Cows, pigs, goats oh my! Only three weeks left till the Pinal County Fair and the members of the National Future Farmers of America Organization are scrambling to do the finishing touches on their animals. This may include trimming their hair, cutting their hooves and blow drying the hair.

This year the club has the most amount of people showing in the history of the program. We have nine pigs, one veal calf, one steer and two goats. This year we have nine novice members showing this year.

“I’m mostly scared that my goat is going to have a tantrum, not walking, just laying there,” novice showman, Ella O’Dell said.

The show dates are rapidly approaching and many members wish it was farther away in time because even though they have worked with their animals for over four months, it feels like barely a week.

“I wish it was farther away so I can get more time to work with my goat. I am so nervous about how he will perform,” novice showman, Vanessa Lopez said.  

As the FFA members prepare to show off their hard work there are many steps they have to take before they even make it to the fairgrounds.

At the beginning of November pigs were purchased and immediately you will constantly be on your toes. As you purchase an animal you have to make sure that the seller is credible. Often times some farms will be dishonest and sell you animals that are to young or to old. Knowing the right place to go is extremely important.

After that you make sure that the animal is not stressed and feels welcomed into its temporary home. As time passes you feed as much as possible to make sure that they know to eat the grain because believe it or not they won’t eat!

While they start to grow you will train them to walk which sounds silly but it actually takes a lot of work because contrary to belief the animals can be remarkably intelligent.

Time will fly by when you are putting in the hard work, sooner or later you will only be a few weeks away. Right about now competitors will be finishing their small animal quality assurance certification, writing buyer letters, and getting their seasonal passes.