Delta County Commissioners Wendell Koontz and Craig Fuller attended the fair to support local youth and celebrate the county's agricultural heritage.
“This is a real big community event. It brings families and everybody together from all across the county. We have got kids here from cedar edge, Delta, Paonia, Hotchkiss, Crawford, not only showing animals, but participating in all the events like last night's ranch rodeo. What a hoot that was. That was so much fun seeing everybody out there competing and really being part of the western tradition,” Koontz said.
Fuller said the fair is an opportunity to support local children and celebrate Delta County's agricultural roots.
“Yeah, I'm here for the same reason that commissioner Koontz is here here. We're just here to support these kids and to enjoy all these animals and just to be able to say that, you know, Delta county is still at its heart, ranching and ag community,” Fuller said.
The county's 4-H program is also a major part of the fair. Jackie Shea, the Delta County 4-H extension agent, said nearly 300 children, adult leaders and volunteers participate in 4-H projects throughout the year.
“Well, I can tell you I've been here for 15 years as the 4H extension agent, and it is a wonderful, wonderful community. The 4H program, we have close to 300 kids, adult leaders, volunteers that are involved in the projects year round. Ages. We have the little kids that can start at 6, 4h, ages 8 to 18, and they're involved in a variety of things today. This week's been very busy with the livestock projects. We have indoor projects from baking, sewing, cooking, all the way to shooting sports. So pretty much any interest that the kids want to do, they can be involved in. And it's just, it's a. It's a wonderful program,” Shea said.
For young livestock exhibitors, preparing an animal for the fair can require hours of daily work.
Alia Hansen, who was preparing to show her steer Jasper, said she had to get up early to feed and work with him before the sun came up.
“Well, I had to get up early and work with him, feed him before the sun came out, because you can't feed them when they're hot or else they'll get bloated, and you have to put them into the cooler so that they don't lose all their hair,” Hanson said.
Hanson said she spent around three to four hours each day working with her animals.
The livestock sale can be an emotional part of the process for exhibitors, but Hansen said the financial reward makes it worthwhile.
“It's kind of hard at first because, like, all the hard work you put in is just, like, going to get eaten, you know? But it's worth it because you do make a lot of money,” Hansen said.
She planned to save the proceeds from her sale to buy a car and another steer the following year.
Other young exhibitors were also preparing animals for the sale. One exhibitor, Teagan said she was showing goats and planned to save the money she earned.
The fair also featured community events, including community night, exhibits at Heritage Hall and livestock shows.
The Delta County Fair wrapped up Saturday with the sale and parade.
