Jefferson County Fair shows off youngsters’ hard work

FAIRFIELD — The 2022 Greater Jefferson County Fair is in the books.

For the area’s 4-H and FFA members, it was an opportunity for them to show off the months of hard work they had put into their exhibits and animals. And for the public, it was a chance to take in oodles of entertainment from carnival rides to grandstand shows to specialty food vendors.

One of the highlights for exhibitors is bringing home the hardware they won in competition. It was a great year in that department for Lilian Buie, who showed the Grand Champion Breeding Goat and Grand Champion Market Goat. In the poultry division, she won Grand Champion Best Meat Poultry Pen of Three, and was named Senior Showman in both poultry and goats.

“It feels great,” Buie said to receive so many awards. “All my hard work has paid off.”

That hard work includes washing her goats every day and walking them for exercise. She practices “bracing” with them, which means getting them to flex their muscles so they’re firmer and look bigger.

Buie is the youngest of three siblings. Her family has shown animals at the fair for many years, and she credits her older siblings Simeon and Vivian with teaching her everything she knows. Her accolades in the show ring this June will allow her to compete at the Southeast Iowa Showdown in Donnellson, which will feature exhibitors from 10 counties in the region. From there, Buie has a chance to advance to the All-Iowa Showdown, which would be a first for her.

Kylie Bohrn lives on a farm near Packwood. She made all the members of the Packwood Trojans and Pekin FFA proud by performing very well at the fair, bringing home trophies such as Grand Champion Overall Commercial Gilt, Champion Crossbred Commercial Gilt and Senior Showman in swine. Bohrn shows hogs and sheep, and said one of the things she likes best about showing at the fair is the bond she creates with her animals.

Since Bohrn and Buie have a variety of animals, they discussed which ones were the easiest and which were the hardest to handle. Bohrn said hogs are easier for her because she’s shown them the longest, so she’s most familiar with them. The only trouble with hogs is that they don’t take the heat as well as other animals. Luckily, though, the weather at this year’s fair wasn’t too bad, expect for the day of the parade when it was in the upper 90s.

Buie said goats are the hardest to lead because they have the “most personality.” Buie said that sheep, on the other hand, are not as smart and as a result are easier to lead.

Brad Woodburn participated in the beef show, along with his twin brother Nate and sister Maddie. In fact, the family brings lots of animals to the fair. He and his brother show pigs, and he and his sister show goats, plus she has sheep. Woodburn said he thinks pigs are the easiest animal to work with because they’re quick learners.

“With cattle, you’ve got to work with them a long time,” he said. “They’re a lot bigger than you, and they can do what they want.”

Brad and Nate just graduated from Fairfield High School, and they’re both planning to attend Indian Hills Community College in the fall, where they will both study animal science. Brad said he hopes to have a career in the ag sector, perhaps raising cattle commercially.

Kiya Robertson is going into her senior year at FHS, and has been in 4-H since fourth grade. She showed cattle and pigs at the fair. She said she was excited to learn that she had made it to the Southeast Iowa Showdown with her steer.

During fair week, when she’s not busy tending to her animals, she’s enjoying fair foods like homemade tacos from Mr. Taco, and sometimes a carnival ride. She also helps her younger brothers, Rider and Tucker, who show cattle and pigs, too.

“We get along well together and always help each other,” she said.

Johnathan Delaney lives on a farm south of Fairfield and brought his crossbred steer, crossbred heifer and horses to the fair. Delaney said he was in Clover Kids for two years before joining 4-H. He said 4-H sounded both fun and challenging. Since he started showing animals, he said the virtue he’s had to work the most on is patience.

“You need a lot of patience with cattle,” he said. “They’re not born to follow, and they can be stubborn. They don’t want to be in their halters, so you have to teach them that they’re not going to get hurt.”

Delaney said horses are even more difficult to train, and that’s because humans aren’t just leading them but also riding them. He said that’s why many people hire a professional to train their horse.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com