Conrad, Big Shot, and the Irish Cowboy
No, that’s not the punchline to one of Johnny Carson’s Carnac routines…although it would have made a good one.
Those are the names of the “big” winners at day one of the Iowa State Fair yesterday.
Conrad won the Super Bull contest, weighing in at 3,040 pounds…that’s one and a half tons. The Angus bull was owned by D&D Angus of Danville. Conrad bested his nearest rival by 152 pounds.
Big Shot is the Suffolk ram shown by Fisher Farms of Mercer, Missouri, who weighed in at 418 pounds to claim the Big Ram Contest title. Now I have to tell you, in my world, it’s the *Iowa* State Fair, so even though Mercer is close, it’s still Missouri. I’ll also therefore recognize Spark Plug, a Southdown from Werner’s Hilltop Farm of Grinnell, who was reserve champion, only 27.5 pounds behind.
And as for the Big Boar winner, it’s the Irish Cowboy, a 5.5 year old crossbred shown by Bryan and Tricia Britt of Monticello, tipping the scales at 1,288 pounds…edging out his closest competitor by 30 pounds.
That’s an awful lot of prime livestock, and amazing when you not only consider what the average is these days…but what the average was not all that long ago.
Iowa feeds the world, in so many ways. And the Iowa State Fair is a wonderful reminder to all that food doesn’t come from the grocery store. If you’re attending the single largest event in our state this year…have fun, and be safe.
And don’t get in the way of Conrad, Big Shot, or the Irish Cowboy.
