Sunday, September 17, 2017

County Fair is a Learning Experience

Humboldt County, California
Hailey Hipes

The 121st annual Humboldt County Fair is coming to Ferndale, California August 23rd! All of the fair kids are preparing to show their animals. Everyone is working together to put this event together.

Skylar Mattly, a member of the FFA raised a sheep this year for fair. “This is only my first year raising a lamb” she says, “and I plan on doing it next year as well.” She chose to raise a lamb because they “are very playful, easy to control, and they have a personality” She is obviously very happy with her choice to raise a lamb, but it also came with a list of pros and cons. A few pros included “meeting new people at fair, connecting with the animal, and seeing the many different ways that people do things.” Overall, it was a great experience.

Lindsey Kleiner, a Fortuna High agriculture teacher, is also very passionate about her job as well as the things that come with it. “There are 49 kids that raise animals through Fortuna FFA,” she said. Each animal has a certain amount of time that it needs put into it. The most common, goats, sheep, and pigs, need a minimum of 5 months of care and attention. Other larger animals, like cows need 12-18 months of care and attention. Each animal’s costs for everything are different. Cows cost around $2,500 to raise, as to a goat or a sheep that costs around $700. Kleiner said that there are many different hardships that are faced. “Animals can get diseases and die,” and that is a very hard thing to deal with, but if you raise your animal well, that makes the fair so rewarding.

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