HARRISBURG, Pa. — Quadruplet sisters Emma, Hannah, Deborah, and Sarah Uhlman from Chester County are showing pigs at the Pennsylvania Farm Show this week, something they've been doing together since they were 8 years old.
But although these girls share a lot of the same DNA, they're very different.
"We learn more about each other every day. We fight more doing this probably than we do anything else," Emma said with a smile. She was met with laughs from her sisters.
The Uhlman sisters competed this past weekend. They'll auction off their pigs on Tuesday, hoping to raise money to buy new animals for next year.
"Once you work hard for something for like three months, it's exciting to finally see your hard work pay off, even if you don't place as well as you'd hoped to," Hannah said.
There may be just one other title at the Farm Show that rivals "the Quads."
And that's the alpaca princess. Jillian Ranko was crowned as such in 2019. Now the Penn State junior is an intern for the Farm Show's communications team.
"Pennsylvania's actually the only state that has an alpaca princess right now, so it was an honor," Ranko said.
This title doesn't exist, but if there were to be a Horse King at the farm show, it might just be Skip Seifert. He's a member of the Pennsylvania Equine Council, and his goal is to provide hands-on experience and education to attendees.
"The horses stand here for one hour at a time, and hundreds and thousands, literally, of kids walk up and pet this horse for about 10 seconds apiece. They come through here in droves," Seifert said.
These animals are definitely getting more attention than they did last year.
"The first day's parking revenue exceeded all of last year, so we are back up there. People are feeling comfortable and safe to come out," said press secretary Shannon Powers.
The Pennsylvania Farm Show is the nation's largest indoor agricultural event, featuring 12,000 competitive exhibits, nearly 6,000 animals, and 275 commercial exhibitors. The show runs from January 7 through 14. Admission is free, and parking is $15 by credit card in Farm Show lots.
CLICK HERE to download the complete visitors' guide.
CLICK HERE for the Farm Show schedule of events.