Fairgoers encouraged to check out 4-H shows

HARTINGTON – More than 200 4-H members will participate in an abundance of activities at the Cedar County Fair this week in Hartington.

Several 4-H livestock shows, as well as plenty of 4-H projects on display at the fairgrounds, will be the hallmark of the fair, July 19-23.

“There’s really not a lot that changes from year to year,” said Megan Hanefeldt, 4-H Extension educator for Cedar and Knox counties. “The thing that probably fluctuates the most is really just our numbers and the project areas that tend to be a little more popular one year to the next.”

4-H members and Clover Kids brought exhibits to enter starting the evening of July 18 and continuing the morning of July 19 at the 4-H Static Building.

Hanefeldt expects to see many projects from the Extension’s workshops.

“I know one of the more popular ones this year was a fairy garden workshop,” Hanefeldt said. “We put a limit on the number of kids just so we can keep it manageable, kind of like in a classroom setting. We had so many sign up for that, we ended up doing instead of (just) a morning class, we did a morning and an afternoon class.”

This year, there are a large number of clothing exhibits, too.

“We actually have a really good set of volunteers that come in and teach clothing workshops,” Hanefeldt said. “Actually, we’ve got a fairly decent amount of clothing for our county side that youth are sewing and bringing.”

Potted houseplants and wood-burning projects were featured at this year’s Project Day for 4-Hers older than 8. About 40 4-Hers participate in Project Day, where they start projects and are able to finish, Hanefeldt said.

“Everybody went home with a house plant that was potted and ready to bring to the fair,” Hanefeldt said.

4-H members also learned how to make gourmet cookies, such as chocolate chip and muddy buddies.

“The intention of our workshops is to teach them a skill,” Hanefeldt said. “They can learn how to do something and then they can ultimately bring that project to the fair.”

Clover Kids – 4-H members who are 5-7 years old – also worked on their own projects during a day camp this year including making a glitter bottle and a cactus out of pool noodles. They also learned about planting a zucchini plant as well as caring for rabbits and how to show them at the fair.

For the fair’s 4-H livestock shows, there will be more participants in the beef show this year compared to last year.

“We do know that we have close to 50 bucket calves that will be coming,” Hanefeldt said.

That category shows a large increase of participation with just more than 30 bucket calves shown in 2022.

“That’ll be a highlight for this year,” she said. “If they brought a bucket calf last year, they can bring back what we call a second-year bucket calf. We’ve got seven of those. That is exciting for us.”

Several 4-H livestock shows have been scheduled for July 20, including the bucket calf show and the dairy show at the show arena.

The rabbit show and the poultry show will take place at the small animals building.

On July 21, the beef show, the sheep show and the goat show are all set to be held at the fairgrounds’ show arena.

The next day, July 22, the swine show is scheduled for the show arena.

The horse show is set to take place at the rodeo arena.

The show arena on July 23 will be the spot for 4-Hers to participate in livestock juding, and the 4-H Round Robin event.

The 4-H/FFA livestock premium recognition/static awards will also be in the show arena July 23.

“We’re just looking forward to another great fair and, of course, seeing all the kids and their accomplishments and projects that they’ve worked on all year,” Hanefeldt said. “We’re just always excited to see how everything turns out.”

She highly encouraged fair attendees to ask 4-H members about the projects they have on display and the animals they are showing.

“It’s always so fascinating to see what they have to say about their chicken or their rabbit or the different things that they’ve worked on,” Hanefeldt said. “They’re definitely happy to share.”

The weather forecast for Hartington for the rest of this week features mostly sunny weather with temperatures in the 80s.

“We’re hoping some of this nice weather sticks around for the fair,” Hanefeldt said. “That’s always very helpful.”