Members of the FFA have a stacked practice schedule when it comes to the preparing for the fair. Members have to go to the farm grounds and do tasks such as feed, clean, and tend to any needs of the animals. The animals range from turkeys, chickens, and pigs to goats, sheep, and steers. The animals are fed twice a day. Steers are fed more often than the others as they are bigger animals. The cattle are handled by FFA members, such as Andrew Parker and Hunter Rowden. The goats are handled by members, such as Dakoda Brock and Payge Hartley. The swine are taken care of by members such as Jordyn Turner and Kara Yates.

Prior to the competition, FFA students take the animals through their routines for the show. Each animal has their own specific routine that aims to make them look as good as possible. The animals are being shown off, so they need to be in peak condition for their big day.

The first show of the fair will be that alpaca show on Wednesday, Sept. 18 with FFA members, Dakoda Brock and Payge Hartley handling the animals. The rest of the fair schedule is as follows:

Thursday, September 20: beef animal, sheep and goat weigh-ins. Pigs have pre-weigh-ins

Friday, September 21: swine weigh-ins, poultry inspection and check in, and goat weigh-ins

Saturday, September 22: FFA sheep market show, beef market show goat market show and market turkey judging

Sunday, September 23: FFA market swine show, goat showmanship, sheep showmanship, and poultry showmanship

Monday, September 24: cattle show, swine showmanship, KF&B goat show, and KF&B market sheep

Tuesday, September 25: beef ultrasound judging

Wednesday, September 26: poultry award presentation

Thursday, September 27: market swine auction

Friday, September 28: market goat auction, market lamb auction, and barnyard Olympics

Saturday, September 29: agriculture mechanics auction, poultry auction, and market beef auction

If you are planning on going to the Kern County Fair, check out what your fellow Taft High FFA students are doing.