By Maggie Fitzpatrick
Burlington Beacon
The Des Moines County Fair participants compete in many different events such as raising livestock or displaying a static project.
After nine years of doing 4-H, Jennifer Lohmann from Sperry has experienced this firsthand. The 18-year-old competed in various events this year including beef, sheep, hogs, and her favorite, goats.
“I just love my goats’ personalities. They’re very playful like to have lots of fun, and jump around,” said Lohmann.
Her favorite part of the process was seeing her animals grow and growing herself.
“I like being able to see how I have increased [the livestock’s] genetic potential and increased my experience throughout the years,” said Lohmann.
Hunter Hampton, an FFA member from Danville High School, also participated in the static and dairy exhibits. He described the process of prepping his cow, Ivory.
“In about March, all the older kids come with their cows to get ready, prep them, make sure they can walk right, hold their head up,” said Hampton.
He mentioned some other key components.
“There’s also washing and keeping a log book on how much you feed them and what you do with them,” Hampton explained. “Really just making them look all pretty.”
Hampton described what got him involved in the fair. He has always had a love for agriculture but only started participating this year. As a long-time member of FFA, he also decided to be in 4-H.
At the dairy farm where Hampton works, all the cows’ names must start with the same letter as their mother. Ivory’s mother was named Irish, so Hampton chose her name accordingly.
Hampton is not the only one with a unique name for his animal. Fourteen-year-old Brody Fisher’s cow is called Trump after the former President.
All these competitors have worked extremely hard, and Jennifer Lohmann hopes it pays off for her. In the past, she showed her goats at the Iowa State Fair. She also participated in the Goat Skill-a-Thon, a team trivia competition about goats. She hopes to return to the state fair, which runs from Aug. 8-18.
She said her main goal is to keep improving and do her best. She tried a new breeding technique for her goats and would like to see them do well.
Hunter Hampton encouraged anyone interested to join 4-H or FFA regardless of their background.
“A big misconception is you have to be some farm kid or have to be in agriculture. That is 100 percent not true. It really doesn’t matter. We want people to join our organization.”