Gavin Grotegut’s representing Valders FFA at the county fair this year with two steers, Carter and Yelich. This is Gavin’s ninth year showing and the fourth year he’s been able to show steers that were born and raised on their farm.
For some kids, this might be their first year of showing at the fair and Gavin wanted to give them some advice. “Ask questions…don’t say, well, I’m going to get first place and everything, just try your best and just have fun,” says Gavin. Don’t spend all your time getting upset if you don’t get first place because you’ll miss out on the true fair experience and what it’s supposed to be about.
Next up, Evan Mennen who’s with Bayport FFA and Morrison 4-H. Evan’s a recent graduate of Bayport High School and plans on going to Fox Valley Tech. From there, he wants to transfer to UW-River Falls for agriculture education. He said his goal is to leave an impact on the next generation of agriculturalists.
This is Evan’s third year showing at the Brown County Fair and he talked about one great opportunity showing at the fair gives you. “I like advocating for agriculture. That’s why I got so involved in FFA and 4-H,” Evan says, “Being able to talk about my project with the public and show them what farm-to-table looks like…” Evan went on to say that he also wants fair-goers to see that buying locally does help out.
He talked about how it’s cool to see people interact with the livestock who normally wouldn’t be around farm animals. Evan thinks that one of the most surprising aspects to people might be the actually size of these animals, especially the cattle. Normally, the beef cattle being shown at the fair range anywhere from 1,000 to 1,400 pounds.
Evan ended by mentioning how being a part of the county fair is a great way to learn more than just how to show animals. The fair gives you a lot of different options. For example, you can grow vegetables and bring them to be judged, you can submit photography, baking, and many other projects as well.
The Brown County Fair starts on August 19th and runs until the 23rd.
