The 161st annual Platte County Fair had a lot going on this year, including a celebrity appearance.
He may not be as well known as Patrick Mahomes, but Brian D. Caraker is a star in the world of poultry and was the official judge for the Platte County Livestock Association’s Show at the Platte County Fair. In 2016 Caraker and two others were featured in a Country Music Television (CMT) series called “The Chicken People.”
In the show, a film crew follows Caraker around for about a year filming him at different shows around the country and what he does back home on the farm.
“It was a great project and it got such a great response that I didn’t really expect,” Caraker told the Platte County Citizen. ‘When I started the project I thought, ‘Nobody is going to want to see this.’ I have gotten messages from all over the world.”
Being in the spotlight wasn’t something new to Caraker. Before returning to the farm to work full time, he was an entertainer on the Branson, Mo., Circuit.
Caraker grew up on a farm and was involved with 4-H from the time he was seven years old until he turned into an adult.
Caraker travels the country each year and judges about eight to 10 shows including Platte County. The seed to becoming a judge was planted many years ago when he was showing as a kid.
“It was almost an immediate thing after the first show I went to,” Caraker said about his path to becoming a show judge. “I want to know why I got fifth or fourth or whatever and not first.”
Caraker said he started following a lot of judges and began asking a lot of questions. When Caraker turned 18 he joined an apprenticeship program that involved shadowing eight different judges and several tests. Caraker has been judging for about 10 years and is always reminded why he wanted to become a judge.
Many times during the competition he had kids hovering close by, watching every move and jumping in where they could to ask a question.
“I love it,” Caraker said about his interactions with kids. “In this day and age with kids it’s so hard to get them outside or get them off their phone or away from the TV or whatever. I definitely see myself in a lot of these kids. And I see the passion they have for animals, and not only the passion but the compassion that they have for another living thing and I think that is so refreshing for me.
“The children are the future of this,” he added. “We have to have somebody to pick up the torch and carry it on.”
Although Caraker raises other animals chickens are by far his favorite and he has been fascinated by them since he was a young child, and still is. Caraker talked to the kids about the importance of the chicken and how many people survived during the great depression because of their chickens.
“I loved chickens since I was old enough to know what they were,” Caraker said. “I think they’re so fascinating. They’re pretty incredible animals and they don’t get enough credit.”