As a member of the agricultural industry, you’re expected to have answers for the public's questions about current agricultural issues, such as: genetically modified foods, modern farming practices and even how we raise our livestock. Never is the final issue more prominent than at the Kansas State Fair. This years attendance for the state fair was 355,329 people, giving exhibitors opportunities to advocate for agriculture and members of the general public an opportunity to learn more about the industry that feeds the world.
Sitting at the exhibitor meeting the night before the state fair, I was told instructions that I had been told nearly ten times before. “Make sure to keep your tac area clean, no sheep stands inside the barn area, and if any members of the public have questions for you about your animal, make sure you have answers for them.” Nearly nodding off, I left the meeting to take care of my goats for the show.
The next day, as I sat in my lawn chair awaiting the show to get started, members of the public poured through the entry gate early in the morning to experience all that the fair had to offer. Checking Facebook and Twitter, paying no attention to my surroundings, I suddenly realized there were people all around me. Looking inquisitive, they quickly turned to me and the questions started to fly.
“Where did you get your cute little goats?”
I got my goats from individual breeders. When looking for a show animal, one of the best places to start is individual breeders. Breeders have extensive knowledge about the show circuit, the variety of livestock shows that happen throughout the year, and how they will breed their livestock to have a distinct advantage with judges.
“They look kind of hungry? What do you feed the little guys?”
Well, I feed my goats a high protein diet, including a variety of grains, oats and even roughage, which includes hay and alfalfa. I feed my goats in the morning, and that meal leaves them full the rest of the day. When I first bought them I mostly fed them grain to promote gradual growth, and when the contest was approaching I fed them a high protein diet, which included corn and a special liquid cover for the feed. This is to make sure my goats look like they have a lot of muscle.
“These goats are really friendly! Do you take them on walks like with dogs?”
Yes, I do kind of walk them like pets! I walk show animals for a variety of reasons. Showmen are not able to simply strap a halter on and strut into the ring. Walking with the animal gives the animal a sense of trust. No matter what the circumstance, whether it be a young child banging against the bars, or the flash of camera bulbs all around, the showmen should able to control the animal at all times. Walking can also help muscling within the livestock.
“Why does their hair look so short?”
Just like us humans, livestock sometimes need their haircut as well. When showing market animals, it’s best to have the hair short so the judge can get a good look at the muscling and structure, but we don’t cut it like we cut our hair. Using clippers, we get as close to the skin as possible without touching to make them look sharp!
I finally answered the last question and hustled to wash my goats before the competition. Letting the suds soak in, I thought about the questions that I had been asked. Never in my experience at the state fair had I even been asked a single question, let alone a barrage of them. Had I answered them correctly, or did the public even care what I said. After blow drying, I hooked the metal chain around my tan goat’s head, and waltzed in the arena ready to do my best in the class.
Walking in what seemed like an endless circle, we finally stopped and prepared to set our animals up for the judge. Leaning against the goat with my lower knee, I suddenly felt her brace tightly against my leg. Glancing towards the ground, I saw that all four of her legs were in a perfect square.
“Yes!” I thought. “There’s no way I can lose now.”
I unexpectedly heard my name being called. I was at the bottom of the class. With my heart on the ground in front of me, I shook the judge’s hand, accepted my ribbon and sulked back to my pen. Thinking about what I could have done better, I put my goat in her pen and made my way back to the show arena.
Sitting down on the bleachers, watching the rest of the show, I caught the glance of a women who had previously asked me a question. She looked back at me, then went back to watching the show intently. As disappointed as I was about the results of the show, I came to a realization that even though I didn’t win the show, I had taught someone who knew nothing about agriculture, a small little piece of the puzzle that is the agricultural industry; in the end I had won.
As a woman sat down on the bleacher seat beside me and asked whether the animals in the ring were sheep or goats, I readied my mind to teach her about the agricultural industry.