And a few spend their time feeding and grooming 1,000-pound animals.

The nondescript barns that house 4-H students’ projects at the Cambria County Fair might not have the curb appeal of a spinning ride or a demolition derby. But without the children and young adults who raise animals, work on crafts and practice archery — all in the first days of a busy school year — there wouldn’t be a fair at all.

“I’ve got to take the whole week off school,” said Madison Nihart, 14, a Central Cambria High School freshman who has shown livestock in several categories. “Friday I’ll do my homework. And I have tons and tons of homework.”

Nihart has been in 4-H for six years at Central Cambria, where it’s not unusual for students to take time off for the county fair. While the number of farmers nationwide has long been in decline, in rural and agricultural areas it can be common for students to juggle schoolwork and long stretches of fair preparation.

Mirror photo by Gary M. Baranec / (From left) Natalia Teno of South Fork, Rebecca Williamson of Johnstown and Ashley Pauley of Summerhill prepare to tend to cows for competition Monday at the Cambria County Fair.

Every 4-H student gets out what he or she puts in, said Shelly Craft, 4-H Extension associate at the fair.

The time required varies among animals and projects, but every child and teenager puts work into the fair.

Some raise rabbits and ducks in garages and small homes, Craft said; others spend more than a year raising steer on sprawling farms. Some ride horses or don’t work with animals at all, preferring archery or visual projects.

“Dairy kids — most of them raise the animals and they keep them. That’s a full-time commitment,” she said. “We’ve got kids that are doing multiple projects. They might be doing beef and swine and goats and lambs.”

More than 300 4-H kids attended the fair this year from 16 different clubs, Craft said.

Mirror photo by Gary M. Baranec / Blake Ellenberger pets one of the cows in the dairy barn Monday at the Cambria County Fair.

They range in age from 8 to 18, with even younger children starting in the Cloverbuds program.

The students’ work was obvious Monday afternoon. Animals with name plates and ribbons stayed cool in barns while guests observed and children kept an eye on their projects.

In the rabbit barn, the furry creatures — with names like Oreo, Nibbles and Thunder — snacked lazily in cages.

“It teaches us how to work under pressure,” 17-year-old Alexis McMullen said. Wearing the tiara and sash of the Cambria County Dairy Princess, McMullen, a senior at Cambria County Christian School, stood among several fellow students near a row of rather bored-looking cows.

“We go to class, we all play sports,” McMullen said. “Doing this, it really teaches us time management.”

Not every 4-H student lives or works on a farm: Several of the girls in the dairy barn keep their animals at Vale Wood Farms in Loretto, caring for them between classes and extracurricular work.

The students seek awards, and in many cases some cash for their future plans when their animals are auctioned off. There’s a sense of competition, but it doesn’t overcome the bonds that form as the years go by, Nihart of Central Cambria said.

“I’m friends with all my competitors,” she said. “And we stay friends.”

Mirror Staff Writer Ryan Brown is at 946-7457.