Breed news
BreedsTriple T Angus Ranked Fourth in Angus Registrations for WV During 2026ShowsComer, Danielsville exhibitors earn top honors at Georgia National Fair cattle showHealthCould AI Help Detect Pinkeye in Cattle?HerdingStarted by a grandfather in 1937, this Florida ranch now covers 50,000 acres, feeds local communities and...BreedsKasaragod Kullan set to be Keralam’s third indigenous cattle varietyHerdingTexas Cattle Feeders Convention to focus on herd rebuilding and 2027 outlookHistoryAncient cattle love affairs: East Asian cattle genomes reveal Tang-Song dynasty mixing and wild bovine introgressionHealthState announces public comment period for proposed bovine tuberculosis testing areasShowsNortheast 4-H Livestock Show celebrates 91 years of traditionShowsAnnual Webster Parish 4-H Livestock Show set to begin next weekBreedsTriple T Angus Ranked Fourth in Angus Registrations for WV During 2026ShowsComer, Danielsville exhibitors earn top honors at Georgia National Fair cattle showHealthCould AI Help Detect Pinkeye in Cattle?HerdingStarted by a grandfather in 1937, this Florida ranch now covers 50,000 acres, feeds local communities and...BreedsKasaragod Kullan set to be Keralam’s third indigenous cattle varietyHerdingTexas Cattle Feeders Convention to focus on herd rebuilding and 2027 outlookHistoryAncient cattle love affairs: East Asian cattle genomes reveal Tang-Song dynasty mixing and wild bovine introgressionHealthState announces public comment period for proposed bovine tuberculosis testing areasShowsNortheast 4-H Livestock Show celebrates 91 years of traditionShowsAnnual Webster Parish 4-H Livestock Show set to begin next week
EveryCow

Next: about 12 to 22 Aug 2027

Iowa State Fair

The great Midwestern farm fair in Des Moines, famous for its life-sized cow sculpted in butter and its crowded cattle barn.

Main concourse of the 2006 Iowa State Fair.
Photo: Iowahwyman of English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cattle at Iowa State Fair

The Iowa State Fair has been held in Des Moines since 1886, in eleven days of August ending two weeks before Labor Day. Its cattle barn is one of the busiest places on the grounds, with beef and dairy breeds, open and youth classes, and a champion steer auction. Since 1911 the fair has displayed a butter cow: a life-sized cow sculpted from about 270 kilograms of butter on a wire and wood frame, kept in a cooled glass case in the agriculture building. The fair also has milking demonstrations, a contest for the heaviest bull, and long rows of food stands.

The breeds

Holstein FriesianThe black and white dairy cow of the Midwestern barn.JerseyA small dairy breed shown in strong classes.Brown SwissA dairy breed with a loyal following in Iowa.American AngusThe leading beef breed of the Iowa feedlots and shows.
About this page

Written by the EveryCow desk with AI assistance. Background: "Iowa State Fair" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven cattle breeds you may not know, the cattle days of the week ahead, and one product explained step by step.