Record Number of Small Animal Projects at Adams County Fair
The 2025 Adams County Fair and Rodeo took place over the weekend in Council, and it was a blast! The Fair marks the culmination of the year’s work for many in Adams County, especially the youth who participated in showing a project at the Fair. While in past years there has been some decline in the number of youth participating in showing a project at Fair, this year there was a record number of small animal projects, according to Ag teacher Trista Robbins. “I’ve never seen it this full,” she said.
One of the primary reasons for the increases this year was the creation of the Meadows Valley Community Club. For several years, New Meadows students had to come down to Council to participate in 4-H meetings and activities, but New Meadows residents Rachel Reynaga, Megan Murdock, and Renee Novo decided this year to lead the Meadow Valley Community Club, which has significantly increased the convenience of participating for parents and students. Also, for the first time ever, New Meadows has an FFA group, led by ag teacher Rachel Melad.
“It’s a special year,” said Trista Robbins, “Our barn is full. This is the first year we’ve really had some competition.” This year was the first year they had to split rabbits into junior and senior class. Also this year, there were many more species than in the past, which made the Round Robin, where the youth have to show other species of animals, more exciting and more challenging. “That’s what’s neat, because often, What I’ve seen in a small county fair like this is you don’t get all the different species,” said Robbins, “this is one of the first years I’ve seen where we have all the different species.” Also, because of the avian flu the last two years, they couldn’t bring poultry to the barn at all, which makes showing those projects very difficult. All of these were factors contributing to the large number of small animal projects. Another exciting factor for 2025, all of the animals made weight! Which means they were all able to go to market.
The large number of small animal projects is a good sign for the future. Robbins said that she has heard concerns from the community about the future of ag amid the “iPad generation,” as evidenced by declining participation in large animals. This year, for example, there were only six beef, which had some community members worried. But Robbins wanted to assure the community that this was not the case at all, because students who start with small animal projects move on to large animal projects in the future. “These kids are the next generation of ag-y kids. Kids who are willing to work hard, step out of their comfort zone, make friends,” said Robbins. A record number of small animal projects is a sign of a thriving community and a positive future for ag in Adams County.
Congratulations to all of the Adams County youth who participated in showing a project at the fair this week and thank you to all of the volunteers and supporters who helped to make this happen!
