A Week At The Fair

This past week was the Dickinson County 4H and FFA Fair. If you've ever had animals at your local or state fair you know that the same feeding and care done on the farm needs to be done at the fair. That means that chores were done at home and then done at the fair morning and night. Sometimes we split the chores and one of us stayed home to do chores and farm work while everyone else went to the fair. It makes for long days especially when you're off of your routine. The fair's a very interesting event for parents, kids and spectators. You get to see kids who have done a lot of their own work with their livestock and non-livestock projects, and others whose parents live vicariously through their kids, doing everything for them short of accepting the ribbon. The last event of the fair is the livestock sale. Area businesses and individuals bid on the animals that were shown at the fair and the money above the market price goes to the kids as premium money. Some kids, like my son George, are happy to trade the chores for the cash that comes with the sale. Other kids see an animal that they have cared for since they fed it from a bottle going on the block and ultimately end up in the food supply. It's sad to see kids cry when they have to part with their steer, heifer, sheep or pig. Okay, so I didn't see anybody cry over a pig but surely someone must have been sad to part with their swine. Maybe not but you never know.