It’s an Indiana State Fair tradition that’s been ongoing for nine decades. A Tippecanoe County farmer has been showing his prize-winning Hereford cattle at the State Fair going back to the 1940’s.
“It’s awesome, I think. Nobody else may think it is, but I think it’s awesome,” says Ted Hunt from Battle Ground, Indiana—using a little self-depreciating humor when thinking about the many generations of Hereford cattle he’s shown at the Indiana State Fair.
As a young boy in 1953, Ted won Grand Champion 4-H Steer at the State Fair with his Hereford calf named “Walter”.
“When he won the whole deal, there were not the number of breeds we have today. There were primarily Shorthorns, Herefords and Angus,” according to Ted. “Now, if you’re going in and watching this junior show come on, it’ll be mostly black-hided cattle and they have a lot of different breeds.”
Ted’s connection with showing cattle at the Indiana State Fair goes back 75 years.
“I first showed here in 1948, and I had a steer that had previously won our County Fair. I brought him down here and he was mediocre, but we had a good time,” Ted says.
Those good times showing cattle have continued as he’s been bringing his Herefords to the Indiana State Fair nearly every year since. In fact, the calf that he’s showing this year is the 13th continuous generation of Herefords bred and raised on his farm.
“It was the 1950s when we bought the first animal that started that line,” says Ted. “From then on, they were all cattle that we had the bulls and cows and raised the calves—so they were bred and owned. I don’t know where there is anybody else who has done that and they have 13 generations. It’s a fluke. There are a lot of things that had to fall in place—including the cows not dying and having heifer calves—in order to get that line.”
Ted’s brother Bud also showed cattle for many years at the Indiana State Fair. Even though Bud passed away at the age of 49, Ted continues to honor his brother’s memory through Hunt Brothers Herefords.
Ted says a lot has changed over the years showing cattle—and he says the process has become a lot less itchy.
“In the early 1950’s, there was no bark. Everything was bedded with straw,” according to Ted. “For about two or three years, there was a straw mite infestation. People come down here to the cattle barn and they’d be chewed up by straw mites coming out of the straw. I remember that because we also, as a family, got chewed up.”
Ted says he’ll be celebrating his 84th birthday this fall. How many more years does Ted plan on bringing his Hereford cattle to the State Fair?
“Every year I say this is going to be the last one,” Ted says. “My joints are killing me—and there is a tremendous amount of work that goes into these cattle, so this year may be it.”
For more about Ted Hunt and Hunt Brothers Herefords, visit HuntBrosHerefords.com.
Click below to hear C.J. Miller’s radio news report for Hoosier Ag Today.
