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player ready...On a hot, sunny Wednesday morning, Maddie Plante, 17, and several other 4-H Club members held their sheep tightly while guiding them into a circle on a sawdust floor in a barn at the Lake County Fairgrounds.
This is the moment they have spent time, money and energy for — to have the chance to win a ribbon, maybe even a grand championship ribbon — while competing with their peers. It’s something they couldn’t do live on the premises last year due to COVID-19.
But this year, at least for a short time, the baaahing of sheep and the mooing of cattle came from stables on the fairgrounds in Grayslake.
Livestock judging of sheep, cattle, goats and swine, were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday before a shortened fair, the “Back to Our Roots Micro Fair,” was set to open Friday and run through Sunday. After being judged, the livestock had to be taken home. That means the public cannot visit livestock barns to see goats, sheep and other animals as they have at past fairs.
Kathy Miller, livestock superintendent for the Lake County Fair and a board member of Lake County Fair Association, said she knows that’s not what the children showing the animals or the public would prefer.
“But we had 15 months when the state had us shut down due to the pandemic,” Miller said. And while McHenry County will have a full-blown fair this year with public viewing of livestock, it’s different for Lake County, she said. “We’re an event center, so we fall into a whole different category than some of the other fairs.”
Plante, 17, said, “It’s a little sad,” that the animals won’t be seen this weekend by the public. “I put a lot of hard work, and spent a lot of money. But I’m happy we’re able to do this live this year.”
Plante belongs to Glenview Clovers 4-H Club, which is part of the Lake County group of 4-Hers. She joined other youngsters from Zion, Antioch, Harvard and Wilmette to show their sheep and steers Wednesday morning.
An hour before the judging began, they were joined by friends and family to comb the sheep’s manes, clean mud off their legs and get them ready for competition. Trailers were lined up behind the livestock barns where they would have to put their animals back in and take home that day.
Plante has been showing animals at the Lake County Fair for eight years and, except for the first year when her parents bought her first animal, she has raised enough money to pay for future animals she raised.
She raises steers and market lambs, and hers will be auctioned off online Saturday, along with other animals judged at the fairgrounds. Plante said one of the steers she raised was purchased to provide beef for a local food pantry, and another that won a ribbon sold for $2,600.
Plante said one of her goals in raising farm animals and belonging to a 4-H Club is to educate people.
“A lot of people are unaware of how farm to table works,” she said. “Some kids think eggs come from the store.
“I’m happy to be raising animals the right way, and creating a positive vibe for ag,” she said, referring to agriculture. “Sheep are not pets, but they get excellent care. My lambs get walked every day. It’s the circle of life.”
Meanwhile, Caleb Linneman, 11, of Harvard, brushed his sheep’s head, with his father Tom and sister Cora, 7, there to help. The family raises dozens of sheep.
“It’s fun to be here,” Tom Linneman said, but added the way the fair judging was run this year, they wouldn’t be able to see some of their friends.
They will also show their sheep at the McHenry County Fair and others nearby.
Caleb said he’s learned the best way to guide his sheep. “You put your hand on the mouth and underneath the neck, and it gives you more control,” he said.
Sarah Fisher, 18, of Zion, completed her last 4-H showing Wednesday. She’s off to Purdue to study nursing and agriculture. She works with lambs and cattle.
“With lambs, you have to have patience. They get tense and scared. It’s their nature. So you have to work with them every day,” said Fisher, who has won grand champion for a lamb she raised from infancy to showing.
Steers, however, are her favorite. “They have personality,” she said. She won supreme champion one year for showing her steers, she said.
Casey Sramek of Antioch, who belongs to the Chain O’Lakes 4-H Club, was all set to show his sheep at the fairgrounds Wednesday. But then the 13-year-old decided not to compete.
“He was scared, and he wouldn’t walk much,” he said of his sheep.
“He’s back in the trailer, and we’re planning to go home soon because it’s hot in the trailer,” Casey said, adding that decision was best for the animal.
He does have memories of past fairs when his animals performed well.
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“One year I had a black sheep that walked very good,” he said.
Kerry Hasbrook’s daughter, Harper, was showing her sheep for the first time Wednesday at any fair. “We’re new to the 4H community. It’s been absolutely amazing,” said Kerry Hasbrook. Harper, 12, said, “This is good. I’m excited to be here.”
Buddy Haas, the sheep and cattle judge, said he did virtual judging last year, but it was more challenging than judging in person.
“You can’t touch the lamb,” he said, which helps him determine musculature and other attributes. Plus video quality wasn’t always good, he said. “It’s just good to be able to be with people outside, but at the end of the day, it’s all for the kids.”
While judging market lambs, Haas said, “It comes down to, are they going to have a good carcass. How much muscle do they have? It’s the bodybuilder factor.
“Then it comes down to the beauty show part of it,” said Haas, who has a master’s degree in agriculture education from the University of Illinois at Champaign.
After judging several rounds of sheep in different categories, he told the farm animal owners, their family and friends, “I’m thoroughly impressed with what these kids have brought here.”
Haas lives in a rural community in Elburn, and teaches agriculture at a high school. He doesn’t consider Lake County to be rural. “It’s good to see that agriculture is still a big thing here,” he said.
At the judging, youngsters looked optimistically at Haas as he touched their animals and walked around them looking at all angles. Occasionally a sheep would complain and try to jump. But the youngsters kept their cool and their animals by their side.
After the first hour of judging, Maddie Plante had already won three ribbons — two first-places and one grand champion.
With a smile on her face and sweat running down her cheeks after following the judge’s directions on where to guide her animal, it’s safe to say this was a sweet day for Plante and her sheep, and no doubt, the other youngsters, their livestock and families.