The Farmer's Greatest Asset Podcast
The Farmer's Greatest Asset podcast is dedicated to supporting and empowering farmers by recognizing that their greatest assets are the knowledge, experience, mind and health. Hosted by husband-and-wife duo Jesse and Dr. Leah, this podcast combines their unique backgrounds to provide valuable insights. Together, they explore topics that help farmers thrive both personally and professionally. Tune in for a blend of practical advice, real conversations, while having a little fun along the way as they talk about all thing's agriculture and family.
The Farmer's Greatest Asset Podcast
All Things Fair: Hair Products & Heifery Attitudes
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We reflect on our county fair memories while preparing for this year's Lee County Fair in Iowa, where our son will show a heifer he's raised from birth. Fair traditions have evolved over time, but the values of hard work, responsibility, and personal growth remain central to the 4-H and FFA experience.
• The show industry has changed drastically since our childhood, becoming more specialized and separate from production agriculture
• Camping at the fair creates special memories and traditions for farm families
• Responsibility for livestock teaches kids that animals eat before they do - instilling important work ethic
• Learning to lose gracefully is one of the most valuable skills developed in the show ring
• Our son Henry has developed his own passion for cattle, taking full responsibility for his show heifer
• Young people develop public speaking skills, confidence, and resilience through 4-H and fair participation
• Showing livestock provides early experiences with constructive criticism and being judged
• The emotional connection kids form with show animals can be challenging but teaches important lessons
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The Farmer's Greatest Asset podcast. We believe the farm's greatest asset is the farmer their knowledge, experience, mind and health. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Jesse.
Speaker 2And I'm Dr Leah.
Speaker 1Well, it is fair week, here we come.
Speaker 2Ready or not, here it is.
Speaker 1So just a little bit this week about fair memories and all about the fair right. So we are headed to the Lee County Fair, which is actually the oldest county fair in Iowa, so it's kind of neat.
Speaker 2When it comes to fair time. Like you and I were both involved in 4-H growing up. I showed animals minimally. I would just take projects to the art hall, and back then it was different than it is now. Of course, I was in a girls-only group and so we would have projects throughout the year that we would do together as a group. So we had things prepared for the art hall. We also had a concentration every year, so one year it would be sewing, the next year it would be baking, the next year it would be baking. The next year it would be like a craft project. So things were different in that aspect compared to how it is for our kids.
Speaker 1Right, cause it's the leader is kind of the ones that determine how they do all that. So that was your leader was very proactive, proactive on doing that stuff and that's how they do all that, so your leader was very proactive on doing that stuff and that's how they ran the program. Your club and you all had to do a sewing project and they do it now, where the kids are supposed to have projects and speaking projects.
Speaker 2Oh, yeah, we had to do a demonstration every year.
Speaker 1Right.
Speaker 2And at the time it was like super stressful, but it really helped with public speaking.
Speaker 1Absolutely. That's the whole point.
Speaker 2Right, which is definitely a boost when you're talking about getting out there and getting ready for adulthood and real life.
Speaker 1So the fair for us is kind of 4-H right.
Evolution of Livestock Showing
Speaker 1So our kids show in 4-H and you know there's other stuff that goes on with the grandstand and stuff and fair stuff. But when we talk about fair it's livestock showing in the 4-H Right Livestock shows. So we show cattle. As a kid I grew up showing hogs and doing very well showing pigs and then we would also take cattle out of the fat lot. When I was a kid Dad didn't have any cows so we would buy feeder cattle so we would just take something out of the feeder calf lot and weigh it in and I did really good on rate of gain and had rate of gain just about every year on the cattle. But the hogs we actually raised our own because we were fair to finish on hogs and we did very well.
Speaker 1For us it was very rewarding because we were raising our own. We would buy boars. So in the 80s and 90s and even early 2000s, if you heard the name stevensmeyer and you were in the pig world, it meant something because basically because the cousins of ours, joe and tom, and their dad, leroy, they raised show pigs and they raised seed stock and they raised boars and gilts for people to buy and that was more when everything was farrow to finish and it wasn't big, big corporate farms, you know bigger farms owning the sow farms and people just feeding fat hogs. You raised your own. So we made sure we bought good boars and we had good gilts, that we always raised our own good gilts and did really well. So it was very rewarding because it meant something to the industry, to us anyway.
Speaker 1So when we would go to the state fair the goal was to come home with an empty trailer. You never wanted to come home with any gilts. So the gilts that we showed as commercial breeding gilts we always sold to guys at the fair because they would come up there and guys would be looking for gilts to buy to take home and that was our goal. To come home with an empty trailer, so we would always sell gilts, and that was our goal. To come home with an empty trailer, so we would always sell gilts. Well, the one year we won the breeding gilt show, it just helped that we've won it in the past and never come home with a gilt. So that was good.
Speaker 2Things have changed quite a bit since then. Like, showing is definitely a different game than it used to be. I see it being very synonymous with athletics and travel ball. So now in the show industry it's a lot of the same. There's all of these jackpot series for all the different species. It's become like a travel ball situation well for those kids.
Speaker 1It is their travel ball and it's their, it's their sport and it's good it's. It has created its own industry showing house it's. There's the show industry now, and then there's the production industry. They don't really they don't mesh as much as they used to it isn't.
Speaker 2it isn't that you are raising commercially and showing what you're raising commercially?
Speaker 1No.
Speaker 2And that's just where the industry has taken it right, wrong or indifferent. It's just where it is right now.
Speaker 1So it is a different, a different beast Our kids showing now compared to before but there's kids that are out there, you know, showing jackpots and stuff that has created a lot of opportunities for those kids.
Speaker 2Absolutely.
Our Family's Fair Experience
Speaker 1A lot of opportunities, absolutely. I think of a kid locally here who he's rocking and rolling, raising pigs, you know. Yeah, it's awesome, yeah, so, but it is different than when it was, when I was a kid. So here we are, headed to the fair. This week podcast comes out thursday morning, so the fair will start wednesday, um, and we are just showing cattle, show heifers this year, so show saturday and and just henry showing oneifer. That'd be pretty easy.
Speaker 2Yeah, comparatively, some families we know are showing two, three, four species.
Speaker 1Pigs, goats, god bless them, Sheesh.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2So that's awesome, so really looking forward to it. We have camped at the fair every year since they started camping.
Speaker 1They started camping there.
Speaker 2Yeah, and the kids absolutely have loved it. When they were younger we would go on vacation and we would camp at the fair and I think that they loved camping at the fair more than they loved our vacations that we would take. They got to spend time with their friends, go from camper to camper and just have a really great time with it. Now that they're older, things are different, but and because they are doing all of the work you know, back then it was parent assisted, Now for Henry assisted right, we'll just go with that.
Speaker 2Uh, now henry is responsible for all of it, like all of it, right.
Speaker 1He's 17, so it's kind of it is all his project and has been for years a couple years, absolutely, and he's he's doing a great job at it, he's. I have not told him how to feed, what to feed, when to feed um, how to do anything for the last couple years, and it's um well, he has you for a sounding board and luckily he's created relationships with other breeders in the area.
Speaker 2And I'd like to give a shout out to Chad Holkamp at Holkamp Cattle Company. He has helped Henry tremendously and is always willing to help, as well as Joe Kleine with Kleine Cattle Enterprises. He has become a very close friend as well and has really been helping us with our show cattle here at J&L Farms.
Speaker 1So this year, yeah, we are only showing at the county fair one, heifer, and we raised her, so that's again kind of rewarding.
Speaker 2In all actuality, it's Henry's cow that he showed as a heifer, and then we bred her and we've raised this calf, and yeah, so it's. He's excited. He is excited he's going to take her to the state fair as well.
Speaker 1He has done a really good job of taking care of her. So makes a parent proud.
Speaker 2It's good stuff. I'm getting emotional, it's fair week.
Speaker 1It's fair week.
Speaker 2It's fair week, yeah, so I always love fair week in the giddiness of my husband, Like we were washing the camper this weekend on Saturday getting it ready, and he was just giddy like a little kid, weren't you honey?
Speaker 1I was like oh, it's fair week. Dad has a special smile on his face. There's something about fair week, it's just yeah.
Speaker 2So those memories from your childhood come back and and we have tried to recreate that for our kids. So I I took stuff to the art hall but I was never at the fair, like that wasn't something that my family really participated in.
Speaker 1We didn't have camping when I was a kid, but I remember just getting dropped off at the fair and you take care of your stuff and just running around all day playing and having a good time. Yeah, jerry, who is now our next-door neighbor. He and I were the same age. I just ran around with him and his family did a big picnic after the dairy show because they showed dairy cattle. I don't think Mom wanted me to go with them, but I'm like I'm going. I don't think his family minded, but maybe they did.
Speaker 2I don't know, knowing Paul and Rita, I doubt that they minded. There's one more of the many.
Speaker 1Right. So yeah, I just spent a lot of time at the fair and a lot of good memories.
Preparing for This Year's Fair
Speaker 2So a couple. It's been two years now two years on Wednesday actually since your accident at the fair. I know last year it was a really emotional time.
Speaker 1Yeah, wednesday, right. Yeah, I had to look at the date how's all that feeling? Physically I feel pretty good. End of the day. I I told you the other day I don't know how to not overdo it, so by the end of the day I am shot well, I think that that's because you aren't listening to your body.
Speaker 1Well, it was kind of we talked about in the past about how working out and lifting weights it's. It's hard because I can't train like I used to. So I still try to work like I used to and I I usually overdo it, but for the most part I am doing really well. I feel good Going into this fair this year. Last year was a little emotional because it was going back the next year after I got hurt.
Speaker 2You had just had your hip replacement.
Speaker 1I mean, it was just like four months prior to that so it was just getting to walking fairly with a very noticeable limp, but you know walking without a cane. So, um yeah, there were a lot of fields last last fair, not anxiety or anything like that, but just gratitude. Grateful.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1Right.
Speaker 2Cause it could have been a different story.
Speaker 1Right, yeah, so this year it's not. I don't think I really have those feelings, but it's fair week, so I'm excited to go.
Speaker 2Yeah, henry is showing um. The girls have shown cattle in the past and, for different reasons, have elected to not show this year. Lizzie did not show last year, lucy did Um, lucy loved her steer last year so dearly and had a really hard time lucy does really well with livestock or animals in general she is a caretaker for sure and she does really well.
Speaker 1Uh, but the steer. We had to get rid of the steer and that was hard.
Speaker 1It was very hard for her, like weeks of Well cause it was kind of we had to do it twice because after the fair you know, we were going to get rid of the steer. Then we had the opportunity to come back to go to the final drive. So in Iowa they have the showdown program where all the counties come back to there's nine or ten different districts so they get a show against each other and then if you win that district then you go on to the all iowa showdown. It's a really neat program that they've started and it's not common in all the states. Some other states are probably trying to start it, but and then here we also have the final drive. It's another showdown program in addition to our southeast iowa showdown.
Speaker 1So last year lucy got the opportunity to go to the final drive, so that was three weeks after our fair. So we after the fair we were getting rid of the steer, but then the opportunity came, so then we went. So we had to go through the whole process of getting rid of the steer twice and that was rough it was rough, well, and she had like.
Speaker 2So the kid, the steer and heifer last year would be out in the and so she would go out and check on it every two hours and so she had an alarm on her phone that would go off every two hours throughout the day. She did not take that off of her phone, I think, until like three months ago.
Speaker 1Not that long ago, yeah.
Speaker 2I said you have to stop reminding yourself of that steer all the time, because I know it's making you sad. Like after that she said I will never show a steer again.
Speaker 1She was very attached so so we raised a short horn, heifer, and she was going to show it. It's actually registered in her name as the owner bred and owned everything, and she's not going to do it.
Speaker 2She's not. She chose to not show at the County fair. Um, but every time she cause she showed last year, she didn't show the year before that. Every time she has said she didn't want to show she has missed showing at the County fair, like participating in the fair. So this year she decided to not show the short horn and she is missing it again. So she's like maybe I should show her at the same fair.
Speaker 1So she hasn't really done anything with these heifers. We're still taking care of the short horn, lucy's heifer, and we asked her to come out the other day and help walk the heifers. And the heifer was just kind of acting heifery and Lucy grabbed her.
Speaker 2Heifery yeah, is that in the dictionary? Yes, it's like the country mile.
Speaker 1It's in the dictionary. Yes, it's like the country mile. It's a. It's in the country dictionary. It's in my dictionary because she was in heat and we could go down a different path and say how she was really acting. But she was acting heffery. She was a heifer that was in heat and lucy grabbed her and just walked around. She was just totally fine. She just is good with animals.
Speaker 2She is. She's a very good showman, show woman.
Speaker 1Right. So now I'm trying to convince her, because she has entered for the state fair, that she should show her at the state fair.
Speaker 2I think she is going to, but I guess we'll see. We'll find out in the next month for sure going to, but I guess we'll see. We'll find out in the next month for sure. But I think the kids have learned so much taking care of animals and and you can do it with or without showing. But I think the competitive nature of the show industry, um, they, like you, have a different level of responsibility.
Speaker 2I think, because it's not just going out and making sure they have food and water and are healthy. It's a whole different feeding regimen and trying to really hone in on different things.
Speaker 1And for cattle they're in a cooler, yes, growing hair and more hair product in those heifers than my wife and two daughters have in the house.
Speaker 2We spend more time and energy on cattle hair throughout the year than we do any other hair in our house. For sure.
Speaker 2But it's really taught the kids so much, so much. And Lizzie's even talked more about maybe getting back into showing. She kind of stepped back from it last year. It really it was really kind of hard for her to get in the pen after dad got hurt the year before. But I think she's growing and realizing that and she's bigger now, she's taller, um that she's got a lot more power in her than she realizes. Um. But we have always taught the kids, like your animals eat. Before you do so you need to get up and get out there and get your chores done and then you can come in and you know they can't feed themselves. So you're responsible for them before you are yourself.
Speaker 1There's been quite a few mornings where Henry's upstairs, by 6, am headed out to do chores.
Speaker 2We have had cool mornings, so that has definitely been to his benefit this year, right Because there have been years in the past where getting up they had to get up in as soon as the sun was coming up because it was just way too blazing hot. So I think that the responsibility and hard work, as well as learning how to be a good loser that is a tough pill to swallow sometimes but definitely necessary and if you have kids in sports you'll feel that as well. Like you have to learn how to lose and have some dignity.
Speaker 1We have always tried to tell them no matter what happens in the ring, you always shake the hand of the winner and say congratulations, and it's not like it's a requirement, like you do in sports, where you shake hands. But we say hold your head high and we are more proud of you because you guys do the project and you go say congratulations, no matter the outcome, and we've had success in the past, and then we've also just participated too, so it's yes, we definitely have had our share of of all of that yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1So it's it. It has it has grown our children into young adults already. Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2So, being in 4-H and, and Henry and Lucy are in FFA as well, and who knows what will happen with down that path, they may end up showing.
Speaker 1FFA.
Values and Legacy of 4-H
Speaker 2It has definitely grown all three of our kids in learning how to care for something besides just taking care of themselves.
Speaker 1Right, it has taught a lot of responsibility, for sure.
Speaker 2Well, what's some advice that you would give to young farm families starting their own fair traditions? Oh boy, I think camping at the fair is the memory and the tradition that our kids have have built fair on, like they don't know what it's like to not camp there. They absolutely love it. Even now, as teenagers, they love camping at the fair and being there all week and and it's a break from home which you know we've had show cattle every year and we show shown cattle every year and we did bucket we did buckle bucket calves before he could show in the four eight show.
Speaker 2So every year they've always had cattle to be at home to take care of and and I think it's a nice little break and in the middle of the summer to go and stay at the fair and kind of get a break from being at home for a period of time and hang out with your friends and not have to cook and clean. And I think, if you have the opportunity, camp out at the fair.
Speaker 1It is fun, I enjoy it. I mean it even gives us a place to go cool off and relax by having the camper there at the fair. That's good advice. I mean it created a lot of memories. I guess my advice is yes, it's competitive and you want to go and we all want to win. If you're not wanting to win, you probably shouldn't do it, but in the end you've got to learn. So go and enjoy it and make it fun and then learn from it, learn your responsibilities and yeah, just make it fun and make it memorable. Make memories.
Speaker 2It's not just about the work of getting the animal there.
Speaker 1Well, that is the payoff, right Getting there, whether you win or not.
Speaker 2The challenge is having fun along the way enjoying it.
Speaker 2That's good advice. What do you think the fair has taught you about legacy? It's not just about the animals. What kind of values has it instilled?
Speaker 2So for myself I can say I probably did not realize the values that 4-H and participating in 4-H and at the fair gave me until I had kids and saw them going through it. But that grit and determination, it was probably the first step for me in like being judged right. So you know, when you play sports it's a little different because you're out there and you're playing, and you're playing as a team or you're playing individual. But, um, when you take projects to the fair, you actually are being judged and being able to take that, that constructive criticism, and build on that. That's one thing that I noticed, that that I probably that was the first experience I had with that and just challenging yourself to do new things and stepping out of your comfort zone. It was probably one of the first experiences for me. So in talking about legacy and passing down those values, grit and determination and hard work are probably the foundation was laid there with 4-H for me.
Speaker 1That's good stuff. When we showed we did very well with our hogs and always did very well and brought home a trophy or multiple whether it were county shows or other shows or state fair. So it was the payoff and all the hard work that you're putting in right. It meant something. So it just instilled pride in me, I guess, and it was a career path that I thought I was going to take. So it kind of shaped me into the young person that I was.
Speaker 2Well, because you went on to study swine production.
Speaker 1Right. But it also kind of like you were saying you're out in front of the judge, so you're out in front of the public. And because I did well enough, you know, I had radio interviews and stuff like that, so it got me used to being in front of public and public speaking and pride and hard work and opportunities. Opportunity there you go. That's the word I'm looking for.
Speaker 2And, as you're talking about that, it reminds me of Henry being inin-a-lifetime thing that he participated in that raised some money for the Ronald McDonald House and really learned how to work for something other than just him and himself.
Speaker 1Right.
Speaker 2He had a lot of pride in raising money for those kids and you know, he himself, not that he remembers, but being a sick child, and although we never used the Ronald McDonald house, he had a unique story in the fact that his hero was his doctor that helped him when he was young and had his juvenile dermatomyositis. But he did radio interviews and it gave him some good opportunity with that as well, to present himself.
Speaker 2so 4-H has done a lot for our family, not just for you and I, but growing our children it has been a big part of all of our lives yeah, it's kind of a backbone of rural America Right and the agricultural community.
Speaker 1We should throw in FFA as well.
Speaker 2Absolutely.
Looking Forward to Fair Week
Speaker 1Our kids are in FFA, but we show Lee County 4-H, so FFA is very similar and it creates a lot of opportunities for not just kids on the farm as well 4-H and FFA. So if you have the opportunity for your kids to be in 4-H or FFA or both, it is well worth the time and energy to do it, because it's good programs.
Speaker 2What are you looking forward to, with the county fair starting on Wednesday? But you know we're going to start tonight.
Speaker 1Right, we're going to be down there tonight tomorrow. Yeah.
Speaker 2What are you most looking forward to? Please don't say funnel cake, no.
Speaker 1I don't know. I think it's just being there and hanging out and seeing all the people and it's all the payoff. I guess it's all the hard work that Henry's done to get there. So it's it'd be fun to see him there with his heifer and see how she does, and no matter the outcome it's, I am proud of him for what he's done.
Speaker 2Yeah, I'm most excited about the cattle show. You know whether we bring, I would love to bring home a banner. Of course everyone wants to, but this is a heifer that he raised and he's been wanting to do this for several years, has been keeping his eye on his herd very closely, but really, now that he's 17 and he's at this point he is has a lot of pride with that and as a mama and I know you- as a papa absolutely we have a lot of pride in him and um with showing this heifer, and it's something he's always wanted to do, so I'm I'm excited to see how it will go on Saturday, just watching him out there in the ring doing what he loves.
Speaker 1He loves it. He loves fitting cattle, he loves showing cattle, he just loves it. So it's just fun to see him out there. The fair is an emotional event, I guess. Well, there's a lot of emotion for you.
Speaker 2You were very excited and are very excited about it, but it also was a very traumatic thing for you a couple years ago. And the pride in our son. He's doing a great job and we look forward to our daughter showing in the years to come, if they choose to. It is not going to be a forced issue.
Speaker 1No, we have always said we're not going to force them to do it, just like we said with them leaving or staying on the farm or whatever it's. I'm not going to force them to show something and make it miserable, because then it's just miserable for me too, because you can force them to do it and have, you know, the grand champion, whatever, and if you're out there just fighting to make them do it, that to me isn't worth it. But on the other end, maybe we created a monster we totally created a monster in henry how much he loves showing cattle he does love showing cattle.
Speaker 1He loves fitting cattle he would wash and clip and blow all day if he could. And it's good, I mean he loves it.
Speaker 2Well, he's very creative too and likes to do things with his hands, so I think that has something to do with it as well.
Speaker 1Thanks for listening. Go like and share the podcast. Find us on all the socials at Farmers Greatest Asset tag. Five friends spread the word it's been good hearing from people. Send us a message at FarmersGreatestAsset at gmailcom.
Speaker 2It's a good day to have a great day to have a great day bye.
