CEDAR FALLS - Maddie Herring carefully arranges fresh flowers, American flags and red, white and blue star pics in a 5-gallon bucket adorned with a red bandana. She's putting the finishing touches on her challenge project that she will be entering in the upcoming Black Hawk County 4-H Fair.

"Maddie is taking everything to county fair but the kitchen sink," said her mother, Chris Herring, grinning.

Maddie, 11, is working diligently to complete her many fair projects in the areas of fashion, food, photography, woodworking and horticulture.

"I'm going after the award for who brings the most projects to fair," admits the junior member of the Homeschool Heroes 4-H Club.

The Black Hawk County 4-H and FFA Fair will run July 28 through Aug. 1 at the National Cattle Congress Grounds in Waterloo. The theme this year is Cruisin' Towards Your Destination!

Also motivated by the opportunity to win blue ribbons is Maddie's sister, Kacie, 7, a 4-H Clover Kid. She is busy weaving the last pieces of yarn into her latch-hook pillow project, hand-knitting several items and completing a fashion challenge that requires purchasing an outfit to model at fair for $15, accessories and all.

The Herring sisters also are planning to show the long-haired calico cat, baby chickens and hogs they raised on their acreage near Cedar Falls.

"This is the first year we've raised hogs for the county fair," said the girls' father, Paul Herring, who supervised the project. "We had to make some adjustments this spring to keep them warm enough, but it's been good for our family to see how rapidly they grow and how much feed they consume. At the end of the year Maddie will tally up her costs for the hogs and feed and determine whether she made any money. That will help her appreciate how the American farmer must closely manage his business in order to turn a profit."

Maddie emphasized how 4-H has changed over the years. It's not just for rural kids anymore, and the projects have evolved to expand opportunities for girls.

"There are many different project categories to choose from like fashion design, astronomy and even engineering projects," she said. "It's not like the olden days where the girls just did cooking and sewing projects and the boys entered livestock."

Chris Herring, who leads the Homeschool Heroes 4-H group with her husband, said 4-H has been good for her daughters. They've learned a thing or two about public speaking and time management, skills that have future application. Mostly, though, it has strengthened the family bond.

"We chose to participate in 4-H because it's an activity that we can do as a family," she said.