Hometown Farmer: Digging into 4-H - Siouxland News - KMEG 14 and FOX 44

(IDA COUNTY, IOWA) - Students from all over the country have the opportunity to get involved in their area's 4-H program. It's an organization geared to teach them life-long skills.

July 22 wrapped up Ida County's Fair where the 4-H Youth Council showed off their talents. A few of the members explain how being a part of the group has guided them through their school years and prepares them for college and beyond.

This is the third year Ida County 4-H members have dug their boots into the Fairgrounds in Ida County.  Alex Conover is the president of the 4-H Youth Council. He kept busy all summer long planning every detail for his group.

"It's definitely a challenge cause to like get all the schedules organized and to have all the people show up. And it's a really fun group to work with and we have a lot of good, hard working workers that come and help us out," said Alex Conover.

Alex has been a '4-H'er', as they call it, since he was a kid. As he points out, 4-H is not just for farmers.

"You can exhibit animals. You can exhibit photography or cookies for that matter. It's definitely something for all age groups that are eligible for 4-H," explained Conover.

At the fair, Ida County Fair Queen Katie Boyle was a busy bee showing swine all morning. She said she's learned valuable lessons she couldn't learn in school.

"It's taught me a lot of lessons like responsibility and how to manage time. And it's definitely taught me how to get along with my parents better. If it weren't for 4-H, I don't think we would have half the memories as a family that we do," said Boyle.

Another '4-H'er' couldn't agree more.

"You learn a lot of leadership and you do a lot of citizenship stuff and you get to meet a lot of new friends. So I think it's a neat opportunity and it looks good on a resume and an application," said 4-H Youth Council member, Christian Conover.

And to show, they have a fair dedicated to their talents.

Alex found a way to make it interesting for fair goers to watch and be proud of all their hard work: like the Celebrity Swine Show - asking KMEG 14's Olivia Wilmsen to guide a pig through an obstacle course.

"It's definitely spicing up for the crowd and stuff. And it makes it just a really fun event for the fair," said Alex.

"It's a place I can be competitive and work hard and still compete, but it's still a place I can have a lot of fun," smiled Boyle.

"4-H is awesome!" said Christian.

All three of these 4-H members said they've made plenty of friends from other schools through 4-H. They also said it's just interesting to see where they come from and what they do differently.