This week was the 71st annual North Florida Livestock Show and Sale. I moved to Madison right before last year’s show and sale, I was only able to attend the Thursday sale last year and missed out on all the pre-sale fun, but it was cool to see and learn a little bit last year. This year, a co-worker and I are covered all four days, taking photos, getting names and places and boy, what a treat it was. Where I grew up, we didn’t have things like this, we had no FFA at school and 4H was something very few heard of. Thankfully, my mom grew up surrounded by farms, she rode horses her whole life and passed that love onto my sister and I. Still, 4H in North East Pennsylvania is vastly different than down here.
From the moment I walked onto the grounds Monday evening, the energy was palpable. The barns buzzed with activity as young participants carefully groomed their animals, their faces a mixture of concentration and pride. It wasn’t just the cattle or pigs that commanded attention, it was the unwavering dedication of the 4-H and FFA members, some looking no older than 10 or 11, who had spent months raising and preparing these animals for this very day.