There's more at stake inside the bowels of the fairground barnyard shelters than a pretty blue ribbon.

Scores of children and youths from all over Southeast Missouri didn't feed, train, bathe and trim their animals for nothing. They didn't scoop droppings for just a pat on the back.

There is money to be made at the end of this not-so-glamorous journey, and on Thursday the 4-H and FFA members will find out exactly what their effort was worth.

Considering the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars at stake and the effort involved, many of the young caretakers were a bit nervous on Tuesday night, the night when all the livestock animals were to be entered and weighed.

"I'm just a little nervous," said 11-year-old Brandon Pleimann of Jackson. Pleimann has a steer and a heifer to be judged in today's 4-H competition and sold in Thursday's auction.

Brandon was a bit antsy to see how much his steer, which was purchased about 18 months ago, weighed. He figured it would tip the scales at about 1,300 pounds, but wasn't sure.

He was trying to not think about the payoff too much.

"I just want to learn," he said. "This is so much fun, I could do it all my life."

The tradition of showing cattle in 4-H and FFA runs deep at the SEMO District Fair.

Pat Moore of New Hamburg has been a 4-H leader for 39 years. She is now helping her granddaughter, Katie, who is showing a steer for the first time. This is Katie's fourth year in 4-H.

Pat remembers when her son, Jarrett, was about 13 years old and his steer sold for just 52 cents a pound.

"He just said 'Well, I'll just get a better one next year,'" Pat said.

Despite all the cattle-showing history Katie has at her disposal, the 12-year-old isn't expecting a high rate of return on Thursday. However, she was a bit apprehensive about her steer being big enough. All the cattle must weigh at least 1,000 pounds to be sold.

In all, 340 animals were entered into this year's fair. That's 77 market steers, 68 breeding beef cattle, 53 dairy cows, 23 breeding sheep, 36 market lambs and 83 barrows, or castrated pigs.

The 4-H and FFA will hold separate judging competitions today. The 4-H competition will be broken down into two classes, one for youths under the age of 14 years and one for the older participants.

The judging affects the sale of the animals since buyers like to purchase grand champions.

David Wells, agriculture teacher at Jackson High School and the FFA representative on the fair board, said buyers will come from all over Southeast Missouri.

Wells said the buyers can keep the animals for processing or choose to resell. Those who resell end up selling an animal for less money than they bought it for, with the difference going to the animal's caretaker. Generally, businesses use this method for advertising and public relations purposes.

Last year, Joe Amelunke, a Jackson High School senior, sold his steer for 75 cents per pound. His animal wasn't as big as it could have been, and he learned from the experience. This year he started feeding the calf more food earlier, after he learned that the steer didn't eat as much in the hot summer months. He estimated his steer would weigh in around 1,100 pounds this year.

"You always wish for $2 per pound, but I know you won't get it," he said. "Eighty cents a pound will be good enough for me."

Wells said he hopes to have many buyers on hand Thursday.

"We encourage anyone who is involved with agriculture to come out and support the auction," he said. "Just come out and bid. Make no apologies if you don't buy anything. By just bidding, you're pushing up the prices for these kids."

The 4-H and FFA judging will begin at 8:30 a.m. today. The sale will begin at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635MONDAY'S DEMOLITION DERBY RESULTS

Results provided by Auto Race Promotions Inc. of St. Louis.

FIRST HEAT

Tie for first place, Randy Schwartzkopf of Nashville, Ill., and Daniel Carter of Daisy; second place, Joseph W. Holt of Altenburg; third place, Paul Benfield of Marble Hill; fourth place, Ed Huffman of Oak Ridge.

SECOND HEAT

Tie for first place, Rodney Holloway of Scott City and Steve Bailey of Alto Pass, Ill.; second place, Matt Seiler of Friedheim; third place, Steven Phelps of Chaffee; fourth place, Todd Dillahay of Altenburg.

THIRD HEAT

Tie for first place, Darrell Coomer of Scott City and Jeff Dunning of Whitewater; second place, Taryn B. Schweain of Cape Girardeau; third place, Michael W. Bascholt of Oran; fourth place, Wesley Richardson of Jackson.

FOURTH HEAT

Tie for first place, Shawn King of Cape Girardeau and Larry Tackett of Scott City; second place, John Niederkorn of Cape Girardeau; third place, Rick Holden of Scott City; fourth place, Terry Evans of Marissa, Ill.

CONSOLATION

Tie for first place, Robert L. Maglone and Chris Sinn, both of Cape Girardeau; second place, Dustin Brackett of Scott City; third place, Victor Whaley Jr. of Coulterville, Ill.; fourth place, Michael S. Wilde of Columbia, Ill.; fifth place, David McMaster of Sparta, Ill.

FEATURE WINNER

First place, Randy Schwartzkopf of Nashville, Ill.; second place, Terry Evans of Marissa, Ill.; third place, Shawn King of Cape Girardeau; fourth place, Victor Whaley Jr. of Coulterville, Ill.; and fifth place, John Neiderkorn of Cape Girardeau.