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There is no “kidding” around at the goat showmanship show at the Tioga County Fair!

Melanie Berndston, an FFA advisor for the Grand Canyon FFA chapter at Wellsboro High school, spoke about the importance of raising animals and being a part of the FFA.

“This is a great project for them to participate in to see if they may be interested in an agricultural field when they grow up. They are exposed to a lot of career areas by being involved in the FFA.

If someone is not interested in agriculture, they are still able to have a great appreciation for all all that goes into raising and marketing a food product by showing an animal at the fair.

According to Berndston, there is a lot of work that goes into showing a goat at the Tioga County Fair! The FFA participants show several different types of goats at the fair such as meat breeding goats, market goats, fainting goats, working goats and dairy goats. 

The youth work with their goats throughout the whole year so they can learn about the proper care and management, as well as production of the animal. They will learn about their goats through their FFA chapter or 4-H Club. As the fair gets closer, the goats have to have a health check by a veterinarian, and the goats will also be washed and groomed. They will also practice walking the goat around so they can show off the best of their ability in the show ring.

Aside from the showmanship class which tests the ability of the showman and how well they show off their animal, youth will also show in classes that judge either the meat quality or how good of a breeding animal it is. The first place animals in each class then move on to larger categories which culminates in a grand champion of the show.

At the end of the show, the market animals are sold in the livestock sale on Saturday at the fair. The breeding animals go home with the exhibitors. The youth may breed their goat in the fall to have babies in the spring which then could be sold or shown in a show in the future.  

Berndston added that goats are her personal favorite because she raised them when she was younger. “I think they just have great personalities, and they are so smart. They are so sweet. A lot of the kids connect with them like a pet. Their small size helps make them more manageable, so it is a great project for someone who still wants to participate in the fair but doesn’t have the room for a large animal.”

Kaycee Kaltenbach, Kailyn Judlin and Emily Starkweather all participated in the goat showmanship show.

Kaycee Kaltenbach and her goat placed first in the showmanship competition. “Goats are so friendly and they are so fun to work with,” Kaltenbach said. Kailyn Judlin has been showing goats at the fair for six years. “My family has goats. I have always liked goats and they are all unique,” Judlin said. Emily Starkweather’s family owns goats and her older sister always showed goat so she figured “Why not give it a try myself.”

Check out the rest of the Tioga County Fair’s schedule here: http://tiogacountyfair.com/info/schedule.html