H ello my name is Mason Shalla, I am 14 years old from Riverside, Iowa. I had the honor this year of winning the 2023 Grand Champion 4-H Market Steer at the Iowa State Fair. This steer was very special to me and definitely one of a kind! Winning the state fair for me was an experience of a lifetime! Something that is still hard for me to even believe! My brothers and sisters and I all show livestock together and work daily in the show barn. I am in the middle of 5 children. Avery, Ryland, Parker and Everlyn. My sister Avery won the Grand Champion 4-H Market Steer at the Iowa State Fair last year in 2022. So it was pretty cool following in her footsteps! We are all really close siblings and I can definitely say that my greatest memories have been in the show barn. We help one another out everyday. It doesn’t matter who’s calf it is, we all help each other and work together. Our parents always told us kids that we will always support you guys as long as you are the one doing the work. Something that I feel mom and dad take great pride in. There isn’t a better feeling for me knowing that all my hard work paid off at the end! When I am not in the show barn I am helping on our family farm. We raise hogs, cattle, soybeans and corn. All of us kids help with sorting, loading hogs, cattle chores and field work. My favorite time of the year is definitely the fall harvest because I get to drive the big four-wheel drive tractor on the disk ripper. My goal for the future is to farm someday alongside my brothers. One of the greatest opportunities that I have had in my life is to be able to grow up on my family farm and show livestock. My parents say that the work ethic and responsibilities that it teaches you will take you far in life. While showing livestock I have been
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able to meet so many great people and have made great friends along the way, friends that are willing to help you out whenever you need it. I would like to thank my dad and mom, Nic and Jayna. My older sister Avery for keeping a strict/disciplined work schedule in the show barn! My brothers for helping me out, and my new little sister for making everyone laugh and smile everyday! I would also like to thank Wade Rodgers, Luke Doris and a special thank you to Nolan Ferguson. I have always looked up to Nolan. He is a very special person to our family, and we couldn’t do it without him! ■
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