Introduction

              Although 4-H is a large organization in Jefferson County, Indiana with many participants, many people overlook the fact that 4-H is also a community. 4-H consists of a large group of people who interact with each other and share knowledge about specific areas in 4-H. These specific areas in 4-H consist of people modeling their self-made clothing ,submitting various projects,  presenting agile dogs and participating in the cat show, horse show, and livestock shows. The livestock project in 4-H then breaks down into several other specific categories. A 4-H member can choose to show beef, swine, sheep, goats, and/or poultry. Each of these different areas in 4-H is a sub-community. As for these areas, communities are formed through participants or showers coming together in each area to compete for the Grand Champion that is given in each category. For those who do not win, they then learn from mistakes and try to make their future projects or animals better and more competitive. 

                As for who can join the community, anyone interested in 4-H is eligible to become a member. Once a person is a member there are certain things that become common knowledge to that person. For example, in order to participate, a person must join a 4-H club. There are many different clubs available to the members in Jefferson County. There is at least one 4-H club if not more in each town of Jefferson County.  Within the clubs, leaders will keep members updated on when projects are due, when animals must get their ears tagged prior to fair, and when paperwork and books are available at the 4-H extension office to be completed. In the beginning of each of these club meetings, the Pledge of Allegiance is said by all members and is followed by the 4-H Pledge. The meaning of the four Hs that make up the organization 4-H also becomes common knowledge to the member as well as the main colors of the organization: green and white. The four Hs stand for head, health, heart, and hands. As a person can see while reading this introduction as to what 4-H is and who can participate, the community as a whole has its own terminology and language that is used.

                As a tenure member in 4-H and in the sheep project, I am going to prove that the sheep project within the 4-H community is a community itself by analyzing the discourse that is shared only among the members of the sheep project.

Methodology

            In showing that the 4-H sheep project is a community and has a distinct discourse known mainly by the members, I interviewed three members of the sheep project. Two of the members I chose to interview, Amne Brawner and Zach Canada, are tenure members to the sheep project as well. I chose to interview these two individuals because of their experience in the sheep project. Both have been out of 4-H for two years, but were known within the Jefferson County Fair because of their showmanship abilities and their awards. The third sheep project member I chose to interview is a current 4-H member. Kamille Brawner has been in 4-H for seven years and has completed the sheep project each of those seven years involved. I chose to interview this young lady because she is experienced and has been around the organization and the sheep project for many years. Both of the girl’s sisters were 4-H members in the sheep project. Both sisters have been out of 4-H for several years. Therefore, the current member has had experience in showing sheep and has been able to observe as an outsider when she was younger as she watched her sisters participate in the sheep project.

                I also interviewed one of the barn leaders to the sheep project. Mrs. Judy Smith has been one of the sheep project leaders for twenty years. Throughout the years, she has helped many 4-H members learn about the sheep project. Smith is also the owner of a sheep herd in which she breeds, raises, and sells sheep. Therefore, Smith can be referred to as a knowledgeable woman to the sheep project.   

                Along with conducting interviews, I will use observations that I have made and knowledge that I have gained throughout my ten years in the sheep project. Because I participated in the sheep project for ten years and received several awards including awards in showmanship, which allows a member to show a judge how much knowledge a showman has about the lamb and how to show a lamb, I may be considered an eligible source for the discourse and language to the sheep project. Over the course of my ten years in which I participated, I spent hundreds of hours sitting in the sheep barn listening to 4-H sheep members communicate with each other, watching how people take care of their sheep, and engaging in the conversations myself.

Discourse

             To begin analyzing the discourse of the sheep project community, I will first discuss some knowledge that is important to the health of the sheep. It is quite important as a sheep owner and shower to know what can be fed to sheep. Sheep need grain and roughage, such as hay or grass to keep their digestive tract evenly flowing. However, no sheep feed should ever contain copper in the ingredients as Amne Brawner suggested in her interview response to what members would need to know to become a part of the community . Sheep are highly allergic to copper and will die quickly if digesting it. Another thing that is important when feeding sheep is to know that they can get Overeaters Disease also called Enterotoxemia, which can also result in a sheep’s death. Sheep can get this disease if they consume too much food at one time. Their bodies cannot handle large amounts. Sheep must also have access or be watered every day. Amne Brawner also says it is important that members know to exercise their lambs “several times a week if not daily.” Throughout my experience in 4-H, I learned from a sheep owner that exercising the lamb is one of the most important responsibilities as a showman because judges want muscular and meaty lambs in a market class, which is the part of the sheep show where the judge observes all the sheep to pick the best lamb that would satisfy the current qualities from the sheep market and butchers.

animalscience.ag.utk.edu

                Now, I will describe the language, body language, and terminology that are used specifically in the sheep project. First, showman need to know the common market terms of a lamb such as the location of the loin, breast, rack, shoulder, and leg. Each of these terms identify where the most common parts of meat are. With the market terms, Judy Smith, the 4-H sheep barn leader, says members also need to learn what the current market price is per pound of meat on the sheep and what the requested weight requirement is for a lamb to even be accepted into the market. Second, it is important for a member to know how to show sheep. There is a certain technique that is used when showing a lamb called bracing the lamb. To brace a lamb, the showman must place their right hand under the muzzle of the lamb. The muzzle is the nose of a lamb. The left hand is then placed on the top of the lamb’s head, which is called the poll. Slightly applying pressure, the showman should place their index finger behind one ear and their thumb behind the other. This implies to the lamb that the showman has complete control of them. After gaining control of the lamb, the showman then presses the inside of his or her right thigh into the breast, or chest, of the lamb. The pressure will make the lamb push back into the showman forming the brace.

                When looking at the community, it is noticeable as to what members are new to the project. In an interview a current 4-H member, Kamille Brawner, replies, “You can always tell who is new because they may have their parents or have help doing it a lot more than others….New showers look lost, they don’t know what to do on show day, and some are just so excited to be showing.” New members frequently ask a lot of questions because they are unsure of what to do, where to do things, and how to show their lambs.

                Judy Smith adds to how a person could recognize a new member from an experienced one. She says, “First of all they are younger around 8 or 9 and very shy around adults.  They will have a harder time holding on to the sheep just because of their size.” New members can be both younger kids starting from third grade or older kids who decided at a later age that they wanted to join 4-H and the sheep project. Therefore, for Judy Smith, the age and size of a member makes a person’s membership quite obvious.

                 On the other hand, experienced members tend to “have their animals groomed slightly if not very well before they come to the fair. They also tend to feed (sheep) individually where most new members feed everyone (all their lambs) together.” Amne Brawner said this is one of the ways that a person can distinguish a new member or outsider from the more experienced members in the sheep project.

                Referring back to bracing a lamb, Zach Canada emphasizes that how a showman handles a lamb is one way to distinguish members of the community from new members. He says, “The more experienced you are, the better you can handle the lamb, and have it brace correctly.”

                When asked if the community is friendly or competitive, all three 4-H members agreed that sheep members are both friendly and willing to help new members and competitive in wanting to win the show. Each member would enjoy taking home the Grand Champion ribbon, which is the top winning place, so all members individually prep their sheep for the show.

Conclusion

From the interviews and observations that I made during my time in 4-H, the sheep project is proven to be a community. A specific discourse is shared among the members of the community. All members, once they are somewhat experienced, know the important meat parts of sheep, how to properly handle and show sheep, and how to seek help if needed. Even experienced members are learning new things about the sheep project as they go. Zach Canada said this is why showmen should have connections with sheep breeders. “Showing sheep is a learning process and you learn something new all the time.” Within the sheep project, the language and knowledge of the members continues to grow throughout the years in 4-H. However, there is much knowledge and language that is known to all the sheep project members. Through this shared knowledgeable information, the sheep community becomes a discourse community.