Creating fair memories

PERHAM, Minn. — Time spent in the barn or show ring, at workshops or camps, and in the community is time well spent as a 4-H family for Dave and Jen Schwantes and their kids — Caroline, Amber and Jeffery.

“I’m proud of all three of them,” Jen said. “We’ve watched them grow (in 4-H) from when they were five until now. They put the work in and the payoff is amazing.”

When not busy with 4-H, the family can be found on their 70-cow dairy where they milk with a swing-8 parlor.

As the oldest, Caroline said she has learned the most from her 4-H experiences, gaining confidence along with knowledge. One example was her first Minnesota State Fair two years ago with her Holstein fall calf.

“I didn’t think I was going to do that well in my class,” Caroline said. “I ended up getting third place out of 17 and got a purple ribbon.”

She proceeded to showmanship and made it to the final rounds, placing 10th out of the final 12 for her age bracket.

Participating in activities like this, paired with skills the Schwantes children have learned, like clipping their animals on their own, has helped them learn life lessons.

“I learned how to be patient and work hard, even though times have been tough,” Caroline said. “Eventually your hard work will pay off.”

Another lesson they have learned is not to wait to ask for help. They take the initiative when faced with a challenge.

There is always work to do for the Schwantes family. For the kids, the brunt of their county fair work starts in late May and early June. This is when they start working with their livestock every day, time permitting.

“I try to work with them all year, especially with my calves,” Caroline said. “Even in the winter, I finish chores and walk them around the barn.”

By the time they get to the county fair, they are ready to get in the show ring and prove what they can do. The kids said it can be challenging at times to work with their animals, but it is also fun, even during showmanship.

“You have to be able to watch the judge and know where he or she is going,” Caroline said.

Showing livestock that are tall makes it difficult to see the judge in the ring, Jeffery said. That is one reason why goats are Amber’s favorite animal to show at the fair.

Now that the East Otter Tail County Fair is over, the family is focusing on their trip to the Minnesota State Fair, which opens Aug. 22. This will be Caroline’s third year attending and the first year for Amber and Jeffery.

Caroline, who has been in 4-H for nine years, acts as the East Ottertail county fair federation vice president and serves as a county 4-H ambassador.

“We help with 4-H things and help put together activities throughout the year,” Caroline said. “At the county fair, we hold a barnyard Olympics. We plan all the challenges the teams do. We also are in charge of running it.”

The ambassadors also assist with new family orientation, the awards program at both the county fair and the annual awards banquet, and act as teen teachers in the 4-H afterschool program. She also assists the county extension office.

Dave and Jen also are active in 4-H and the county fair. They have been dairy barn supervisors at the fair for several years and are active with the Butler 4-H club. Jen has served as club leader for the past five years. 

“You have to direct the kids,” Jen said. “The 4-H program wants it to be youth led so you help them come up with ideas for what they would like the club to do for different activities every year.”

One community event the club sponsored was a luncheon at a local church for the residents of their township, followed by bingo with prizes. The 4-H students have also made goodie trays at Christmas and cleaned road ditches outside town.

Having their kids active in 4-H was important to Jen, who wanted her kids to have the opportunity to connect with others who had similar interests. Growing up, Jen said it was hard for her to come across friends in school who shared her interest in ag. She found those friends in 4-H and wanted her kids to have a similar experience.

“I was never sorry I did it,” Jen said. “The confidence in yourself and leadership you get from working with different youth is monumental.”