Babies take center stage

NEW PRAGUE, Minn. — Months before gates open, Ken Glisczinski, his wife, Linda, and their daughter, Sara Ruehling, are already preparing for one of the Scott County Fair’s most popular attractions: the miracle of birth center.

The Scott County Fair’s Miracle of Birth Center was founded in 2013 by Ken. Ken dairy farms with Linda near New Prague, where they raised Sara and her siblings, Scott and Elizabeth. The Glisczinskis milk 180 cows in a step-up parlor and farm 460 acres of rented and owned land.

“I wanted to start (the miracle of birth center) because more people need to be in touch with agriculture,” Ken said. “There was a decline in animals at the fair, and I wanted the fair to still be in tune with agriculture.”

The Scott County Fair’s Miracle of Birth Center features dairy cattle, gilts, chicks, and when available, sheep and goats.

For Sara, one of the most rewarding aspects of the event is helping bridge the gap between consumers and agriculture.

“(The public is) generations removed from the farm now,” she said. “There are kids who think milk simply comes from the grocery store. If we can give one person a better understanding of agriculture, we have made an impact.”

Visitors to the exhibit can watch animals give birth, pet newborn calves, milk a fiberglass cow made by Ken, and ask volunteers questions.

“The volunteers are meant to interact with the public,” Sara said. “Getting individuals that have experience with agriculture is great when visitors ask those weird questions.”

Television screens are also located throughout the exhibit, livestreaming each birthing area, allowing visitors to watch deliveries up close even when crowds gather around livestock in labor.

Putting the exhibit together is a year-round effort that involves careful planning, coordination with local farmers and hours of preparation. While visitors only see the 5–day exhibit, the work begins months in advance.

“There are nine months of preparations,” Sara said. “We only have three months from after the fair to when we need to start breeding again.”

To prepare for the event, breeding schedules are mapped out, gilts are synchronized, volunteers are recruited and a list of cows expected to calve during fair week is carefully monitored. By the time visitors arrive, years of experience and months of planning come together to give hundreds of fairgoers a firsthand look at the miracle of life.

Many of the dairy cattle for the exhibit come from the Glisczinski farm as well from another neighboring dairy. The Glisczinskis work with local farmers to ensure they cover a wide variety of species.

As the exhibit has grown, so has the need for pens. Ken has taken a step into making all those as well as getting help from others in the industry. He worked alongside local pork producers to build farrowing crates.

Because biosecurity is a concern for swine producers, the Glisczinskis have also taken on the role of breeding and raising their own gilts specifically for the exhibit.

What began as a simple idea from a local dairy farmer in hopes of educating the public, has grown into one of the fair’s biggest attractions, drawing visitors from hours away to experience agriculture up close.

The first year of the Scott County Fair’s Miracle of Birth Center proved unforgettable Ken said. The first cow to calve at the exhibit delivered twins in a breech birth. The challenge created an emotional scene as hundreds of spectators watched a veterinarian and local dairy farmers work together to safely deliver the calves.

“There had to be at least 500 people standing around,” Ken said. “When those calves started breathing, everyone started clapping. It felt like you were in the grandstand.”

As rewarding as those moments are, the Glisczinski family helps run the Scott County Fair’s Miracle of Birth Center as a way of giving back.

“It’s about sharing the experience,” Ken said. “A lot of people haven’t seen where their food comes from or how farm animals are cared for. We wanted to change that.”