Young fair exhibitors walked side by side with adults through the barns as they cared for their animals at the 2024 Winnesheik County Fair. (Photo by Seth Boyes)
By Seth Boyes,
Looping tire tracks in the grass are one of the few lingering evidence of this year’s Winneshiek County Fair. The fair ended Saturday, but organizers say the lessons young fair participants learned during the week-long event will likely last them a lifetime as they look toward the next chapter of their lives.
Kendra Crooks, 4-H youth program specialist with the Winneshiek County Iowa State University Extension and Outreach office, said Winneshiek County is home to a dozen 4-H clubs — serving children in kindergarten through 12th grade — as well as several chapters of the Future Farmers of America who participate in the local county fair each year.
“We have some exhibitors that don’t necessarily live on a farm, but they still get to experience showing livestock,” said Winneshiek County 4-H Youth Coordinator Ashley Horgen. “That could be just helping somebody show or even just coming to the fair and experiencing the animals.”
Horgen said the annual county fair is an opportunity for the young students to showcase projects which they’ve poured work into for a majority of the year leading up to the fair — she noted competitors in this year’s beef show brought their calves for an initial weigh in during the month of December.
“It builds a really strong work ethic, that’s for sure,” Horgen said. “They have a lot of responsibility to keep a living thing alive. They also grow very fond of those animals and create a really strong connection.”
She went on to say the 2024 fair saw a boom in students who chose to raise and show market broiler chickens. The breed is usually ready for market in about six to eight weeks, according to information from the Iowa State Extension Office, and Horgen said about 720 chicks were given to local 4-H and FFA participants to raise ahead of this year’s fair. But the market broilers didn’t have the full run of the coop last week. Some exhibitors chose to raise turkeys and at least one peacock was on display — a project Horgen described as a somewhat exotic choice among 4-H and FFA exhibitors.
“They definitely get to learn new things, try different things and it might also help lead them into a future career,” Horgen said of the student projects.
And, in addition to their work inside the barn or the coop, many students also try their hand at static fair exhibits. Horgen said those projects can showcase more traditional skills like sewing, needlework, cooking and preserving produce. But she said fields like robotics and mechanics are also not out of place at modern day county fairs.
“We had somebody restore a lawnmower,” Horgen said. “The hours in that project are extensive, and even just the skills and the hands-on experience that they’re getting from that will for sure help them later on in life.”
She went on to say photography has become one of the most popular static competitions among young fair exhibitors.
“It’s a great skill even if you don’t end up being a professional photographer someday — just learning how to take a good picture, for it to not be blurry and what to focus on,” Horgen said.
And it’s not just blue ribbons the students take with them from the yearly fair. Horgen said the 4-H program is known for helping youth build life skills and prepare them to be workforce-ready community leaders through the work they do as part of their fair projects and other efforts.
Crooks echoed Horgen, saying many of the projects exhibitors undertake have the potential to lead the young minds toward lifelong hobbies if not formal educational and a career field.
She went on to say support for such leadership, communication skills and civil engagement are foundational to the 4-H program, and she said the high school students who serve on the organization’s county council do an outstanding job as ambassadors and program leaders in her opinion.
“Clubs also elect officers, providing them experience is conducting a meeting, which benefits community groups and boards as they grow into those roles,” Crooks said. “There’s many adults who don’t know how or aren’t comfortable taking on those roles.”
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