Well tomorrow is the final day of the county fair.. Annie raised a dairy feeder for her FFA class at school and showed it on Wednesday. She placed 5th out of 12. Only 6 ribbons were given so she was happy that she at least got a ribbon. I joked all week that it was actually her dad's project and she just showed it! He got ridiculous for a grown man, over this silly cow! He is already making plans with Annie for next years cow! We got the guy when he was only 2 days old and started him off bottle feeding. It really is a fun project but the kids never make enough money to break even unless they get sponsors to donate..(go begging!..Makes me so mad the fair board expects them to do that!) We did not get any answers from the letters we sent so fortunately the FFA Alumni bought her calf for $250 and then sent it for resale which means she gets what ever price per pound the producers are offering. In this case they offered the kids a whopping 70 CENTS a pound!! Think about that the next time you see T-bones for $9.99 a pound or higher!! They should be ashamed of themselves. These calves are grain fed with top quality feed not grass fed in a pasture. The kids put their hearts and souls along with their bank accounts to purchase the calf, get them castrated, de-horned, shots, bedding and fed, taking one on one care of them for 7 months only to have the producers give them 70 cents a pound!! Can you tell I am angry?
AB Graham started 4-H in my county and this was not what his plan was! The kids have to pay to register their projects, and to get a pass for the week. Even tho they do not get any of the gate proceeds for keeping their animals out there all week and letting people come to see them. Annie will get a check after the fair board deducts a 3% fee, totalling $516..There is no profit here my friends...
But what are you going to do as a parent when your child loves to stay at the fair all week and share their time with friends and class mates taking care of their projects? Life is to hard so how can I deny her this time once a year to make memories and learn something too?
We rent a camp spot each year and usually one of her friends will get a camper to put on it and they basically live out there coming home long enough to shower and catch a much needed nap.
Jim (dad) is already making plans to buy an old school bus and convert it to a camper for next year. Again ..it could be worse..he could be a dead beat dad who walked out on her and refuses to pay child support. So I guess I will just count my blessings and let the memories continue so that I have something to scrap!!!! Like I don't have enough already!! LOL
