As you read this I will be standing in the middle of a show ring at a state fair, somewhere in the Midwest, snapping photos of the Holstein summer yearling class.

Or maybe I will be tucked away in a motel room, eating pizza, while sorting through hundreds of photos taken that day. Or I could be walking through a barn filled with show strings, marveling at the lengths we go to exhibit cattle.

Walk through any dairy barn at any county or state fair and you will find a home away from home. Tents covering up temporary apartments that house the family and their work crew are the norm. Those tents contain cots, air mattresses, a portable stovetop, coffee makers, griddles, dressers and a cooler or two.

Once, Crock-Pots were the new staple in keeping a show crew fed; now, full-size refrigerators are becoming mainstream must-haves. And if you think a child’s wagon is for children, think again – those are now what the official show string cook uses to transport her dirty dishes to the wash rack for easy clean-up after she’s cooked a full-scale meal for a crew of at least 10 people.

I’ve heard the story several times about two elderly sisters from Minnesota who used to move in to World Dairy Expo, back in the day, with their show string and make their beds on the straw and cover up with newspaper. Today you will see mattresses, futons and the occasional hammock set up for a peaceful night’s sleep.

Last week I saw makeshift bunk beds in one of the tents. And I am always amused when I pass through the sleeping quarters in the corner of the Milking Shorthorn barn at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky., where no fewer than a dozen cots and air mattresses are set up for slumbering. It’s like summer camp on steroids.

Is it any wonder a cow show is a coveted event for any farm kid? Sleeping in a tent, eating Pop Tarts for breakfast, hanging with best friends, winning the corn hole tournament all while preparing to enter the ring with the hope of getting the nod for first place and experiencing the butterflies of adrenaline that rush through your body.

There is no other experience in the world that compares to a cow show or that lingers in our soul longer, to provide cherished memories for a lifetime.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.