A group of 15 young agriculturalists are in West Allis this week for the start of the Wisconsin State Fair.
One of those presenters is 20-year-old Lauren Siemer from Newton.
She told us that cattle showing has been a part of her life basically since birth.
“My family has been showing dairy cattle since before I was born, and my dad has been chaperoning the Manitowoc group for Junior State Fair since my oldest cousin was old enough to show,” she explained. “So really I have been doing this since I was born.”
And now, she is in her last year of eligibility.
“My dad and I decided to come back for one more year,” Lauren said. “This is year number 17 for him and year number 8 for me.”
Since she has so much experience showing cattle, Lauren told us she tries to help out the less experienced participants.
“We’ve got two kids this year who have come to our farm twice a week every week to work with their calves,” she revealed. “That’s just a great way for us to give back and give everybody the opportunity to show.”
Siemer, whose parents own Siemer’s Holsteins in Newton, just finished her sophomore year of college but enjoys coming back to help on the family farm and showing cattle at the fair.
“I hope to go into agriculture sales and marketing,” she said. “Currently I’m a Marketing Major, minoring in Broadcast Journalism. I would love to help farmers make more business decisions, help them with purchasing the products they need to take care of their cattle better, as well as start some marketing campaigns for new dairy industry technology.”
Lauren encouraged anyone going to either the State Fair or the Manitowoc County Fair later this month to “ask the exhibitor and questions you have. We love talking to the public. We love sharing about what we do.”
