Sheared sheep and blue butt pigs rest in their shaded pens. Some have already been shown to judges while others await their moment before the crowd. Their handlers may be riding the ferris wheel with a corndog in hand, or admiring the antique tractors lined up in the sun. Some are resting in brightly colored hammocks above the pens. These kids are in 4-H and have raised and prepared the animals to be shown at the fair. More than a century old, 4-H is the nation’s largest youth development organization and an important part of the Larimer County Fair.
The four h’s stand for “Head, Heart, Hands, and Health,” something Maggie Livingston, who aged out of 4-H last year, takes seriously. Soon she will be handing off the Larimer County Queen title. Her experiences in 4-H, Future Farmers of America (FFA), and her time as county queen has helped her step into the role of a speaker and an advocate for agriculture.
“I think agriculture is more than, as my ag teacher would say, cows, plows and sows…It’s a culture and a community that everybody can be a part of, no matter who you are or where you’re from. You have a tie to agriculture,” said Livingston…