Geauga steer on steroids

By DORIS COOK - Staff Writer
Star Beacon

January 04, 2008 01:39 am

— BURTON — An omission that the 2007 grand champion steer at the Great Geauga County Fair was given an anti-inflammatory steroid drug is costing the animal’s owner money and prizes.
Fair board president Howard Bates said the prize market steer owner, Clark Adams, 17, of Huntsburg failed to report the drug administered on a required drug form disclosure sheet. During an investigation by the Ohio Department of Agriculture after Aug. 31, it was discovered that the owner’s sister, Andrea, gave the medication to the animal after noticing it had a swollen left hock.
Andrea Clark did not inform her brother. The boy and his mother had already filled out the disclosure forms, nor did they fill out any supplemental form, Bates said.
“Clark is taking quite a spanking for this and he didn’t know the steer was medicated,” Bates said. “It’s a very unfortunate thing to happen, but serious.”
Bates said urine tests are done routinely on the grand and reserve champion animals being sold at the Market Animal Auction during the fair weekend. It was Aug. 31 when the steer tested positive for the steroid Dexamethasone.
In addition he is forfeiting $5,401.50 of the money the steer brought at the livestock sale. The money will be returned to the steer buyer, Etna Products Inc.
Adams and his sister are also required to write letters of apologies to the fair board and the steer buyer, Bates said. The fair board is also requiring brother and sister to work with Jan Jackam, the Junior Fair coordinator, to discuss with other 4-H animal raisers the importance of drug use notification forms.
The fair board is also banning Andrea Adams to have any contact or aid in preparation of any market steer project prior to or during this year’s county fair. Clark Adams is also subject to competing with an animal project for this year’s fair if he or his sister do not follow through with the fair board’s rulings.
Bates said this is the first time any drug related incident with champion fair projects has occurred at the Geauga County Fair.