4-H families are just that. Families. Preparing, delivering and caring for 18 large animals at a county fair has to be a family affair. Just ask the Rhyme family of West Salem.

The Rhymes are an example of the dozens of families getting ready for this year’s La Crosse County Interstate Fair. “Some of (the 4-H youths) prepare for the fair throughout the year,” said Steve Huntzicker, UW-Extension agent. “They take them to other shows, and spend time working on leading and following.”

Brother and sister Devin, 13, and Brittany, 18, were busy recently clipping swine in preparation for the fair. Both are members of the Brookside 4-H club that meets monthly at the Hamilton Town Hall. As the pigs screeched under the buzz of Brittany’s clipper, often trying to jump out of the pen, dad Karl and Devin did their best to contain them.

“The last two weeks before the fair can be kind of hectic,” Brittany said. Clipping pigs, giving them a requisite hair cut, is the hardest part of the swine preparation. It takes about 45 minutes to a half hour to clip a pig.

Walking them every morning to prepare them for the show ring, Devin and Brittany say, is just part of the job. “I like it, that’s why I keep doing it,” she said. Between them, the two will show seven swine, two beef cows and nine dairy cows at this year’s fair.

Halter-breaking steers is the most difficult and therefore her least favorite part of showing beef, Brittany said. It can take a week or two to halter-break a steer. Devin is sticking to swine and dairy, at least partially because he was head-butted by a steer once. That’s made him a bit sheepish toward the 1,000 plus pound animals.

In the past each has exhibited a number of entries apart from livestock. Devin often chooses crops, and Brittany has done a fair-share of baking. Devin will spend some of his time at the fair working at the 4-H food stand. Preparing the animals has kept them busy this year, leaving little time for preparing other entries.

“It takes a lot of time get (the animals) ready,” Devin said.

Bringing the animals to West Salem for the fair is a chore itself. The family will bring the pigs and steers in one load Tuesday. Wednesday will involve one or two more loads of dairy cattle.

Take down after the fair is the same process in reverse, with the added labor of bringing home displays. At the fair, youths are responsible for making sure their animals are fed, watered and kept clean. Judges also rate them on keeping the animal pens and their stations neat and clean.

Karl estimated that Brittany and Devin spend between three and four hours each day tending to their animals in the month leading up to the fair. He said a lot of work goes into getting ready for the fair.

“We try to have fun too,” Karl said.