COLUMBUS, Ohio – Just hours before the 12-day Ohio State Fair ended, Donna Greiwe, 67, of Sidney, Ohio, began the long task of disassembling items in her stall at the cattle barn, loading several of her Ayrshire cattle into her long transporting van.

Greiwe was preparing for the 83-mile trip back to her farm in Shelby County. Attending and showing cattle at the Ohio State Fair is a routine Greiwe has done many times – 60 times to be exact.

“I began showing Jerseys at the Ohio State Fair in 1965. I was just an eighth grader at the time,” Greiwe said. “I met my husband at the Ohio State Fair when we both were in high school. I had Jerseys and he showed Ayrshires. Three years later we got married. He joined the U.S. Navy and I remained on the farm, raising the animals and tending to the farm until he returned home.”

Greiwe and her husband purchased Mill Valley Farms in 1972. Located just three miles east of Sidney, this 130-acre farm produces corn, soybeans, wheat and hay. And of course, the cattle.

“I actually started showing cattle at county fairs when I was just 4 years old,” Greiwe said. “That was 71 years ago.”

Greiwe has a passion for dairy cattle of all breeds, but now focuses on Ayrshires. In the past she served as president of the Ohio Jersey Board, something she’s proud to discuss.

The highlight of each year, she said, is showing her cattle at the state fair. She confessed she is as excited to show her cattle today as she did 60 years ago and hopes to pass the fun of showing cattle to those in her family.

“I’m the fourth generation to show, and I have kids, grandkids and four great-grandkids helping, so there will be a seventh generation hopefully,” Greiwe said.

Many her age give thoughts to retirement or at least slowing down. Not Greiwe. The smile on her face and the enthusiasm in her voice let you know there’s no “quit” in this cattlewoman.

“I’ve never given thought to stop showing at the Shelby County Fair or the Ohio State Fair,” she admitted. “Raising cattle isn’t easy and the days are long, but I enjoy it. With dairy, you have to be dedicated 24/7.

“The toughest year has been this year after the passing of my husband this past May. We’ve always done this together. But the support of my family kicked in and my kids wanted me to continue. In addition, the people in these barns here at the fair are wonderful, so I can’t see myself stopping any time soon.”

Greiwe and her husband had as many as 55 head of Ayrshires in 2022. Nowadays, she tends to 20 to 25 at any given time.

She reflected on the differences she’s seen at the fairgrounds since her first visit.

“The Ohio State Fair has changed quite a bit over all those years,” Greiwe said. “There was the fire that destroyed the cattle barn in 1972, and I’ve witnessed the erection of several new buildings on the fairgrounds, but when you talk about the fair it’s all about the people. It’s like a great big family reunion. Everyone knows everybody else in these barns, and you get to know everyone’s kids, and you see all of them grow up.”

Sharing space just a few stalls down in the same barn this year was the Elsass family of Wapakoneta, Ohio. At their Quiet Cove Farms, one will find roughly 400 Jerseys and Brown Swiss. The Elsass family also grows corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa hay on their 900-acre farm. The Elsass clan has been a familiar face in the cattle barn for over five decades.

“We’ve been showing Holsteins at the Ohio State Fair since 1972, so that’s a total of 53 years,” Jeremy Elsass said. “My parents, Lauren and Tanna, started it all.”

Despite the oftentimes hot, humid conditions and the task of transporting their animals to and from the fair, the fair is a “must-do” on their calendar each summer for this extended family.

“As you get older showing the animals gets a bit harder, but showing is still fun and being together here at the state fair is always fun,” Jeremy said. “If you’re successful at showing it’s fun and it’s good for the farm family name and the marketing that comes with it.”

Tana Elsass echoed that sentiment.

“We’ve shown our cattle for half a century now, but coming to the Ohio State Fair and showing never gets old,” Tana said. “We’re an established farm with several generations working it, trying to breed great cows.”

Greiwe and the Elsass family are just two of many who have exhibited for decades at the Ohio State Fair. For example, Jerry Frame, of Blue Rock, Ohio, exhibited sheep for 60 years while Gerald Harkness, of Erie County, showed draft horses for 72 years. Ralph Doak, of Clinton County, showed his swine for 50 years and Charles Cox, of Washington Court House, was involved with the fair for more than 60 years as a concessionaire. His forte was ice cream.

Fred Wilkes, of Pataskala, Ohio, exhibited his horses and dairy goats for 66 years. Ted Barhorst and his brother, George, of Fort Loramie, Ohio, showed draft horses for 60 years, while Donald and Joanne Tracey, of Holland, Ohio, served the fair as vendors for 60 years. Glen Carr, of Pickerington, Ohio, served as a barn director for more than 50 years.