Livestock Shows Important Part Of Fair

The county fair is about more than rides and food.

UT Extension Agent Trent Jones said 4-H and FFA members have been preparing for the Putnam County Fair all year.

There’s multiple livestock and horse shows and even a pet show.

“That’s the good thing about the fair, you get a lot of folks who don’t necessarily understand agriculture or may not do that on a daily basis, they get to come out, walk through the barn and see what kind of hard work goes into those animals, getting them ready for show and the care those farming families and the 4-H and FFA members put into their project animals,” Jones said.

Those students have a significant investment in time, money and work in the animals.

“There’s a lot of STEM, math, science even technology these days that goes into figuring out what to do as far as getting your animal ready for the show,” Jones said.

When they’re not being shown, the animals are on display at the fairgrounds’ barns. Jones said there’s a little bit of everything this year, from dairy cattle to rabbits.