Yesterday I stood at the rail of the show ring at the Polk County Fair, watching four of my daughters walk the animals they’ve helped raise since last summer. Kelly and all six of our kids were there. After a year of early mornings and late nights, it came down to a few minutes in front of the judge — a proud dad moment to say the least!
What the folks in the stands don’t see is the year behind it: the feedings before the school bus, the lamb that was barely halter-broke last fall. That’s the work 4-H and FFA — Future Farmers of America — have taught Iowa kids for generations. You show up before dawn, you finish what you start, and you do it whether anyone’s watching or not.
Multiply my daughters by the thousands of young Iowans showing livestock at county fairs across our state this summer, and you’re looking at the next generation of Iowa agriculture. As a sixth-generation Iowan who grew up working on my family’s farm, I’ve watched that same work keep farms in the family and small towns on the map. That’s what we’re celebrating this summer, and it’s always what we’re fighting to defend in Washington.
Before the State Fair lights up Des Moines, Iowa’s county fairs come first. I look forward to seeing many of you out at the fairgrounds this summer.