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For town folks the Nodaway County Fair is mostly about the goings-on around the courthouse square: carnival rides and games, stage shows, hot dogs, funnel cakes and display booths.
But for those whose lives revolve around this region's beating heart — agriculture — the center-ring attraction takes place a few miles to the west at the Maryville Community Building where the youth livestock shows are held.
Beef and dairy cattle exhibitors filled the arena on Thursday with 4-H and FFA youngsters from throughout northwest Missouri — and at least a couple of other states — leading their combed and curried animals into the ring in hopes of bringing home a blue ribbon or trophy.
For many of the children and teenagers it was a family affair, and moms and dads and siblings all pitched in to clean, spray, clip and brush dozens of cattle of various breeds and classes ranging from bucket calves to market-ready heifers.
And though many of the young contestants came from the Maryville area, more than a few were with parents who had hooked up livestock trailers to pickup trucks and made the drive in from other communities.
One such family was the Daughertys, including Tyler, 10, Tanner, 12, and their mom, Rachel, who traveled to Maryville from Bethany — by way of an earlier show in Butler — with the boys' two Simmental heifers, Bonniebell and Big Red.
"We do this for the boys because they love it," said Rachel Daugherty, whose husband, Adam, works at a feed mill in Harrison County.
Though she doesn't work outside the home, one can't really call Rachel a stay-at-home mom since she and her sons drive at least a couple of thousand miles every summer competing in 4-H livestock shows.
"This is our tenth show this month," she said, adding that her sons planned on entering "Bonniebell" and "Big Red" in shows in Carrollton and Clinton today before moving on to Princeton on Saturday.
Just like all the other exhibitors on Thursday, Tyler and Tanner went to great lengths to get their heifers looking sharp for the show ring. The sound of blow dryers and electric clippers whooshed and hummed across the Community Building grounds as owners gave their animals the kind beauty treatments that would make a Hollywood starlet jealous.
It might seem like a lot of trouble to go to for animals whose main function, after all, is to provide steaks and hamburgers for a hungry nation. But that's not really the point. For many people in these parts livestock is a way of life and a means of earning a living. Cattle are important, and their proper care and feeding are tasks to be taken seriously and performed with pride.
For town folks the Nodaway County Fair is mostly about the goings-on around the courthouse square: carnival rides and games, stage shows, hot dogs, funnel cakes and display booths.
But for those whose lives revolve around this region's beating heart — agriculture — the center-ring attraction takes place a few miles to the west at the Maryville Community Building where the youth livestock shows are held.
Beef and dairy cattle exhibitors filled the arena on Thursday with 4-H and FFA youngsters from throughout northwest Missouri — and at least a couple of other states — leading their combed and curried animals into the ring in hopes of bringing home a blue ribbon or trophy.
For many of the children and teenagers it was a family affair, and moms and dads and siblings all pitched in to clean, spray, clip and brush dozens of cattle of various breeds and classes ranging from bucket calves to market-ready heifers.
And though many of the young contestants came from the Maryville area, more than a few were with parents who had hooked up livestock trailers to pickup trucks and made the drive in from other communities.
One such family was the Daughertys, including Tyler, 10, Tanner, 12, and their mom, Rachel, who traveled to Maryville from Bethany — by way of an earlier show in Butler — with the boys' two Simmental heifers, Bonniebell and Big Red.
"We do this for the boys because they love it," said Rachel Daugherty, whose husband, Adam, works at a feed mill in Harrison County.
Though she doesn't work outside the home, one can't really call Rachel a stay-at-home mom since she and her sons drive at least a couple of thousand miles every summer competing in 4-H livestock shows.
"This is our tenth show this month," she said, adding that her sons planned on entering "Bonniebell" and "Big Red" in shows in Carrollton and Clinton today before moving on to Princeton on Saturday.
Just like all the other exhibitors on Thursday, Tyler and Tanner went to great lengths to get their heifers looking sharp for the show ring. The sound of blow dryers and electric clippers whooshed and hummed across the Community Building grounds as owners gave their animals the kind beauty treatments that would make a Hollywood starlet jealous.
It might seem like a lot of trouble to go to for animals whose main function, after all, is to provide steaks and hamburgers for a hungry nation. But that's not really the point. For many people in these parts livestock is a way of life and a means of earning a living. Cattle are important, and their proper care and feeding are tasks to be taken seriously and performed with pride.
"We take care of the cattle because they take care of us," said Steve Schmidt, a Maryville farmer and a member of the fair's Livestock Committee. "It takes a lot of responsibility. These kids are up at 6 a.m. to water and feed their animals, and a lot of times the whole family is involved. It's really a family kind of thing."
Certainly it is for Schmidt, whose high school-age son Bryce was at Thursday's event showing his market steer. And like many families at the Community Building this week, the Nodaway fair is only one exhibit of several on the Schmidts calendar for this summer. Bryce also plans on taking his steer to shows in Columbia and Lincoln, Neb.
For many youngsters, lessons about how to care for livestock begin early. Five-year-old Dalanie Auffert, who showed her bucket calf Spodot in the Peewee Division, is already a show-ring veteran, having begun her 4-H exhibiting career at last year's fair.
Her mother, Dana Auffert, said Dalanie also brought her chicken, pig, goat and sheep to the fair and spends about 40 minutes every day, seven days a week, taking care of her animals on the family's farm near Parnell.
"She likes to do it, and she thinks its fun," Auffert said. "I think it's important because of the responsibility."
