by Tiffany Williams
It’s August, which means it’s fair time.
The Western Montana Fair in Missoula kicks off today, with events beginning at 11 a.m. and extends through Sunday, Aug. 14. The Ravalli County Fair in Hamilton begins on Aug. 30 and goes through Sept. 3.
Rides, rodeos, and food creations beyond your wildest imagination, county fairs are for education as much as entertainment. At fairs, barnyard animals are as ubiquitous as carnival rides that make you more aware of your mortality and food on a stick.
The animals were always my favorite part of the fair. They reminded me of my childhood, growing up on a farm in Texas, where squeals, bahhhs, and bleats were part of the sound landscape. I don’t have a farm now, but I visit farm animals any chance I get. And the fair is the best place to do just that.
But the fair is no petting zoo. 4-H and FFA students labor for months, raising their animals from babies to beasts that sometimes outweigh them — in the case of cows, horses, and hogs. While smaller, rabbits, chickens, goats, and sheep are often just as unruly. Familiarity and comfort with humans is a must for a fair animal. Their job, ultimately, is to circle the ring to be weighed, measured, judged, and eventually sold. Which means students not only feed, water, and clean them. They also spend hours walking them in fields, and handling them to get them used to the watchful eyes of judges and the hubbub of fair attendees.
I recently got a first-hand look at the dedication that goes into getting these animals ready for fair when Missoula County asked me to take photos of the kids with their animals. Lest the animals upstage their human handlers, Pen Portraits help the public see the hard work the students put into their projects — and hopefully inspire more to participate.
Having a fair animal is a great basis for any young person’s future. Kids can earn college money or nab a scholarship.
And for many kids, their time in 4-H or FFA plays even more specifically into their future plans. Many go on to study animal biology, agriculture, or veterinary medicine. They say their years raising animals for fair gave them the basis for their futures.
So the next time you visit the livestock arena honor the work that goes into raising the animals. It’s so much more than a petting zoo.