Where can you and one million of your closest friends, go to see thousands of sheep, pigs, cattle and goats; a cow made of butter, and eat nearly anything you can imagine, on a stick? I would have struggled with this answer a few years ago, but since meeting and marrying an Iowan, I can confidently answer – The Iowa State Fair!
Growing up in Canada, the “State Fair” was not a totally foreign concept to me. We lived close enough to the North Dakota border that friends often traveled to Minot for their state fair, mostly to take in the grand stand shows, as there seemed to be excellent entertainment every year. I personally had never attended, as that fair was always the same weekend as our local 4-H show and town’s fair. It wasn’t until I was in my 20’s that I attended my first State Fair in Iowa and haven’t missed one since.
To those with an appreciation for agriculture and youth activities, the Iowa State Fair is a must-see. Thousands of 4-H and FFA chapter members descend on the State Fairgrounds in Des Moines for 10 days of competition, camaraderie and corn dogs. To give you an idea of what entries are like for the youth livestock competitions at the State Fair, I pulled together some exhibitor numbers for you:
FFA Beef Cattle – 366
FFA Dairy Cattle – 121
FFA Dairy Goats – 31
FFA Horse – 265
FFA Meat Goats – 143
FFA Sheep – 970FFA Swine – 1521
4-H Beef Cattle – 1003
4-H Dairy Cattle – 400
4-H Dairy Goat – 137
4-H Horse – 299
4-H Meat Goat – 361
4-H Sheep – 1731
4-H Swine - 1694
These numbers represent exhibitors, so just think of the number of animals shown by these kids. The numbers above are staggering and don’t even include the open show exhibitors.
In addition to the youth livestock exhibits, the Iowa State Fair boasts competitions ranging from the Biggest Boar, to the Super Bull to the Biggest Ram; not to mention the turkey calling, mom-calling and fiddling contests! I can hardly do justice to the extent of all there is to see at the fair in my short blog post, but invite you to experience it in person.
The fair this year runs August 11th – 21st in Des Moines, Iowa. Our kids will be showing lambs in the FFA and 4-H sheep shows. The girls show on Thursday, the 11th and Jack shows on Monday, the 15th. The girls’ sheep will be getting baths and “hair-cuts” tonight, in order for their trip to town tomorrow. Oh yeah, I think we also have a veterinarian visit to arrange, in order to get health certificates for entry to the show. I sure hope Mark found a GlobalVetLINK, participating veterinarian to issue those health papers!
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