FFA students shine at the Mid-Winter Fair

IMPERIAL, Calif. (KYMA) - Future farmers took center stage at the California Mid-Winter Fair at the IV Fairgrounds in Imperial Sunday.

Students from the local 4H and FFA programs spend months raising and training their animals, everything from sheep and goats to bunnies and pigs.

The fair offers the opportunity to show off all of their hard work in the ring, where the animals are judged on health, grooming, and handling.

For many of the students, it's not just about bringing home the blue ribbon, it's abput the hard work and responsibility they have learned all year long.

"Working with them. Usually what we're doing is we are brushing their hair in certain directions. When we're washing them, we are blowing their hair, giving them about three hours of care every day," FFA student Lexi Sutter told KYMA.

In addition to the hard work and responsibility it takes to raise livestock, the students still remember to have fun and enjoy their time at the fair.

"It's been really fun, especially since I'm in FFA. The competition's a little bit higher and it gives me a little bit more of a challenge, but yeah overall, it's been really fun," FFA student Rhett Boston told KYMA.

While the goal is to sell the animals, whether it's as pets or for food, parting ways can be bittersweet for some students.

Sutter explained, "Today, I got to take my steer for auction and I had a boar goat and a deer goat here but they left last weekend. And today, I was just going through auction with my steer and selling him so I'm going to have to get rid of him now after all of that."

She said it it hard to break from the routine of working with the animal, but after the summer, she will be ready to take on a new one.