BANGOR, Maine — As the Bangor State Fair draws to a close Sunday, farmers and livestock owners are celebrating the return of the agricultural section, which hasn’t been part of the event since 2019.
For the first time in the fair’s history, stalls and hay filled the Cross Insurance Center as it played host to a number of farm-centric competitions.
One contest drew particular attention, and not as much for the animals as for one young competitor: 15-year-old Kaylee Keniston. The Plymouth native has been raising goats since she was 8, and in that time, her inventory has grown from two to 23 animals.
She returned to her second Bangor State Fair this weekend as a veteran in the field.
"Four years ago was my very first dairy show ever… and now I’m back here," Kaylee said Sunday.
The journey to this moment hasn’t always been easy for Kaylee. A difficult home life led her grandparents to take her into their home, but in that arrangement, a love of raising goats was born.
"Kaylee had a lot of things going on in her life when she was younger… and we wanted something positive for her in her life, so we got her her first goats," Donna Keniston, her grandmother, said.
Two became four, four became six, and so on until Kaylee’s herd reached 23 goats, all in the span of just five years. To support the animals, the Kenistons launched the Yeti Ridge Farm, which sells everything from lavender soap to goat’s milk cheese in town.
In the time since the farm began, Kaylee’s grandfather, Tony Keniston, has been astonished by the teenager’s work ethic.
"She’s up at six o’clock in the morning … she does her chores, does her milking, then she’s off to school."
Tony has driven Kaylee to goat shows across the Northeast, where their animals are judged for milk production, stature, and appearance. The Kenistons hope their herd scoring high marks in these contests will help Kaylee’s future.
"[We’re] looking forward to college with this herd. This herd is going to put her through college at some point," Tony said.
As for the Bangor fair, a second-place ribbon on the final day of competition capped a successful run for Kaylee.
"We’ve got big competition, but I think all my girls are doing well. They should do better when they freshen again."