By Candler Lowe, Campus Carrier Arts & Living Editor
 |
| PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY OLIVIA STAGNER |
| A shot of Hector’s good side as he waits for Junior Olivia Stagner to show him at last year’s Coosa Valley fair. |
The 68th annual Coosa Valley Fair will take place from Oct. 4 through Oct. 8. For many, the fair is another social event, but for Berry students like junior Olivia Stagner, junior Alondra Monterossa and senior John Logan, the fair is a chance to show off their work with livestock.
Logan has shown livestock at the fair for the past four years with Berry. This year he will be showing a bull named Budreaux.
“Showing livestock is a great way to work with animals and gives you hands on experience with them,” Logan said. “The atmosphere is more laid back, and it is treated as an educational opportunity for both us and the audience.”
Monterossa’s first time showing livestock was at the Coosa Valley Fair last year. She showed a heifer named Molasses. This year she is returning to show a spring calf named Fireball.
“The atmosphere before is really enjoyable. Every show I’ve been at has been really upbeat and fun, but when the show starts, you really need to know to gear up and concentrate,” Monterossa said. “Some judges ask you what you like or dislike about your heifer and this is a chance to show that you truly know your animal.”
Stogner, who has participated in showing livestock through Berry in the past but will not be able to participate this year, said she enjoys the opportunity the fair gives students.
“I think it’s a great way for students to get experience if they want to own their own livestock,” Stogner said. “I also think it’s good if you want to go into animal psychology or any field like that because it forces you to get to know your animal.”
Stogner showed chickens at county fairs when she was in high school after she got involved with her school’s 4-H club. Her sophomore year at Berry was the first time she showed livestock, when she showed a sheep named Hector at the Coosa Valley Fair.
According to Berry’s dairy manager Iris Barham, there will be 10 dairy employees that will be exhibiting animals that they have worked with on Oct. 6 at the fair.
Students who work with the dairy over the summer are allowed to choose animals to show at fair. Those students learn how to train their animal. Barham said that this year the students were allowed to choose heifers to train to walk, and to set-up, clip and prep their heifers for the showing.
Students that show livestock do not receive pay for the time that they spend preparing their heifers, it is all voluntary work, Barham said. She feels that this is an opportunity for students to learn life lessons through their process of training their heifers.