Cows are lowing, pigs are oinking and sheep are bleating in the 4-H barns at the BCNE.
Visitors can see these and many other farm animals at their finest during the traditional farming competition that showcases the animals and the owners who humanely care for them.
Lexi Purdue, 16, entered a market swine and a sheep named Minnie into the 4-H competition this year and won second place in two categories for her efforts.
She took a trophy and ribbon for her sheep project as reserve champion for showmanship and reserve champion in yearling youth, said proud mom, Jeanie DeGrande.
Purdue has been involved in 4-H for seven years.
"This is my second year with sheep," said Purdue, who did horse 4-H in previous years, and a goat last year.
Working on two projects this year was no problem for Purdue.
"It makes each week more fun," said Purdue. "You have more than one project and then more than one show and you get to hang out with more than one kind of animal and get to answer questions about each one."
This year's sheep project was different from the market swine project.
"So this lamb is my breeding project so she's not a market animal," said Purdue, who lives on a farm south of Prince George.
"She's my lamb from last year. I raised her and showed her last year at the fair in 2015 and kept her and showed her as a yearling this year. Then you go on to breed them and show them next year as ewe with lamb at foot."
Purdue liked the idea of the multiyear project and that's why she chose sheep.
In the future she will return to the 4-H horse program, showing her animals until she is 21, which is the 4-H age limit for participation, she added.
"I love my horses and I love doing that and I love all my animals but I enjoy showing my horses more," said Purdue. "I'm a horse person - I grew up with them."
The swine project starts with a six- to eight-week piglet early in the same year that the animal is shown at the fair. The swine are shown and buyers bid on the swine they would like either as a pet or, as they say in 4-H, from farm to fork.
"My swine weighs 265 pounds right now," said Purdue, whose pig, along with everyone else's, was shown on Wednesday at the fair grounds with the auction taking place today.
Once all the animals are sold and designated for market a local butcher will pick them up on Sunday and then those who bid highest at auction will pick up their swine butchered, wrapped and ready to go into the freezer, explained Purdue.
The four H's stand for head, heart, hands and health.
"The animals are well-loved and are treated well and are humanely raised," said DeGrande. "They have good homes and yes, they are somebody's pet for the year and there are some real benefits to being in 4-H. They do community service, they do public speaking and those doing animal projects are required to keep a log all about the animal including what things cost and how much they eat and when they are vaccinated. The show is just an accumulation of all their hard work and it's just really a great program."
