Editor’s note: This is the fifth in the series “State Fair Stories,” where we visited with youth exhibitors at the Missouri State Fair from Aug. 11 to 21 about their projects and experiences. Look for two more stories this week.

Visitors peer through a glass window as Nicole South removes the milking unit from the udder of an Ayrshire dairy cow, as Layla Giorgianni stands outside with the crowd explaining the milking process. It is a scene that plays out twice a day for the 11 days of the Missouri State Fair.

While the two are not exhibitors in the show ring, they can be found in the barn, caring for the dairy cows that are part of milking demonstrations at the Gerken Dairy Center.

South and Giorgianni are students at the College of the Ozarks, where they work at the dairy farm and were chosen to attend the state fair.

Road to agriculture

South does not come from a traditional farm background. “We lived in the country and did country-ish things, but not farming,” she says of her time in Pleasant Hill, Mo. In high school, she took her first agricultural education class and became an FFA member. Today, she is working toward a degree in agriculture education.

For South, working in the dairy barn is for her future students. “I want to be the best teacher possible for them,” she explains. “I want to be the ag teacher who actually worked cows and had other ag experiences to share. I want to create more lessons in my classroom from those experiences. And I’ve kind of fallen in love with the dairy industry.”

Giorgianni found her passion for animals at 13. “I got my first animal for my birthday,” she says. “It was a pig.” Since then, she’s shown chickens, rabbits and dairy goats.

While at Ava High School, Giorgianni was involved in FFA all four years. “I took part in everything I could,” she says. “It is such a great organization.”

Her gifts led her to pursue a degree in math education at the College of the Ozarks, but her love of animals led her to its dairy farm.

“We have to interview to work there,” Giorgianni notes. “We work as a team at the farm as well.”

Lessons from dairy

This is the fifth year the College of the Ozarks is hosting the dairy milking demonstrations, providing Ayrshire and Jersey dairy cows for the Missouri State Fair.

“We like to bring different breeds because too often people just think of the black and white Holsteins,” South explains. “This shows them that there are many different breeds of dairy cows that can be used to provide milk for different products.”

It is only fitting that as future educators, the best part of their state fair experience is answering questions. “The kids are so excited,” South says. “They ask tons of questions.”

Giorgianni adds that both kids and parents have a desire to learn more about animals and agriculture. “We both like teaching and watching those lightbulbs go off and hearing the questions,” she says. “I love that part.”

Create a better future

The two will return to the College of the Ozarks, a Christian college near Point Lookout. Giorgianni will enter her sophomore year, while South starts her junior year. Both girls say the college offers a great education and a chance to grow in their faith.

“For myself,” Giorgianni says, “I feel like a large part of who you are is from the people who you are around. I wanted to be around Christian people and people who want to work hard, who can push themselves to realize they want to make the world better.”

South and Giorgianni are doing their part by sharing their passion for the dairy industry with Missouri State Fair visitors. “Agriculture is so important to the future,” South adds. “It is fun to see people get excited about it.”