The Most Wonderful Time of Year

When Andy Williams first sang “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of Year” he must not actually have been thinking of Christmas; he was definitely thinking of the great Iowa State Fair. These past 11 days have been filled with sunshine, fried food, livestock, and of course FFA members. From the North Polk FFA who were in charge of the Avenue of Breeds (yes, their chapter members did all the chores every single day), the Southeast Polk members who ran the Animal Learning Center, the over 100 members from across the state who served as Grandstand Ushers and Stage Attendants (who not only worked every show but also many other events at the fair), the members who exhibited parts of their SAE in their livestock or machinery, and much more Iowa FFA was represented extremely well. Our state officer team also had the opportunity to spend the duration of the fair on the grounds helping out, hanging out with members, and sharing the message of agriculture with fairgoers. Here are some of their favorite thrills of the 2017 Iowa State Fair!

Zach: Growing up, our ‘vacation’ in my family was always considered the State Fair, and I honestly didn’t have much of a complaint (except those years I really wanted to go to Disney). I would always spend from about January when the lambs were born preparing for this week. All the sheep had been broke to lead, taught to brace, washed, clipped, blanketed, and we had made the three and a half hour trek to Des Moines to show. I got to have a ton of fun showing, seeing my friends, and running around the fair. This year I had the opportunity to read off the names of the exhibitors in the Parade of Champions. This essentially summed up all of my favorite parts of the fair into one event, with a few more perks involved. Many of the FFA members who were showcased for their hardwork and dedication to their livestock were people I was friends with or had met along my path as a state officer. I thought back to all of the work that I had put into my own sheep, and reading off the names of my friends and watching them succeed had to be one of the best fair experiences ever.

Caleb: Learning never stops, there’s always something to learn in life.  This state fair I experienced this first hand and it soon became my favorite part of this state fair.  This was my 18th state fair and by far the longest I’ve ever stayed.  From learning about past FFA members’ stories to how shows are executed start to finish I can definitely say I learned a lot this year.  My favorite “learning” moment occurred Wednesday morning during the FFA horse show.  I’ve been deathly afraid of horses since I was little because I'm always afraid they're going to kick me. While working the horse show I realized most all horses are gentle because their owners spend countless hours working with them. I also learned what an actual horse show consists of. This years Iowa State Fair truly broadens my spectrum of knowledge.

Peyton: This is a tough question, because it would have been nearly impossible for me to pick my favorite part of the great Iowa State Fair even before I had the opportunity to experience it from the perspective I did this year. From the livestock shows to the food, entertainment, and traditional attractions, the Iowa State Fair is always the highlight of my summer. Now, when you add in opportunities to interact with awesome FFA members, work at places like Little Hands on the Farm, and witness what happens behind the scenes, how could you ever pick just one part?! A general theme that I notice as I reflect on the past fifteen days is that I have an even deeper belief in the future of agriculture (if that’s even possible), and the importance of what we do as FFA members. I spoke to ushers, who told me about how great it is to make true friendships and spend the whole state fair with people who share and understand their interests. I witnessed members exhibit livestock of unbelievable quality, and accomplish goals which they have worked countless hours in order to achieve. I watched members of the Southeast Polk FFA Chapter work in the Animal Learning Center, sharing the story of animal agriculture and answering questions for inquisitive children and their families. Above all, my favorite memory happened as I worked at the FFA Display in the Agriculture building, and had conversations with numerous fair goers who told me how important they think what we do in this organization is. “I truly believe in this, in all of this,” an older woman said to me as she passed through our wall of blue jackets, gesturing around her. We have so many talented, passionate, dedicated FFA members in our state. My faith in the future of agriculture and our organization definitely didn’t need restored, but the experiences I had this year have given me a greater amount of confidence in just how bright the future looks for the agricultural industry and the FFA.

Carli: This year being a State Officer provided me with a variety of opportunities at the State Fair that I would have not had otherwise. The chance to get to meet a variety of members from all over and discuss agriculture with the public was something I will never forget, but my absolute favorite part of this year’s Iowa State Fair would have to be helping pull baby pigs in the Animal Learning Center with members from the Southeast Polk FFA Chapter. As a pork producer I grew up raising pigs but was never given the chance to be part of that piece of production. I am humbly honored to have been able to learn all that I did this year at the Iowa State Fair from volunteering at the Animal Learning Center and doing a variety of radio interviews to getting the chance to work the horse show and be exposed to areas of agriculture that I am not all that familiar with.

Rachel: “Nothing compares to State Fair Thrills.” Although this seems a bit cheesy, it is completely true. I have grown up going to the Iowa State Fair and countless other fairs across this great state, but nothing compared to this year being behind the scenes. Serving as an FFA Grandstand Usher for three years and being a regular fairgoer over the years I’d like to say I had an idea of what went on, but nothing can prepare you for the thrills you have seeing members excel in their projects, fairgoers learn new things about agriculture in this great state, or the new fair foods that always seem to surprise you each year. I’ve been asked thousands of times  what my favorite part of the fair has been and honestly, I can’t pinpoint just one. Between flipping pork chops at the Iowa Pork Tent, teaching FFA Grandstand Ushers how to swing dance, hanging out and helping with chores at the Avenue of Breeds, and adventuring the nooks and crannies of the fair with my fellow teammates, friends, and family; nothing will ever compare to the thrills I have had at this years Iowa State Fair.

Ally:  I’ve spent a lot of time at the fair in the past few years. As an usher, showing, and just for fun. Yet, I realized this year that there’s still a lot that happens during the fair I didn’t know about. As a state officer there were often times when I ended up doing something I probably wouldn’t have chosen to if I’d just been visiting. One of these things was the FFA Poultry Show. I knew pretty close to nothing about chickens or poultry of any kind before I went to the poultry show. I expected to hand out a few ribbons, help organize a few things, and move on with my day. While I did hand out a lot of ribbons, I also learned quite a bit about poultry, met a really fun duck named Tom, also met the chicken Delores, and spent an amazing few hours with FFA Members and a few pretty funny advisors. The poultry show was my favorite part of the state fair because it showed me how much fun the state fair can be when you least expect it.

CD: The Iowa State Fair is one of the biggest events in the state of Iowa, people come together to watch livestock shows, see the butter cow and eat the famous food on a stick. Each year the tractors for the FFA and Ag Mech Tech show is on the first Friday of the fair. This year we had 96 tractors at the State Fair, from John Deere to Farmall, and all years imaginable for classic tractors. Although I enjoy to look at the tractors and see the new paint and restored engines, the hard work by 4-H and FFA members shows through in each and every one. My favorite part isn’t just to look at the tractors but it is to hear the stories about each tractor, stories about how each tractor was passed from generation to generation or by the old farmers who walk up and look at each one and recall when they ran a tractor just like it fifty years ago and planted corn two rows at a time. The stories from the tractor, each century farm and every person. My favorite story from this year I was from a 93-year-old man from Hedrick Iowa who remembered a year just like this one in 1936 were he and his older brother and father dug a pit silo twenty feet by thirty feet and then took forty-seven acres to fill the pit. We must have talked for almost an hour about farming, the weather, and anything else that we thought of. Each day I heard stories from a variety of people from all backgrounds and made the fair fly by and lots of fun. Next year I look forward to hearing more stories about the good’ol days, or the hard work and how lucky we are to have the tractors and equipment we do because Nothing Compares to The Iowa State Fair Stories.

Cassie: The Iowa State Fair: a time for fried food, people watching, and sky glide riding. Every fairgoer has their own State Fair experience, and that's what makes the fair so unique. This year, the biggest highlight of my Fair was seeing all the amazing projects Iowa FFA members have created to prepare for judging. Now before you tell me that's a cheesy answer, I'll just admit to it. Prior to this year, I had never spent much time in the Iowa FFA Display Building. Located just across the street from the Jacobsen Building, countless projects are on display in and outside the building ranging from restored tractors, awesome photographs, and amazing woodworking and welding projects. I was in awe of how much time and detail had gone into these projects. I had no clue what our skilled members could do until I saw their hard work on display. Be sure to check out new projects out next year, you sure won't want to miss them!

Annie: Is there any way to describe State Fair other than crazy? This year of course has been nothing short of that except for being crazy fun! This year I got to experience such a different side of the fair that I never knew of. I got the opportunity to talk to so many different people. Ranging from current members, future members, past members, and people that really just want to learn more about agriculture. My favorite part of the State Fair was truly getting the chance to talk and connect with people from not only across the world but in some in cases from around the world. Seeing kids get super excited about the tattoos and getting to tell them what the emblem meant was something I will never forget. Also--shout out to the ushers! I loved getting to meet everyone and I am so glad that you guys were willing to let me help you out for a day. Overall this was definitely the best Iowa State Fair that I have ever experienced!