Poway FFA, 4-H members selling animals Saturday in Ramona

Packing the Ramona junior fairgrounds this week are 4-H and Future Farmers of America youngsters with their animals, projects, families and supporters as the 44th Annual Ramona Junior Fair kicks into full gear.

The fair started Saturday, July 25, and concludes with the livestock auction this Saturday at 1 p.m. at the fairgrounds at 431 Aqua Lane. Going to auction on Saturday are swine, rabbits, goats, chickens, sheep, veal, turkey, dairy cattle and beef. Bidders will be treated to dinner midway through the auction.

Admission and parking are free.

Youngsters from throughout the region, including Poway, have been reaching out to families, friends and businesses in hopes of receiving high bids for their auction entries.

Kaylin vanTol of Ramona is the 4-H representative on the junior fair board, and Sarah Robertson of Poway FFA is the FFA representative.

This year’s fair showcases 239 exhibitors. The fair administrator is Mary Martineau, a former Ramona 4-Her and Julian FFA member who for the past seven years has taught agriculture at Poway High School.

Under her tutelage, the agriculture program at Poway High has grown “by leaps and bounds,” said Robby Storton, president of the Ramona Junior Fair Board. Of the 185 students in Martineau’s classes, 65 are active FFA members, and 20 are participating in the Ramona Junior Fair.

“Her kids did well at Del Mar (San Diego County Fair), and they’ll do well here,” said Storton. “The Poway community would do well to come up to the auction and support her and their kids.”

“We work really hard on these projects through the year,” said Robertson. “...The more people who come to watch, the more rewarding and exciting it is, and they can see what we’ve been doing.”

For a complete schedule of the week’s events and more information about the junior fair, see ramonajuniorfair.com.