Opportunity for Those Who Live in Pinal County

If you live in Pinal County and you have children between the ages of 8 and 18 (as of January 1, 2024), I am opening up my farm after co-op on Fridays for three projects: Dairy Goat, Poultry, and Ag Mechanics (welding).  If you have your own animals and want to use those, you are welcome to do so. However, if you do not have any animals and would still like to participate, we have some options. 

Here are the general details:

The Pinal County Fairgrounds last year began allowing Small Stock Auctions (Small stock includes: Dairy Goats, Chickens, Turkeys, Geese, Ducks, Pigeons, Rabbits, and Guinea Pigs) as well as Ag Mechanics Silent Auctions. I had the opportunity to run the Dairy Goat Show last year and will be doing so again this year. Friends, it was AMAZING! Not only did the kids show their projects like normal, but on Saturday, they had the opportunity to sell one of their animals, and/or sell up to five of their Ag Mechanics projects (woodworking/welding) in the silent auction.  Because of a program called Friends of CAFA, kids are guaranteed to have someone buy their animal for at least the amount of money that they put into the project, but what most children saw happen was their animal sold for a minimum of $500 and then the person who bought their animal, turned around and gave it back to them about 75% of the time. 

During Fair week, the kids participate in various shows, exhibiting their projects, various competitions, and just have fun at the different events (many of these are fun, free competitions). Whether they sell an animal or not, they are guaranteed to at least get a ribbon, but if they work hard and earn Grand Champion or Grand Champion Reserve, they will earn a fancy belt buckle. 

All kids will learn how to keep track of spending as they will be turning in a Record Book with their project (this will also help determine if Friends of CAFA needs to help them meet their basic spending costs during auction). 

There is a cost for entering projects in the fair, however, all projects will learn how to write sponsorship letters, so they should not have to spend any of their own money to sign up for fair, and hopefully they will earn a lot of money at the auctions. If you don't want to do the sponsorship letters, you are more than welcome to just pay the fees outright as well. It costs $10 to participate in the fair (that covers the exhibitor pass for the week). Then it is $5 per project/per event. If you are showing an animal, the cost will be at least $10 because there will be a $5 fee for the animal and then a $5 fee for Showmanship. Everyone who enters an animal must also compete in Showmanship. There is also a $15 online class every year that each child must take to show an animal and get a certificate--Quality Care of Animals Certificate. 

Fair week:

You can either drive back and forth to the fair every day or you can choose to camp there. (We will most likely be camping).  As the fair approaches, I will have more information on the prices for camping, etc. 

While there are other projects the kids can participate in, we will be sponsoring three projects at our farm: Dairy Goat, Chicken, Welding. If you are interested in other projects, let me know and I will help you out getting set up (we have shown in most of the projects, so we have experience or know how to find someone who has experience). 

Here is the information for each of the projects we will be doing:

Dairy Goat

If you have a registered Dairy Goat and want help with this project, let me know and I will happily help you (for free). If you do not own your own Dairy Goat, we will be leasing out up to 9 of our goats for use at the fair. What that means for you:

You will sign a lease agreement.

You MUST care for your goat twice a day, every day at the Pinal County Fair in Casa Grande--March 12-17th, 2024. You must participate in setting up pens at the fair the Saturday before the fair opens, March 10, 2024. You must show the goat at the fair on March 15, 2024. The auction is March 16, 2024--this is optional but encouraged.

Before the Fair, you will participate in a weekly class on Fridays. You will learn what care for a Dairy Goat looks like in general, how to trim a goat's hooves, prepare a goat for showing, how to walk a goat, anatomy of a Dairy Goat, see the ultrasound of your goat to see how many kids she will have, ideally visit the farm on a non-Friday and assist with one milking morning, and, if possible, be at the birth of your dairy goat's kids in January/February. 

Cost for leasing a Dairy Goat will be $150. This will cover the cost of buying the kid that you will sell in auction. (If the goat kid does get returned to you after the auction, the kid can return to our farm, but the $150 lease fee will not be returned.)

If this is something you want to participate in, please contact me as soon as possible to make sure we have a Dairy Goat available for your child. Space is limited!

Poultry

We will NOT be leasing out chickens, however, my daughter, Ariana, will breed a chicken for you to show. You will keep this chicken at your home. If your HOA has a problem with you keeping chickens, you should have no problem keeping the chicken in your home in a rabbit cage or dog kennel, like any other small animal pet. Cost of the chicken will be $25. You may either keep your chicken at the end of the project or sell it at the auction. If it is returned to you, you are responsible for either keeping the chicken or re-selling it after the fair--we will not be taking back chickens. (Please Note: you can only auction one animal, so if you do both Dairy Goat and Poultry, you will have to choose which you will auction)

Every Friday, Ariana will work with you on how to show a chicken, what it takes to care for a chicken, teach chicken anatomy, teach about various illnesses and diseases, and coach you on your breed for the judge's questions. 

If you enter the Poultry project, you will also be required to care for your chicken twice a day, every day at the Pinal County Fair in Casa Grande--March 11-17th, 2024. The show date for the Poultry project is March 13, 2024, and the auction is March 16th.

If this is something you want to participate in, please contact me as soon as possible to make sure we can hatch your chick on time. We would prefer the chickens to be as close to 6 months old as possible by Fair time.

Welding

We have a family friend who is certified in most types of welding and has agreed to teach a welding class. He is exceptionally good with children. Each week, there will a basic group instruction. Two kids will be able to weld at one time. Each child will be allowed to weld for 30 minutes each week. Cost will be $10 per lesson.  The goal is to get each child at least 5 projects to turn in at the fair for the silent auction. (You do not have to participate in the fair to take the Welding Class, however it is highly recommended).  The silent auction projects will need to be turned in at the fair on March 11, 2024. You do not have to attend the fair daily for this project. This will be a week-by-week sign-in project... first come, first served. If there are open spaces, kids outside of Pinal County will have the opportunity to sign-up. 

Please Note: I was asked about ESA funds. I believe that the Welding class could be covered with ESA funds, and he would be willing to give a copy of his certification for that purpose. I am not sure about the Dairy Goat and the Poultry because the class itself is free, just the animals require leasing/purchasing--but they should be able to make that money back in auction. Often parents "donate" the money for the animal project the first year and then the kids roll that into funding the next year's project. 




If you are interested in participating, and have further questions, feel free to give me a call or text: 480-466-9083. (Tara Davis)