This week kids across Outagamie County will stay busy preparing for and showing at the county fair, which kicks off on July 21st and runs through the 25th in Seymour. Prior to the big event, we caught up with Nicole Hofacker with the Wolf River Beavers 4-H Club who’s showing two steers and two hogs this year.
Nicole wanted to help others realize how much work goes into bringing animals to the fair each year because it’s not as simple as some might assume. “You can’t just walk up to these animals and put a halter on them,” she said. “You have to go out there day by day. Get them used to your voice, get them used to you walking up to them, feeding them, and then just slowly progressing into getting that halter on and starting to get them to walk.”
She was explaining that contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need to be from a farm or have an agriculture background to show at the fair or to join 4-H. “Don’t think that you need to have an animal. A lot of people assume that they need to have animals to be involved in 4-H. That is not true,” Nicole went on to explain some project options for those off of the farm. “If you’re looking into getting into the fair, there are a lot of other projects like photography, leathercraft, woodworking…whatever you want, there’s something in 4-H for you.”
The Outagamie County Fair opens up this week from Wednesday, July 21st to Sunday, July 25th. You can hear the full interview with Nicole on our podcast page.