County Fairs, 4-H & the Promotion of Agriculture
County Fairs have been a feature of the agricultural landscape of rural America for most of its history. The tradition of local gatherings for the purposes of socialization, exhibition, and competition has remained largely intact since its inception. Those first county fairs with their livestock judging, plowing competitions, and displays of agricultural machinery are mirrored in nearly every Midwestern county by their modern counter parts of tractor pulls, 4-H livestock shows, and the rows of glistening new implements lined up on the grounds by local dealerships.
In the early 1900s these fairs began to become a venue specifically for the youth in the county with the early formation of 4-H clubs and the newly minted Extension services. The 4-H’ers began to bring examples of their work to their local fairs for exhibition and judging. In May 1914—100 years ago—the Smith-Lever Act was signed into law and with it a national identity was granted to the informal system of 4-H boys and girls clubs that had begun to sprout like its namesake clover.
Those early clubs focused on the idea of “Learning by Doing,” and with the help of the research provided by local Land Grant Universities like Iowa State Agricultural College, now Iowa State University, the 4-H youth were able demonstrate the newest innovations in agriculture and the domestic arts. Increasingly it was the young people who were early adopters of the newest techniques in crop production, food preservation, animal husbandry, and personal record keeping.
In many cases it was the willingness of young people to experiment and their receptiveness to “the next new thing,” that was a catalyst to getting new research into the hands of the general public and its implementation by farm families that had been doing things the same way for generations. It was hard for entrenched ideas to remain in place when young men in “Boys Agricultural Clubs ”were surpassing the corn yields of their fathers, and young women in “Girls Home Culture Clubs” could demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of improved canning methods to their mothers. The county fairs provided a public place for these young people to showcase the new knowledge that they were acquiring and it was doing it in a way that allowed the older generation to accept these changes graciously. After all, they could hardly decry change and praise their children for their innovation in the same breath.
Those early 4-H’ers were learning to become productive citizens, outstanding communicators, effective leaders, and successful learners, by benefit of “Learning by Doing.” Early emphasis on Agriculture and Home Economics was driven by the skill sets that were expected of that generation. That experiential learning model continues to guide the work of modern 4-H’ers over 100 years later.
Today’s 4-H members participate in a wide array of project areas that extend well beyond the beginning emphasis on agriculture and domestic arts. A 4-H’er today can participate in anything from photography to pigs, from cooking to chemistry. The current Iowa 4-H program has made new commitments to supporting 4-H’ers in developing healthy lifestyles, S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), Citizenship & Leadership, and Communication and the Arts. Outreach efforts from the Colleges of Design and Engineering at Iowa State University are putting new research into the hands of our young people.
Collaborations of land-grant universities across the country are developing new curricula related to local food issues and healthier living. 4-H is every bit as exciting and relevant as it was on that June day in 1906 when O.H. Bensen was gifted the first 4-H clover outside a one room school house in Clarion, Iowa.
So when you visit your county fair this summer don’t be surprised to see the next generation of mechanical engineers and their robotics project alongside the Grand Champion Market Steer, and don’t pass by the work of an aspiring Grant Wood, when you are looking to buy some blue ribbon cookies at the county fair bake sale.
