Webster County 4-H & FFA Fair Just Around the Corner

The 103rd Webster County Fair at Bladen, Nebraska is just around the corner. This is the second year for an earlier start to the fair. The fair runs from Friday, July 10 with the annual clean-up. The first of many youth events start at 1:00 pm on clean-up day when 4-H youth bring their favorite recipes for home made ice cream and will participate in an ice cream roll using duct tape, coffee cans and ice to make ice cream that will then be judged. The livestock portion of the fair starts officially at the Rodeo Grounds at the Webster County Fairgrounds in Bladen with a new event that debuts this year. The Working Ranch Horse Competition is set to begin at 7:00 pm on Saturday evening, July 11th and features 4-H and FFA working their horse through events that emulates tasks that would be required on a cattle ranch. The following morning (Sunday, July 12) the 4-H & FFA Horse Show gets underway with a 9:00 am start time. The youth portion of the fair continues through the week with many activities for the youth including the 4-H music contest and fashion show starting at 7:00 pm at the Blue Hill high school gymnasium in Blue Hill on Monday evening July 13. The rest of the week will bring a little different schedule of events than what has been followed in previous years. The following information will help both exhibitors and attendees prepare for the fair. There is reserved parking for 4-H and FFA members and parents again this year. Vehicle and camper parking will not be allowed on the rodeo grounds this year and a special lot located north and east of the beef barns has been set up for this purpose. This area requires passes that can be obtained from the 4-H office at the fairgrounds. Livestock trailers are expected to be parked at the lot located to the east of the sheep and small animal barn, and if space fills up then they may park on the far North side of the Timm/Sorensen lot where the camper parking is located. Tuesday, July 14 brings the judging of the home environment, miscellaneous agriculture exhibits, foods, horticulture, photography, and other static exhibits starting that morning, with the 4-H and FFA Poultry and Rabbit show starting at 8:30 am. All other livestock with the exception of 1st year bucket calves and stocker feeders will be checked in and weighed throughout the day. Please check your Webster County fair premium book for exact times for each species. The 4-H/FFA Swine Show starts at 8:30 am on Wednesday morning, July 15. The swine show includes a breeding gilt class which is separate from the market swine show. The 4-H/FFA Beef Show is split this year with the Beef Showmanship event beginning Wednesday afternoon at 1:00 pm. The 4-H/FFA cat, dog and exotic animal show begins at 4:00 pm in the evening starting with the dog show followed at 7:00 pm with the cat, small and exotic animal show. Thursday, July 16 is a very busy day at the Webster County Fair. The 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show will follow the 4-H and FFA Sheep Show that starts at 8:30 am. There is a new addition to the Meat Goat Show this year with a Breeding Meat Goat Female class. There will be once again a “Best Dressed Goat” contest that will be held at the conclusion of the live show. This should prove to be an entertaining and fun event for exhibitors and spectators alike. The First Year Bucket Calf competition will be held during the day and includes record book review, an interview and a complete bucket calf evaluation and showmanship event. The competition continues on Thursday with the State Fair qualifying Round Robin Showmanship starting at 2:30 pm and we will terminate that day with an Ak-Sar-Ben qualifying 4-H/FFA Beef Team Fitting Contest starting at 4:00 pm. The 4-H/FFA Market and Breeding Beef show will go all day Friday, July 17, starting at 8:30 a.m. with finals of the Webster County Beef Showmanship. The top two senior and top two intermediate beef showmen will be determined at the Wednesday afternoon show, but will come back on Friday morning to compete for Grand Champion Beef Showman under a different judge. Upon crowning of the Grand Champion Beef Showman, the Market Beef competition will begin, including the Grand Champion Market Beef final drive and results of the Beef Carcass contest. The 4-H/FFA Breeding Beef show will begin at 1:00 pm, or ½ hour after the completion of the market beef show, which ever is later, on Friday afternoon. The breeding beef show will conclude with the crowning of the Grand Champion Webster County Breeding Heifer and then the Supreme Champion Breeding Beef. The annual 4-H & FFA Livestock Premium Auction and special Webster County Youth Foundation activities will be held on Saturday morning, July 18 starting at 9:00 am. There will a return of the Silent Auction with items donated by area businessmen and producers to go towards the benefit of the Foundation. The items and further information will be highlighted on flyers put up across area communities and a later newsletter articles. There is a change in the Premium Auction this year. Premium on the Grand Champion of each species will each be sold at the beginning of the auction with the opportunity for the buyer to have their picture taken with the animal and exhibitor that they are supporting, and that picture will be given to each of them and forwarded to local newspapers. The premium auction would then follow the procedures as it has in previous years. Saturday afternoon also features a very popular event each year with the Rainbow Classic where pre-4-H youth have a chance to show their pets and sibling’s exhibits in front of dignitary judges. This fun event will start at 12:30 p.m. There will be a special guest judge again this year. The last event of the day and the Webster County 4-H and FFA Fair is the 4-H and FFA Alumni Beef Showmanship Contest. This contest would actually be a two part contest. The first flight will be a serious and competitive “Beef Showmanship Contest for 4-H and FFA Alumni”, complete with a traveling trophy and medal going to the Champion. This event will be a free-will donation for those that want to contribute to the judge fees and of course towards the Webster County Youth Foundation. The second flight will be a “Just for Fun (bribery of the judge allowed, anything goes)”, alumni showmanship contest. The event is slated to start at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, July 19 with a special guest judge with Webster County ties and beef showmanship history. The show will be held at the livestock arena at the Webster County Fairgrounds in Bladen. We are hoping to have alumni of all ages try their hand at showmanship. All proceeds from the event will go to the Webster County Youth Foundation. The showman may bring their own beef animal or may borrow one from one of the Webster County beef exhibitors. The nice thing about the alumni show is that it promotes dialogue with alumni and the current exhibitors who need to be asked by alumni to provide a beef and perhaps the equipment necessary to show the animal. All exhibits will be in place this year throughout the day on Saturday and through Saturday evening in order that fair-goers will have a chance to see the exhibits that the youth have worked so diligently on during the year, and bring to the fair for competition, and to show the public what they have accomplished. This includes static exhibits at the 4-H Exhibit Hall and the animals from the livestock barns. There will be “Champions Under the Lights” again this year which will feature and highlight the different Grand Champions and Reserve Grand Champions in the market division of each livestock species (beef, swine, sheep, goat, rabbit and poultry). They will be put in pens in the show arena for all to see under the lights of the arena, with the exception of swine that will be highlighted on the west end of the hog building. The other outstanding exhibits will be in the barns for all to see. All non-auction exhibits will be released at 11:00 pm on Saturday night or Sunday morning before noon. All leaders, 4-H and FFA youth, parents are expected back at the fairgrounds on Sunday morning (July 20) to load out the market animals on the trucks for the buyers and to participate in the post-fair clean-up day. We ask that everyone grab shovels, brooms and pitchforks and have them ready on Sunday morning and help put the fairgrounds back into its pristine shape and ready for the 104th edition of the Webster County Fair at Bladen, Nebraska next year. The very last event of this year’s fair will be the post-fair Evaluation meeting that will be held in the 4-H Exhibit Hall at the fairgrounds on Wednesday, July 22nd, starting at 7:30 pm. If you have concerns, comments, or ideas to help make next year’s fair even better, we invite your input at this meeting. For a more complete list of activities or any questions concerning the youth portion of the fair, please contact the Webster County extension office in Red Cloud at 402-746-3417 or check out the web site at: http://www.webstercountyfair.org/