The Osceola County 4-H/FFA Fair is this week, and participants have been busy.
“I believe our numbers are up this year, we took a huge nosedive right after COVID,” 4-H leader Christina Carmichael said. “A lot of the kids are coming back or there’s new kids coming back through and getting more involved in it again.”
Carmichael has been a 4-H leader for over 20 years.
Participants work hard to make sure their animals are ready for show.
“One of the hardest things is trying to get your animal broke to the point where he’s not trying to run around and jump around when you’re in a show arena,” Emmett Carmichael said.
Emmett is showing a slew of animals this year including a dairy heifer named Lucky, a steer named Case, a pig named Fred and Old English game bird named Candy.
He already showed his chicken on Monday receiving fourth place out of 41 other participants.
He says there are more chickens in the poultry barn than there has been in years past.
“The hardest part I think is keeping your animal clean before show, but the most rewarding is getting to know more people,” Jacob Taylor said.
Taylor is showing a dairy steer named George.
Christina Carmichael said the most rewarding part is watching the youth’s hard work pay off.
“Seeing these kids succeed, just the look on their faces when they get out there and they achieve what they have been working so hard to do,” she said.
Dry and hot weather has given members of 4-H a challenge with feed prices and keeping animals cool.
“You got to keep your animals watered, and clean, and try to give them baths to try and cool them down,” Emmett said.
He said there are also fans in the steer barn to help curb the heat.
Along with the heat, the dry weather in June did influence feed prices.
“This year is different because of the drought that we’ve had, however things are looking more promising because we’ve gotten the rain and sort of thing,” Christina Carmichael said. “It also does reflect on these 4-H kids because that increases their feed costs, which then decreases their total income that they get.”
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Osceola County has experienced a moderate drought this season.
Harvest Media says due to the lack of rain, some Midwest farmers have had to buy hay instead of lettinganimals graze.
Participants said it is hard to say how much their animals will go for at the auction on Friday.
“We’re hoping to get a good price but you never know,” Emmett said.