Milk Maid
It’s hard to believe that we are almost through the month of July and that county fair season is here. I wrote in my column last week about the adventures I had in Redwood County last week.
But since fairs are heavy on my mind, here are more 4-H stories. I really enjoy judging, so I headed down to Jackson County on Saturday to judge a large number of the general 4-H projects, which can be anything under the sun, except for actual live animals.
As a judge, I never have a set list of questions that I want to ask the 4-Hers. I will however always ask them what challenges they had with their project and what is something they want to improve.
I always want it to be a positive experience for the youth, too.
I usually praise them on some aspect of their project, but I want to always leave them with something that they can improve on. After all, the purpose of 4-H is to have fun and to learn.
When judging indoor projects, I follow a 50% project/50% 4-Her’s knowledge score card. A youth may have an outstanding project, but if they don’t have the knowledge behind it, I personally don’t reward that.
Livestock judging is a little different as you judge the animal and then for showmanship you will judge the 4-Her on their ability to show the animal and their knowledge. I always strive to award the color ribbon that I feel the youth deserves. A purple ribbon means that the exhibit meets superior standards and quality.
A blue ribbon means that the exhibit meets high standards and good quality work is shown. A red ribbon means average to above average quality work is shown, but improvement is needed in some areas. A white ribbon signifies below average in quality, and the exhibit does not meet standards.
I would rather have a red ribbon project and a blue ribbon 4-Hers instead of the other way around.
Despite it being a long drive to Jackson, I really enjoy judging in that county. The 4-Hers in that county are sharp and they have terrific projects and it is such a joy to judge them. The 4-Her that really stood out to me was a young man that is in his first year of state fair eligibility.
He did his health project on “Spondylometaphyseal dysplasia, Kozlowski type,” and he incorporated his own story and knowledge into it. He was born with the extremely rare disorder that is a bone disease characterized by short stature. But he doesn’t let it stop him. He told me about all the surgeries he has and will have in the future.
He showed me photographs of different bone scans throughout his life.
He even brought in the very first growth plates and screws he had inserted into his knees when he was six just to show me them. I was surprised they are smaller than a lego.
When I asked him about challenges he faces, he told me being short makes him more creative about finding new ways to get things done.
He told me about how he needs to use a stool to shear his show lambs and for fitting his cattle. When I asked him about why he did this project, he got a little emotional.
He said, “I wanted to do this project to educate people on my rare disease. When people stare at me, I just want to talk to them and tell them about myself.
I really want people to know it’s ok to be different.” He absolutely tugged at my heart and I told him how brave he was to share his story with me and fairgoers. And I absolutely awarded him a champion ribbon and a state fair trip.
Head over to Canby this weekend, Tyler next weekend and Marshall in two weeks. Take a moment to talk with the 4-Hers and really look at their projects. It’s amazing what you can learn from them.