Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Above: Logan Dozier talks to a judge at the Waitsburg Junior Livestock Show in June, the launch of project season for many kids in the Touchet Valley; Middle: Taylor Frame works on the display poster for her 4-H club Pots Pins; Below: Kim Hamann shows her ribbons for her sheep Todd at the Junior Livestock Show.
Waitsburg Exhibitors 4-H Pigs Luke Alexenko Lexi Benson Tyler Brooks Tommy House Tanner Lockard Emily Wilson Sheep Mary Groom Trenton Kitselman Nicholas Kitselman Heather McCoon Goats Stacia Deal Maranda Callahan Loegan Harshman Devon Harshman Steers Drew Farley Jared Farley Horse Western Games Stacia Deal Beka Adams Emily Adams Elie Johnson Devon Newman Tristan Newman Peewees/Swine Seamus House FFA Pigs Kyle Dozier Philip Kock Dalton Estes Krystal Harris Katie Foley-Hutsell Tessa Brown Brandon Gusse Devin Gusse Kassie Sharpe Wayne Cates Christy Poirier Genesis Pearson Carolyn Brooks Chris Brooks Zac Alexenko Josh Smith James Lehr Rob Henry Allie Wooderchak Dustin Wooderchak Kyle Darby Goats Seth Deal Alex Dill TJ Callahan Sheep Kim Hamann Steers Logan Dozier Names of Dayton Exhibitors were requested but not available due to privacy restrictions.
WAITSBURG - Kim Hamann has presented pigs at local fairs before, but her favorite animal to raise and show is a sheep.
One of the reasons is that the 14-year-old Future Farmers of America member has raised sheep on her family farm since she was five. The other reason is that she has feels "the best connection" with sheep from the time they're still lambs to well beyond the yearling stage. This year, for instance, she brought her 1.5-year-old sheep Todd to the Junior Livestock Show in Waitsburg just to enter in the Fitting and Showing category and won the Grand Champion ribbon.
Hamann is one of dozens of kids from the Touchet Valley hoping to win more ribbons and sell their animals at the upcoming fairs in Walla Walla and Dayton next month.
The FFA contingent from Waitsburg alone is 27 strong, FFA advisor Nicole Wright said. Most of the kids are showing pigs because they're relatively easy to raise and bring good money at the fair auctions attended by supporters of the kids' activities who pay higher than market prices for the animals. The cost of raising a pig is about $300 while the FFA members can sell it for about $1,000. While a pig takes about five months to raise, a steer can take as long as a year and a half.
It also helps that the Waitsburg School District owns a pig barn near the race track where the aspiring farmers can house and care for their animals. Twenty-one of the 27 Waitsburg FFA fair competitors are raising pigs this year, followed by three who raise goats and one a steer. Hamann is the lone sheep exhibitor.
While Waitsburg FFAers have shown animals at the Walla Walla fair for many years, it's only the third year they have been invited to exhibit at the Columbia County Fair. "It's neat," Wright said. "It's another opportunity for the kids to show their animals." Most kids are raising one animal for each fair. Their projects are all about providing them with career and leadership building skills, including recordkeeping and financial management, she said. In the days leading up to the fairs, the FFA exhibitors watch their animals' weight carefully. The heavier the better but only up to a point. Their weight has to fit in a range that differs for each species.
But the fairs aren't just about farm animals. In Dayton, Taylor Frame and her friends are preparing to show their 4-H crafts and cooking skills at the Columbia County Fair.
A member of Pots and Pins, 13-year-old Frame has created a birdhouse made from a gourd, a lamp made from a painted jar, wind chimes, jewelry, a cement leaf bowl and much more. Last year, she entered a quilt in the fair and won the Superintendent's Award. "We used to be a sewing and cooking group," Frame said. "Now it's crafts and cooking." Frame's mother, Wendy Frame, is the leader of Pots and Pins. She took over five years ago when former leader Lawana Harting retired. "I've always really enjoyed doing crafts," the younger Frame said. "My mom has always done painting and crafts, so I've always been involved in it."
Wendy Frame's group, just one crafting club in the Columbia County 4-H program, has nine girls, ages 11 to 13, participating this year.
Carla Rowe, 4-H program assistant in Columbia County, said she won't know until fair time how many kids from her program are exhibiting this year, but last year there were 484 still-life exhibits - that's everything except livestock.
Still-life exhibits include everything from crafts to food preservation, baking, sewing, art and more. Waitsburg's Cheyenne Frohreich, for instance, will be exhibiting a fishing pole she made in class. No matter the project, there's a significant commitment behind each fair exhibit. Hamann for one spends about 45 minutes each day taking care of her sheep, which includes training them on a halter so they can learn to be set for the judges.
But you won't hear any complaining from Hamann, who enjoys being around animals so much that she even volunteers with the Blue Mountain Humane Society and may pursue a career working with them. "It's cool to watch the sheep grow from when they're lambs to the time you can show them," she said. "I really like their disposition."
Walla Walla Fair Schedule
Wednesday, Sept. 1
9 a.m. - Weigh-in
1 p.m. - Livestock Judging
Thursday, Sept. 2
9 a.m. - 3 p.m. - Market Classes
4-H First, FFA in the afternoon
Friday, Sept. 3
9 a.m. - 3 p.m. - Showmanship Classes
4-H First, FFA in the afternoon
Saturday, Sept. 4
1 p.m. - Livestock Judging
Sunday, Sept. 5
12:45 p.m.
Market Sale
Columbia County Fair Schedule
Friday, Sept. 10
9 a.m. Livestock show, classification and judging
Saturday, Sept. 11
9 a.m. FFA and 4-H Judging Contest
10 a.m. - 5 p.m. FFA Dog and Cat Show
12:30 p.m. - Market Livestock Sale
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