SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE WESTERNER

Shaping a generation at the county fair

By Julie Carter

It is county fair time-- here in Lincoln County and all across America. Spending a day at the fair is as much a lesson in history and anthropology as it is an excuse to eat homemade pie and see cute bunnies in their best fur coats.

County fairs nuture the roots of rural life. They are one of the few places left that bring the generations of agriculture together to experience a culture and a heritage that has been left behind by most of the population of this country.

Yet the fair is a teaching tool as well. One of the reasons it exists is to provide today's youth with a glimpse into the lives of the generations before them.

Local 4-H clubs and FFA chapters champion agricultural education and community service. The members work on several projects throughout the year and come to county fairs to show off their accomplishments.

Fair projects can include anything from baking and knitting to crafts and photography, but at most fairs, showing off farm animals the youth have been raising is the focus. The majority of the fair's events are livestock contests in which 4-H and FFA members display their animals and receive prizes based on which animal shows best confirmation, grooming and obedience.

Fairs are about families. At the Lincoln County Fair you won't find any bawdy acts, beer or provocative contests. The raciest event is the latest to join the list of show ring events, the Momma Lamb and Poppa Pig Showmanship contests. While the term “showmanship” might indicate a serious competition, this one is strictly for fun.

In this contest, full grown, seemingly responsible, adults who have youngsters entered in the fair or are FFA advisosr and 4-H leaders, will make total fools of themselves to the merriment of the crowd and the resigned embarrassment of their children. Last years inaugural event had people laughing so hard they couldn’t walk or talk. It is one event you don’t want to miss.

What you don’t see when you arrive at the fair is the hustle, bustle, cram, jam and near panic that goes on for the last weeks prior to the fair.

Sometime just after the Fourth of July the fair families look up at the calendar and gasp. Only four weeks until the county fair! They begin to give a serious eye to the livestock that up until that moment simply got fed twice a day and not much else. Exercise and nutrition plans take on a scientific edge with the only comfort coming from hearing the neighboring 4-H’er say, “I still can’t catch mine.”

Okay, so maybe almost everyone, at least someone, started as late as we did. Then the crunch to get every animal in the county clipped and trimmed before the fair puts the extension agent and the ag teachers on the road 24/7.

You can spot them easily. They are carrying at least one set of hog scales and two trimming racks in the back of their pickup. They spend long days crisscrossing the county to clip the next set of lambs or spend hours fine tuning the coiffure on a couple of fat steers.

Show boxes are sorted and re-oganized, show ring wardrobes planned and the last minute rush is on to finish braiding, welding and baking projects.

Then finally the fair becomes about relaxing, having fun and showing off a little of what has been learned and accomplished. Lifelong memories are made annually as another generation passes through the show ring.

See you at the fair!

Julie can be reached for comment at jcarter@tularosa.com.


Are you a protectionist?

by Larry Gabriel

With Canadian cows coming over the border and the President signing the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), protectionism is dominating the news.

Nobody is entirely right or wrong on such things. People love the sound of "free trade", but it does not exist. People love protectionist efforts, but they don't work for long.

I like the concept of free trade. However, there is no free lunch or free anything else in this world for that matter. Even our fundamental freedoms have some limits.

Our "free trade" agreements are certainly not "free" of restrictions, conditions, exceptions and loopholes that only a pack of lawyers could decipher, and even they will not agree on what the words mean.

Rural people tend to be a little protectionist. It comes naturally as a part of the self-reliance for which we are famous. We sometimes feel that we built this place and don't need any outsiders coming in and changing it.

I am a protectionist when it comes to my family, my ranch, and the traditional values of our nation. But some things cannot be protected.

We protect our children foremost, but there comes a day when we find out it is not really possible to protect them, and they are better off if we turn them loose.

The same thing happens when one of our children latches onto a small wild animal. Sooner or later they have to let it go for its own sake.

Treaties require only the approval of the United States Senate and the President. When Senators were appointed by state legislatures, a state could fire a Senator for not following directions. We had some indirect say in the matter then.

When it comes to international trade agreements (like NAFTA and CAFTA) the states today have very little to say about their terms. We can still do things to protect our people from a direct threat to their safety, but we are not allowed to block international trade just for economic protection.

We can make some noises about economic impacts, but the people who write these things don't listen to that. They are focused on a bigger agenda. They are looking at the financial health of world trade. (It is called "Agenda 21" in case you care to look it up.)

People try to protect all sorts of things. Some want to save the mountains. Some want to save old trees. Some want to save patches of wilderness. Some want to save animals. Some want to save small farms. Some want to save small towns.

The want list is endless, but the result is always the same: protectionism is a wonderful thing for as long as it works, which is usually not very long.

The only thing we can truly protect is our value system. If we do that, change may come but we will adapt to it, and the things that really matter will remain the same.

Larry Gabriel is the South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture

Received via email:

A Southern Baptist minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon. Four worms were placed into four separate jars.

The first worm was put into a jar of alcohol

The second worm was put into a jar of cigarette smoke.

The third worm was put into a jar of chocolate syrup.

The fourth worm was put into a jar of good clean soil.

At the conclusion of the Sermon, the Minister reported the
following results:

The first worm in alcohol - Dead.

The second worm in cigarette smoke - Dead.

Third worm in chocolate syrup - Dead.

Fourth worm in good clean soil - Alive.

So the Minister asked the congregation - What can you learn from this demonstration?

A little old woman in the back quickly raised her hand and said, "As long as you drink, smoke, and eat chocolate, you won't have worms!"

I welcome submissions for SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE WESTERNER

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