Lincoln, Neb. —County fair time is special for many youth and their families. It’s when hard working kids exhibit projects they’ve been working on all year long. The rewards of the fair wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of Nebraska Extension 4-H and local 4-H clubs. The Knox County Fair, which takes place each August in Bloomfield, has a high participation rate among the hundreds of 4-Hers in the county. Volunteers, parents, and 4-Hers are just the tip of the iceberg in what makes this fair successful year in and year out.
The Knox County Fair, established in 1883, has a legacy of many generations of families walking through its gates since then. What’s staggering about the fair is not just the annual attendance, but also the sheer number of 4-Hers in the county every year. With a 2020 county population of just over 8,300, Knox County has an extremely strong involvement from kids around the county.
Megan Hanefeldt, Nebraska Extension Educator in the county described the strengths of her county’s 4-H programming, “One of the main strengths of our youth programming is having a 74% reach through our Extension programming,” she explained, “That means that over half of the youth in Knox County have been part of an Extension program through school enrichment, after school programming or our traditional 4-H program.”
Hanefeldt, a Foster, Neb. native; first attended Northeast Community College, and transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness. Her first position was as a 4-H Youth Development Assistant in Holt and Boyd counties. She then accepted her post as the Knox County Extension 4-H Youth Development Educator in 2019.
Hanefeldt talked about the uniqueness of Knox County, “I feel what makes Knox County unique is our committed volunteers who come together to make the Knox County Fair a success. The 100+ volunteers who show up for the youth is simply amazing,” she explained, “The other aspect to the 4-H program in Knox County that I feel is unique is the tradition that is passed on from family to family. There are many families who are proud to share that their kids are 4th generation 4-H members,” she said. “Anytime you step through our 4-H buildings at the fair, you will hear over and over the family theme rise to the top. Families come together to make the fair what it is.” The Knox County Fair is well known for having large involvement by 4-Hers, but the camps, clinics, and afterschool programs also help make a difference in building a strong 4-H program countywide.
Now, planning for the fair is no easy task. The volunteer and Extension work do not go unnoticed. The work going into the fair each year does differ, but takes strategic planning, “One of the first things we start a new year off with is hiring judges,” Hanefeldt noted, “We coordinate efforts with the Fair Board on the facilities and set-up; and annually meet together in the fall. We contact all the donors and sponsors of awards and coordinate with the county 4-H Council. Additionally, communication is sent to 4-H volunteers, leaders and 4-H families.”
The 2023 Knox County Fair took place from August 10-13th. There were a total of 389 youth enrolled in 4-H in the county. Out of those enrolled, there were eight 4-H clubs. Breaking down the numbers for projects at the fair, there were 376 Clover Kid exhibits, 781 livestock exhibits, 806 static exhibits, and 131 shooting sport exhibits, according to Hanefeldt. When you break down the livestock exhibits further, there were 100 youth in cattle, 50 in swine, 30 in horses, 75 in sheep and goats, 20 in rabbits, and 45 in poultry. Those numbers speak volumes about the involvement and hard work put forward by youth and their families in the county. When the county and State Fair are all said and done, the cycle begins again. 4-H is more than just the county fair; it’s about the people in it.
Hanefeldt breaks down the rewarding parts of what she does, “The most rewarding part of my job is working with the youth. As a youth development professional, it’s more than showing up in the classrooms for school enrichment programming or fair events,” she said. “When I can build true connections with youth and they find the value in the information I get to share with them, I’m inspired to keep sharing the message and helping youth to ‘learn by doing’.”
