A Prize and a Price

In the basement of a barn

Chris Rerko shows off lambs to the Kamp family as they pick up Fresco, Sanchez and Chili from the Rerkos' Rostraver farm.

Stalling until dinner

Mikaela, Fresco, and Sanchez mill around in their pen as Mikaela prepares to feed the two. Keeping two lambs together helps them grow better because they keep each other calm and compete with each other for their food. They will eventually need to be separated at feeding time because one of the lambs typically becomes too dominant and crowds out the other.

Fresco holds water

Mikaela blow-dries Fresco after washing him. Fresco's wool coat, like a sweater, retains a lot of moisture after getting wet, so sheep farmers use industrial blowers specifically built for drying livestock.

Getting a baaaazz cut

Chris Rerko goes in to shear the top of Fresco's head on November 1. Rerko, as Mikaela's 4-H Lamb Club leader and breeder, is more experienced with shearing and takes the lead on shearing the more sensitive areas on Fresco and Sanchez until Mikaela gets more experience.

Wrangling for a photo

Mikaela sets up Fresco after he is shorn so that Chris can take a photo of him and Mikaela.

Gnawing on eighth

Travis Stufflet, 10, lets his goat King Tut nibble on their 8th-place ribbon as they stand in the ring after being judged. Because only the winner and a few runners-up go to auction later in the week, Travis will have to give up King Tut immediately after leaving the arena to be sold at the market rate for goat meat.

Awaiting judgment

Mikaela and her friend Hunter Clay prep their lambs and practice their stance in the arena early on the morning of the judging. In several hours, the arena would fill and hundreds of lambs would file in, be judged, and advance either to auction later in the week or to immediate sale.