Winter doesn't keep the Kasanicky children from taking good care of their pigs on their farm in Gilpin. Sarah, 18, and her younger siblings, Katie, 14, and identical twin brothers, Matthew and Michael, 10, the children of Joe and Debbie Kasanicky, know farming is year round -- even if the path to the pig pen is buried under snow. "We enjoy working in winter as much as summer," Sarah Kasanicky said. "You're out there when it's snowing as hard as it can be and really cold and it doesn't matter. You're out there taking care of them." Sarah's mom, Debbie, said it's harder and more work to get ready for a winter farm show. "The snow is on the ground, it's cold, and they have to walk, bathe and groom them even more than usual," Debbie said. The hardest part for the kids is making time for basketball and cheerleading. "You make time. You learn how to prioritize," Sarah said. "That's what you learn in 4-H." The Kasanickys are members of the Dayton 4-H Club. They are among more than a dozen 4-Hers from the Armstrong County area who are at the Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg this week to show off their animals at the 92nd annual Pennsylvania Farm Show. According to organizers, the Pennsylvania Farm Show is the largest indoor agricultural event in the nation, featuring about 8,000 animals, 10,000 competitive exhibits and 270 commercial exhibitors. More than 400,000 people will visit the eight-day event which goes on through Saturday, including hundreds from Armstrong County. There is an agriculture exhibit, event or competition to interest any and all visitors, promoters say. The state's youth take center stage in exhibiting their dairy and livestock animals and participating in contests and educational displays. Exhibitors can hope to win some of the more than $465,000 in prize money. The Kasanicky family, along with other members of the Dayton 4-H Club, brought back plenty of awards to the county. Sarah Kasanicky won first in the lightweight division for purebred Yorkshire swine and was the grand champion, first overall, in the Yorkshire division. She won market swine grand champion honors as well. Katie Kasanicky won first place in the crossbred swine division. Matthew Kasanicky won the grand champion ribbon for lightweight division crossbred swine. Michael Kasanicky won first prize in the heavyweight division for crossbred swine. Kelsey Burkett, of Punsutawney, was champion of the purebred Hampshire swine division and her sister, Kayla, was second in the lightweight division crossbred swine. Molly Hill, of Cowanshannock, won third place for her lamb, third for her pig and a master showman award. Her brother, Ben, won first in lightweight division lambs. "These are some of the finest kids we have in our program," said Suzanne Ault Boarts, Penn State Cooperative Extension director and 4-H youth coordinator. "They're eager to take that next step up from the county fair." "It's an education," Boarts said. "They meet and learn from other kids. It's an unbelievable experience." Another aspect of Armstrong County present at this year's Pennsylvania Farm Show is the fair's queen. Dayton Fair Queen Faith Houston, 18, of Templeton, is the state fair queen. "We're excited that the county has the queen this year. That's never happened before," Boarts said. "She's just such a great kid."

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