Skip to main content

Our County Fair

          Nothing ever quite says summer like 4-H projects, jumbo corn dogs, and a Tuesday night hog show. Well, at least that’s the case for the Van Gilst family. Every year the Southern Iowa County Fair rolls around with much anticipation and excitement. This year is like many of the ones that have preceded it: hot, busy, and fun.


          The journey for this year’s fair began back in March when the pigs were weighed in. On a chilly Saturday morning, the swine superintendents (all volunteers) took the weight and registered all the pigs that were raised by local 4-H and FFA members. A few months (and 200+ pounds) later, the same pigs have returned to the fair to be shown and judged. This fair is a little different for us, for the first in a very long time, only one Van Gilst kid showed in last night’s hog show. With Trent on a camping trip in South Dakota, Ryan was alone in his second to last year of showing. Meanwhile, his two older siblings worked the ring alongside their father, a superintendent for the show, as mom cheered from the stands with grandparents.

                                         
          At the end of the day, that is what makes the fair so special to our family. It is not about what projects get sent to the state fair or how well the pigs grow. Yes, we always try to do our best in both of those categories, but the fair is a delight regardless of result. All over the fair there are families just like ours with three and even four generations gathering together to exhibit something they are passionate about. For some its sheep and goats, others its a prize steer, while for another it could be vegetables in the horticulture class. We place our passion in our pigs and the swine contest – for obvious reasons. Grandpa Van Gilst showed pigs; now he comes to watch his grandchildren do the same.




          The fair isn’t just a place for great food, hot weather, and a Ferris wheel ride. It is a place for young kids to show what they have learned through their projects. It is a place where volunteers come together to create an opportunity for that learning. It is a place where a senior FFA member will stop what he is doing with his own animal to help a novice 4-Her with theirs. We love the county fair, without it the summer wouldn’t feel complete. 

- VG Farms
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Backing Away from Basics

How many times have you said to yourself or to others that there is a need to get back to basics? A return to the basics can help us realign with the fundamental principles of the task at hand. It’s generally very helpful. When I was struggling in a sport, I often backtracked to the fundamentals to discovered my point of error. Other’s use it in work, family life, and in cooking. Unfortunately, I believe that we have remained a bit too basic in our approach to pork. Go to a retail store and you will see the same cuts that have been available for the past 30 years. You will see chops, shoulder and loin roasts, tenderloins, ham steaks, etc. Now there is nothing wrong with those cuts as they present a myriad of cooking opportunities. But the wonderful pig produces so much more! Take for example some of the dishes we served this week at a pork education event. We made street tacos out of pork steaks (it’s the Spinalis muscle if you want to get technical). We made Chulet...
1 comment
Read more

Can you power wash?

              Can you power wash? It may seem odd, but this is often one of the first questions I ask someone interviewing for a job with us. There are generally two reasons for asking this question. The first is practical in nature. Pigs can kind of be like your kids sometimes, leaving a mess where ever they go.            This makes power washing a frequent event especially in the farrowing house. Grant does a good job of making sure the next mom has a clean place to have her babies.             The second reason is it may give you an idea of the persons work ethic. If they hesitate or try to appear that they are “over qualified” to power wash that may be a red flag. All jobs here are important, whether you are in charge of the books or cleaning farrowing pens, what you are doing is vital to the success of the farm.             ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Merry Christmas!

Christmas has finally arrived here at VG Farms. It is finally white and actually looks like Christmas. Before I go on, let me issue an apology for the lack of blog posts these past few weeks. Between my end-of-semester finals and my father’s busy work-load, it has been difficult to find the time to write. So consider this special Christmas edition a gift from us to you. As any family does, the Van Gilst’s hold several Christmas traditions. Some are small and informal – like watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation at least a half dozen times. Others are a bit more significant – such as gathering with each side of the family (Van Gilst and Branderhorst) to celebrate the holidays alongside grandparents, aunts and uncles, and an endless supply of cousins. We watch the Iowa Hawkeyes play in their bowl game (fingers crossed for a victory in a few days) and occasionally us boys will head off to Iowa City to catch some hoops. Whatever it may be, there is never a dull moment ov...
Post a Comment
Read more