Oatmeal the steer finds a home

Oatmeal has found a home.

Oatmeal, a steer owned by 13-year-old Kendyll Williams of the Walker County 4-H club, placed fourth in the lightweight European Cross division of the Junior Steer Show. The steer was eligible for the Stock Show’s Junior Sale of Champions and was subsequently sold to Kane Beef Company in Corpus Christi, Texas for processing.

However, when word began spreading that the steer had cataracts and had received some special attention from the owner, there was a bit of an outcry. According to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, “members of the veterinary community and others began exploring opportunities to further understanding and education on the steer’s condition in a university setting.” Fort Worth Stock Show Vice President Charlie Geren, who also serves as Texas State Representative for House District 99, then contacted Texas A&M University.

Discussions between Geren and Texas A&M University System Chancellor, John Sharp, and other system officials resulted in an agreement for the Stock Show to donate the steer to Texas A&M University. The College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences as well as the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will collaborate for purposes of clinical evaluation and student education opportunities with the steer. The Stock Show has released Kane Beef Company’s obligation to process the steer exhibited by Williams.

- FWBP Digital Partners -

Now Oatmeal is going to college instead of the slaughterhouse for which he was destined by meat market value and show tradition.