Although the Lyon County Free Fair isn’t until late this summer, 4-Hers are busy preparing their animals for the fair.
Many 4-H participants were on the Lyon County Fairgrounds Wednesday afternoon showing their young animals for a petting zoo the Lyon County Extension Office holds each year. The petting zoo included several variety of animals. Karen Meinholdt, 12, and Tiffany Standerwick, 12, have been in 4-H for six years. They took a quick break Wednesday to talk about 4-H and their projects. They were at the petting zoo with the bucket calves they are raising for this year’s 4-H project.
All three of the calves that Karen and Tiffany had at the petting zoo were bottle-fed, Tiffany said. Tiffany, who is the daughter of Steve and Pamela Standerwick, said she enjoys 4-H for a variety of reasons, but one big reason is she wants to be a rancher. Karen, who is the daughter of Nancy and Alan Meinholdt, said she wants to be a farmer. Tiffany’s interest in ranching was sparked by her father.
“He got me into that kind of stuff,” she said.
Karen said she found her love for farming by reading books.
“I just read books about it,” she said. “I think it’s a cool idea.”
Both Karen and Tiffany have won several different ribbons in the fair from blues to grand champions and in between for various projects. They both said they enjoy the 4-H program and it’s helping them prepare for the future, including their future careers in agriculture.