The final goodbye can be the hardest.
The end of the Johnson County 4-H and Agricultural Fair means the annual livestock auction, an opportunity for 4-H members to earn hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars from the sale of their animal. That money can go toward college savings funds, paying for that first car or buying next year’s fair animal.
Participants work throughout the year to ensure their animals are in the best condition for fair judging. They wake up in the pre-dawn hours to feed them, bathe and groom the animals regularly and learn their personalities.
That makes the auction a bittersweet experience.
“I cry in the auction. That first part is just awful, then the night that we leave is so hard,” said Brooklyn Peddycord, a 10-year 4-H member from Franklin.
The livestock auction serves as a main fundraiser for the 4-H competitors in the county.
Last year’s auction raised more than $265,000 for local kids selling steers, hogs, goats, rabbits and market lambs. The grand champion steer and market steer raised by Wyatt Morris sold for $4,850, while the reserve grand champion steer from Bryce Armstrong went for $3,250.
Farming is ultimately a business, and selling the animals you raise is part of the process, said Travis Wallen, a 10-year 4-H’er from Trafalgar.
“That’s what we’re doing. You have to understand the process of it and accept that,” he said.
Wallen has been showing animals since he was 4 years old. His sister started showing, and even though he was too young to formally show animals, he’d help her with her own projects. When he was old enough to join 4-H, he started doing it himself.
He has shown all kinds of animals, from swine to sheep to cattle to goats, chickens and rabbits.
“It’s kind of addicting, the experiences, the people you meet. It’s like a big family,” he said.
That sense of family extends to the animals he cares for. At first, it was sad when the livestock auction would come around and he had to say goodbye to his animals.
“I’ve done it for so many years, and had so many, I understand how it works. The first few years were kind of rough, but that’s how it it,” he said.
For Peddycord, the emotion that comes at the livestock auction never fades. In the months leading up to the fair, she’s out in the barn with her swine to do feedings, clean out their pens and wash them. At least three hours each evening, she would work with the animals to prepare them to be shown at the fair.
All of that time adds up.
“You get really attached to them,” Peddycord said.
Kyra Baker, an eight-year member of 4-H also from Franklin, also feels that sadness at the end of the fair. But she knows that it’s the nature of agriculture and part of a cycle that will start again next year.
“You know next year, you get a new animal to care for,” she said.
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Here is the Johnson County Fair schedule for today:
8:30 a.m.: Baby contest, indoor arena; contestants must be pre-registered
11:30 a.m: 4-H and open class exhibits
1-5 p.m.: Poor Jack Amusements, Kiddie Day at the Midway, unlimited ride bracelet $15
4 p.m.: 4-H awards program, Indoor Arena
5-8 p.m.: Cooking demonstrations, Farm Bureau Building
6-11 p.m.: Poor Jack Amusements, Weekend Madness on the Midway, unlimited ride bracelet $25
6 p.m.: Farmer’s Olympics, Indoor Arena; Corn on the Cob eating contest
6:30-10 p.m.: Gospel music in Christian Music Tent
7 p.m.: Horseshoe pitching, west of fair office
7 p.m.: Demolition Derby, admission $10 adults, $5 kids 12 and under
Dark: Fireworks display
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