ST. PAUL — Away from the hot sun and record-breaking crowds, an audience of state fairgoers filled the northern stands of the Lee and Rose Warner Coliseum on Friday, Aug. 28.
In the arena below, young 4-H competitors led their calves in front of a livestock judge, then waited for his evaluation. For this division — prospect calves — the competition is all about potential. Rather than the animal’s current structure and shape, the judge evaluates young prospect calves on their odds of being a future beef prizewinner.
Madalynn Wendorf, 13, of Beltrami County's Deer Lake Flyers 4-H group, was among the competitors. It was her second year at the Minnesota State Fair, but she said she’d been working with animals since birth.
Before heading to the arena, she shared how she felt about the competition.
“A little scared,” she said, "but I just don't care what I place. I'm just here for fun.”
4-H livestock competitors across Northern Minnesota journeyed to the state fair in St. Paul with their animals in tow. At the fair, the young participants showed off their cows, swine, goats, poultry, rabbits and sheep to the judges with the goal of earning a purple ribbon.
This year, young 4-H members across the state showed 2,778 animals, according to the University of Minnesota Extension.
Courtney Johnson is a 4-H youth development extension educator out of Itasca County. She said the state fair is a culmination of many months of hard work, which usually begins only weeks after the previous year’s fair.
“This is all about the learning process,” she said. “State fair is like the pinnacle, the big cheese.”
4-H, FFA and open class livestock judging events all occur during the Minnesota State Fair. However, 4-H events happen in the first week, making them some of the fair’s earliest major events.
Johnson said this year’s competitors arrived Aug. 26, the day before the fair began. By Sunday, they packed up and headed home.
“Hopefully they’ve had a couple nights of sleep by now," she said Tuesday.
Itasca County sent 10 livestock competitors, who all qualified at their local fair to earn a spot at the statewide competition. Johnson said this can be hectic given the timing — the fair in Grand Rapids wraps up only two days before competitors need to leave for St. Paul.
“They’re really tired, but those animals are ready to go,” she said. “They’ve been groomed. They know what it’s like to be at a show. So, it’s kind of just like, ‘Repack your bags and let’s go to the state fair.’”
Beltrami County had nearly 50 entries for the 4-H livestock categories, including Wendorf’s prospect calf.
Beltrami County tallied six purple ribbons. Three of them were first-place prize winners: Waylon Puschinsky and Charlotte Karvakko won in their divisions for sheep, while Izabelle Rudnicki won for her market steer.
Though Wendorf’s steer did not earn a purple ribbon, she said the competition itself felt easier the second time around.
“I showed beef last year so it’s pretty much the same,” she said before her steer interjected with a loud moo.
Standing outside the coliseum with her steer, Wendorf also recalled the cardinal rule of state fair etiquette while gazing out at the crowd of hundreds of thousands of attendees.
“If somebody's coming down the aisle with a cow," she warned, "watch out or else you'll get ran over.”
FFA and open class livestock events will continue at the state fair through its final day on Labor Day, Sept. 7.
A schedule of all events at the Minnesota State Fair is available on the fair website.
