 8-11, 12-14 and 15 and older.3There are also five weight classes: lightweight, heavy lightweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight.Not surprisingly, Big Mac and Wilbur came out of the heavyweight division.4Though the fair isn't until August, 4-H competitors usually purchase their calves in December or January. On average, the animals are 2 or 3 weeks old at the time.Working with the animals at such a young age allows the showman to grow up with them."It really does a lot for you in terms of responsibility," said Gaston, while standing next to Wilbur. "We get them in the winter so there are times we are out walking and feeding them and wearing three layers of clothing. Fortunately, we can walk them a little in the barn."5Before the calf can munch on grain and hay, competitors feed the animals a milk powder or milk from the mother, Troxell said."After they get to be a good size, you can start walking them," he said. "Usually the first time you walk them, they freak out a little bit. But you just keep walking them until you get that perfect."Kerr said strong, sturdy legs are one of the main things judges look for in the animals.6Troxell introduces the show stick to a calf several weeks before showing the animal.It assists in placing the animal's feet, calming and controlling the animal."You just want to get them used to something touching their feet," he said.Kerr said it's important to keep a calf calm when walking them around the ring.'That's one of the first things that will jump out to us," he said.7Getting off to a good start is key. The main goal for Troxell after getting in the ring is getting his animal set up as quickly as possible."What you want to do is give the judge the most time possible to get a good look at the animal," he said.Several times during the competition, Kerr told the participants to work on being more aware of where he was in the ring.8Practice makes perfect. An actual competition isn't the first time in a ring for many of the animals at the Carbon County Fair."We have mock shows at home," Gaston said. "It gets the animals accustomed to being in the circle."9You don't have to live on a farm to be an accomplished member of 4-H.Gaston, for example, doesn't live on a farm, but she credited Miller Charm Farm in Tamaqua for allowing her to use space.While you don't have to live on a farm, time management is key."You're raising these animals and working with them while you're going to school and in some cases, like mine, playing sports," Troxell said. "I basically try to carve out time to devote to each thing and manage it the best I can."10The 4-H Livestock sale is Saturday at 1 p.m. All are welcome.