Throughout the past week and a half, youth in Polk County got the opportunity to show off their skills and hard work at the Polk County Youth Fair in Bartow. The fair gives students the opportunity to take part in a variety of events such as showing their livestock such as hogs and cattle, archery, horticulture, woodworking, goat tying, sewing, chili cook offs, and so much more.
Fair week is a time that many people look forward to all year. The Polk County Youth fair is especially important to many because it gives a chance to express their passion for agriculture in many ways and a wonderful opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the accomplishments of Polk County’s youth. This year marked the 79th anniversary of the Polk County Youth Fair!
At the fair, an FFA member from the Lakeland Sr FFA chapter was interviewed about her experience the past few years taking part in the fair and she said “I love the youth fair because I get to meet people in Polk County that love the same things I do, I also enjoy showing my livestock and getting to share my experience with my livestock project in my record book”.
This year we had a record-breaking year with more than 2,000 exhibitors and hundreds of entries in the Family and Consumer Science Divisions as well as hundreds of entries in the livestock and plants. Some students had the opportunity to market their animals at auction. Having community support for these student projects is encouraging to the next generation of agriculturists, our students. 438 swine projects sold in auction with no animal bringing less than $5.50 per pound. Steers also sold at auction with no steer selling for less than $4.50 per pound. This is a testament to those in our community who support students in agricultural education. We could not continue year after year without their support…