Community Corner
Oakdale at the Fair: Dairy Cattle on Display
Taking care of the cows at the Minnesota State Fair is a round-the-clock job.
The Erf family, who live on what is the last working farm in Oakdale, started taking their dairy cattle to the Minnesota State Fair in 1977. The family has been out this week tending to this year’s batch of cows. Oakdale Patch editor Patty Busse talked with Kathy Erf about their experience at the fair and their farming operation.
Oakdale Patch: What kind of a farm do you operate?
Kathy Erf: We raise replacement heifers for dairy farms.
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Oakdale Patch: Why do you enter your cows in the fair?
Erf: It’s mainly a family tradition. My grandfather showed in the state fair back in the ‘40s. It’s just something our family’s always done.
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Oakdale Patch: How many animals are you showing this year?
Erf: We entered nine this year, and it’s generally around 10 every year.
Oakdale Patch: What is the fair experience like?
Erf: We’re down there 24 hours a day. As the kids have gotten older, the whole family stays down there. They stay overnight at the fair in the dormitory there. We’re there all the time during open class, so that’s the middle four days of the fair.
Oakdale Patch: What fills your days while you’re at the fair?
Erf: Just taking care of the animals is really a full-time job. You’ve got to make sure they have water and feed all day long and constantly keep them clean and ready for competition. The judging takes place while we’re there. We take them out in the coliseum and parade them around, so we know right away how well we’ve done. The goal is to be near the top so we can go onto the next level.
Oakdale Patch: What’s the next level after the state fair?
Erf: Generally the top placing animals go onto the World Dairy Expo in Madison. There're a couple big national shows after the fair.
Oakdale Patch: Will you return to the state fair next year?
Erf: Oh yes. We’ve done it for 30-some years here, and I want to keep that tradition going.
Oakdale Patch: What are your favorite things to do at the fair?
Erf: Between 4-H and open class, we’re there about nine days, and people say, “Did you see this? Did you see that?” We never leave the barn and we’re perfectly content that way. It’s really a gathering of old friends that we’ve met through the years. It’s the people that make the state fair and the state fair just gives us an opportunity to get together. The “Great Minnesota Get-Together” is a true thing.