Early Tuesday, with the Colorado State Fair not due to open for hours, much of the Pueblo fairground resembled a ghost town.

The rides were still and silent, the food booths empty, the games shuttered.

That is, until you approached the agriculture area.

This portion of the fairground teemed with life as youngsters walked around with show hogs, training them in the proper way to hold their heads when they walked. From their pens, cows mooed, goats bleated and chickens squawked.

Tuesday morning belonged to the animals, and to the kids and teens who raised and showed them in preparation for the afternoon’s Junior Livestock Auction.

The atmosphere was more festive than one might expect from a gathering of young people preparing to part with animals they raised from near-infancy. But for 4-H and Future Farmers of America kids who spent the past few weeks hawking their wares at county fairs, the State Fair is the agricultural equivalent of the big leagues.

“Because these kids grow up on farms and ranches, they don’t get as many opportunities in sports and other areas as other kids do,” said Chris Young of the El Paso County-based Pikes Peak Posse buyers’ group. “This is their chance.”

The agricultural lifestyle is not for everyone, several kids and teenagers told The Gazette. It’s not uncommon for young farmers and ranchers to wake up at 5:30 a.m., put in a 12-hour workday, collapse in bed at 9:30 p.m., and do it again the next day. And the next.

“It’s a lot of work, and it’s year-round,” said Maddie White, 11. “(The State Fair) is our vacation.”

The potential reward, for kids with the right combination of hard work, preparation, and good fortune, is thousands of dollars — enough to help fund their future education. But of the 105 animals set to be auctioned Tuesday, only a handful would bring in big paydays. For the rest of the kids, the rewards are less tangible than money, but longer lasting.

“It gives kids a sense of purpose,” said B.J. Wangurow, whose daughter, Summer, was auctioning a steer.

“They learn responsibility and commitment, especially with cattle, because it’s a yearlong process. You have to raise something. You have to nurture it, and tend to it, and at the end is your reward. You get to bring it to the state fair and show everyone the time and work you put into it.”

Farm kids also tend to disdain typical teen pursuits like social media, Wangurow said.

“TikTok?” Maddie White said, with no small measure of scorn. “Who’s got time for TikTok?”

Raising a food animal can be a fraught process, especially for a young person. A calf or pig is often purchased when they are weeks old, and they require months of constant nurturing. It’s hard not to develop attachments along the way.

“I’ve been doing this for eight years, and every time I sell an animal, I cry,” said Summer Wangurow, 18.

“It’s for a good cause — you’re providing for others and your family — but letting them go is hard. For a while, they’re your best friend; you can tell them anything, and they won’t tell anyone.”

For Isabel and Elena Shaw, who were selling show hogs, parting with the animals is difficult because, not unlike dogs, pigs often exhibit personality traits.

Mac, the Shaws’ 260-pound hog, is an escape artist who quickly learned how to open the gate to his pen. Turn your back on him, and he’ll slip out of the pen and take off.

“They’re funny, and they have different personalities,” said Isabel, 12. “They wag their tails when they’re happy.”

As if on cue, Mozzarella began wiggling her little tail. Mac, sensing an opportunity, nosed his pen open and tried to get away.

“He’s already done that twice today,” said Elena, 10.

Because they are well-steeped in the lifestyle that B.J. Wangurow calls “The Ag,” the kids have no illusions about the fate of the animals they’re raising and selling.

“We get attached, but we know that we’re selling them for a good cause,” Isabel said.

“We’re feeding the world,” Elena said.

“It’s pretty hard, but we know that (the animal’s) end goal is to feed people,” said Durae Naranjo, 16.

Ridge Kayser, whose Grand Champion hog would later net him $27,000, put it bluntly.

“That part of it sucks,” said Kayser, 18. “But we do this to fund our educations, and to support our families.”

The auction venue bubbled with anticipation as several buyers’ groups ate, drank and networked with one another. Many of the groups were easily identifiable by their “uniforms”: The Denver Rustlers, which celebrated its 40th anniversary, wore cowboy hats and decorative white shirts. The Pikes Peak Posse wore cowboy hats and blue button-down shirts. The Fair Ladies, a women’s collective celebrating their 10th year, mostly wore blouses, vests … and cowboy hats.

Young of the Pikes Peak Posse expressed admiration for the kids, saying many of them possessed qualities he looks for in prospective employees.

“These are the kind of kids we want to hire in our businesses one day,” he said. “We can teach a job to almost anybody. What we can’t teach is work ethic. That part that we need most — that work ethic — they’ve already got.”

One by one, the kids paraded their livestock around the show ring, with John Korrey, the auctioneer, working to ensure a fair price for every animal.

“Fair Ladies, where are ya?” Korrey said in his rapid-fire patter. “Pikes Peak Posse, I’m looking at you! Come on, show these kids some love!”

In total, the auction brought in more than $476,000 to support young rural Coloradans. Jake King’s Grand Champion market steer took the big cash prize of $50,000.

For 18-year-olds like Summer Wangurow and Ridge Kayser, Tuesday’s auction was their last as junior exhibitors. For others like the Shaw sisters, Denae Naranjo and Maddie White, there will be other calves and piglets to purchase in a few weeks, and the cycle will begin anew.

“This is not something you can just do when you choose to,” B.J. Wangurow said. “This is a lifestyle.”