As summer ends and fall begins, the Canton FFA and ag classes are getting ready for Oklahoma State Fair and Tulsa Fair. That includes getting grass bundles ready for crops contest, and getting livestock looking fresh, clean, and ready to show. 

Students in each ag or horticulture class only have 45 minutes to work on their bundles, and people with livestock only have about 4 to 5 hours of sunlight to work with their animals after school. Ag students and teachers alike are equally stressed about the upcoming fairs. 

“After 36 years, between livestock and crops, it still gets stressful,” Mr. Mitchel, ag teacher, said. 

4H and FFA members who show livestock are seemingly always going back and forth from the school to the ag barn. When taking care of livestock, kids are feeding in the morning and in the evening, washing, and working with their animals. It may sound like the bare minimum of work considering most kids only have at least one to two animals, but there are also those who have multiple species of livestock. 

“It can be stressful at times but I’ve gotten so used to having multiple animals in every species that it’s just a normal day in the barn. It also helps to have my dad and sister around to help when needed,” Amanda Schoonmaker, junior, said.