Despite the steady thunderstorms rolling through all week, we’ve had another successful year of 4H at the Eaton County Fair. This year every 4Her showing an animal, chose to show a pig! The animal program requires a significant time commitment. It is a three-month long program. Children are encouraged to go to the farm every day to work with their animal since the amount of time spent with their animal directly affects their success at fair. The usual commitment for a child raising a hog is to go to the farm for chores at least four times per week, with one of those days to include an hour-long meeting. In addition, kids who are raising pigs should get them out every day and walk them. All animals are then sold at the fair by auction, and the 4-H members receive a profit after reimbursing the National Home for expenses incurred on their animal. Earlier in the season, we met seasoned 4Hers, Kassidy and Landon and rookie, Riley. All three of them worked hard during the past three months, and it paid off for them in the end. Kassidy placed 6th in showmanship, and her hog was placed 4th in its market class. Landon had a great improvement from last year’s 10th place, placing 7th this year in showmanship and coming in 9th for his pig’s market class. Riley was a natural, placing 3rd in showmanship and 2nd in his pig’s market class. He worked hard to keep his pig under control and maintain eye contact with the judge, and in classic Riley fashion, winked at the judge! Former Buddy Poppy, Zane received 3rd this year in showmanship. 16 VFW kids participated in non-livestock activities at the fair this year. Celia placed in the top ten with her oil painting and her Christmas wreath and all who participated received 1st place in one thing or another.

All in all, another great year of 4H activities! See more photos on our flickr album!