As modern agriculture continues to evolve, so does Kosciusko County’s community fair. Entering its 100th year, the community fair, which kicks off Sunday with the annual parade, is seeing some changes and renewed efforts aimed at attracting more children into 4-H programs, said Kelly Heckaman, the county extension director. These days, more of an effort is being made to attract children who don’t live on farms. Organizers are seeing some results. The following are a few examples. Poss-ABILITIES To increase participation among disabled children, a new program called Poss-ABILITIES has been established. This year, two youngsters with special needs will be showing sheep in a new show set for Wednesday. The idea behind Poss-ABILITIES was pitched by Mikaela Conley, a summer staffer with the extension office who was in 4-H for 10 years. She said she saw a need to establish a show that accommodates and attracts kids with special needs. The extension office worked with Magical Meadows, a therapeutic horse riding facility on Warsaw’s north side, to find kids who might want to get involved. Both participants were paired with a 4-H mentor who has experience in the animal projects and assisted them in working with animals. The presence of youth with disabilities in 4-H activities is not new – a blind third-grade student will be showing a feeder calf. With the emergence of Poss-ABILITIES, Heckaman said they see opportunities to be more inclusive. “I don’t think we’ve ever done a really good job explaining that 4-H has opportunities for kids with disabilities, but I think this will really help highlight it. Hopefully, we get some more kids involved in other projects.” Leasing opportunities The number of 4-H’ers relying on leasing arrangements to participate in animal projects continues to rise, Heckaman said. Extension officials are seeing more youth who don’t live on farms turning to the leasing concept as a way to participate in the animal programs. For example, in the dairy barn this year, there will be about 50 4-H’ers enrolled and 45 of those are leasing animals. While the leasing programs vary among different animal programs, it allows children in many cases to lease an animal from an existing farm. 4-H’ers are then allowed to come to the farm and care for their animals. “If we don’t create opportunities for our kids, our numbers in some of these projects are just going to continue to dwindle,” Heckaman said. At the same time, Heckaman said she continues to see a related trend that has grown during her 20 years with the fair in which more and more kids are choosing to participate in projects involving smaller animals such as poultry, goats and rabbits. Many of those participants, she said, do not live on full-fledged farming operations, but rather small farmettes or rural homes that have enough room for an animal or two. Mini 4-H This year, about 650 kids will participate in the traditional 4-H programs. Another 130 children are enrolled in the Mini 4-H program, which can be used for up to three years for youngsters to prepare themselves for the full-blown 4-H experience. In Mini 4-H, kids can participate in a limited number of animal projects, but face less rigorous rules. The number of kids in the Mini 4-H program has nearly doubled from last year, Heckaman said. The creation of a new committee three years ago helped re-energize the program with the hope of getting more kids involved when it’s time to transition, she said. Witnessing kids graduate to 4-H is encouraging. “If you did not grow up in the 4-H world, there is so much to learn and it’s a lot easier to learn it in Mini 4-H,” Heckaman said. Two other changes visitors might notice: • The fair will feature an Alpaca project for the first time this year. About eight to 10 4-H’ers are expected to show Alpacas on Wednesday at 11 a.m. • The 4-H council also decided to establish grand champion awards for general projects, Heckaman said.
