In a home that competitively shows small and large livestock, the phrase, "let's get ready for the fair this weekend", means your show clothes need to be ready, your animals need to be bathed, clipped and hooves trimmed, and all the buckets and feed are in order and ready to go. With the recent lift of the stay-at-home order, public venues opening, and public events occurring, vendor fairs have become our new "fair" to attend.
With the exception of our travelling mascot, Holstein, there are no animals to prep, but the same competitive ready-to-show vibe is present. Our 4-H friends and competitors in the show ring are now entrepreneurs and vendors in 10x10 spaces at a venue. Rather than presenting our animals in the show ring, we are now offering our goat milk soaps and body products. The judges have become customers walking through our booth, evaluating our product, presentation and knowledge. It's as if all the talk about how showing livestock will prepare you for life, is coming to fruition.