More fun at the Fair

[Robin]

Today, hubby Dan (the oxen chauffer), myself, and another friend took my oxen team, Jed & Grey, to the Otisville, NY fair. We had a great time. Mind you, Jed & Grey are pushing 15 years old. We had go carts around us, helicopters flying low overhead, lots of kids, old folks, and everyone inbetween around them, petting them, etc.
They are a real solid team. Nothing bothered them, except the flies.
We are in an area where the dairy farms are going out of business, one a week. Most folks have never seen a cow, much less a team of oxen. Plus,we heard stories from some old timers, in their youth, how they had to do chores before going to school and more chores after school.
We had kids who don’t know what chores are….then we had the 4-H Cattle Show kids, who know all about that stuff.
I am a senior along with Jed & Grey. I am just thankful that I have such a good oxen team and can enlighten some folks about “how it use to be and the hard working animals that helped build this great land we now call “America”.
P.S. I have had lots of help, over the years, from folks like Howie, Ray Ludwig, Drew’s book and many others. Without that help I would never be doing any of this. Thanks to my “oxen family”. Robin

[mother katherine]

Robin, where is the Otisville fair?
What kind of cattle do you have?
Any plans to start a new team?
Glad you’re out there enlightening the masses about the great world of working cattle. if we’re all out there doing our part, maybe we can draw a few more younger ones into our world.
oxnun

[Robin]

The Otisville Fair is in Orange County, NY a few miles West of Middletown,NY not too far from the NJ, Pa border. It’s a very small fair put on by the Lions Club.
One local dairy farmer has gotten several kids involved by having them work on her farm a few days a week. She had cattle for all of them at the Cattle Show. I think that is great.
I am not ready to start another team. I still have Frank & Jesse along with Jed & Grey. It’s a “time” thing…..just not enough time to do all the things we want to do. Jed & Grey are still in pretty good health to pull a light wagon, logs, etc. Jed & Grey are brown swiss, Frank & Jesse are milking devon X’s. (Can you tell I got them from Howie)?
The other things I think about, will there be a cattle vet. in the future. Right now there is one cattle vet in the county. He is not a young man. If he retires, not sure if there will be another.
Then there are the other services like hoof trimmer, feed supply, hay, etc.
As the farmers leave so do the services. Two farms closed in the past two weeks. Not many left. It’s very sad. No farms, no food.
Robin

[OldKat]

@Robin 20546 wrote:

The Otisville Fair is in Orange County, NY a few miles West of Middletown,NY not too far from the NJ, Pa border. It’s a very small fair put on by the Lions Club.

…

Robin

This kind of touches on something that I had been wondering about regarding the various Fairs in other parts of the country, especially NY state and the Norteast in general. The reason that I ask is “Fair Season” is rapidly approaching where I live and I was wondering how things are done in other areas. Nearly every county in our area will have a County Fair betwen mid-September and the week before Thanksgiving, then no more until early March through the end of May. Ours are usually sponsored by a “Fair Association” and have evolved over time to being 90% or more for the youth of the particular county where the fair is located. Mostly the kids, 4-H and FFA, show market livestock; with some breeding classes particularly for beef heifers. No dairy shows in our area whatsoever, but there was one in each of the two counties to the north of us until very recently. No dairy industry there anymore, so the dairy shows have faded away.

Lots of shows now have colt projects, but they are all for saddle breeds and generally almost all are AQHA colts, with a sprinkling of paints thrown in. No draft horse shows at all, probably in the whole state. Showmanship & Herdsmanship competiton is common at most fairs. The most recent “additions” at the various fairs in our area have been; beef heifer shows -25 to 30 years ago, colt project shows – 15 to 20 years ago, goat shows, both market and breeding – 7 to 10 years ago and ag mechanics competitions – 3 to 5 years ago, though some have had them for much longer. The things that have been phased out have been dairy, almost anything for adults, like; hay shows (we still have one, but this year it moved out from being associated with the fair to being a stand alone event) and “open” classes of breeding animals (mostly these were cattle and a these are still found at a few fairs, but not ours). The cooking and craft parts of the fair remain popular events for the ladies, virtually nothing for men. Not that men couldn’t compete in those areas, they just generally don’t. The “entertainment” side of most fairs has grown; local, regional and nationally known recording artsists are commonly booked and the “mid-way” or carnival has become a bigger deal than it was when I was a youngster. Stll it seems to be that we are moving away from what these fairs once were and I am not convinced that this is a good idea.

So in your area how are the fairs? i.e. Who generally sponsors them? Where are they held? Are they usually in the fall of the year, or is one going on somewhere most of the year? What is the focus of these Fairs? By that I mean are these mainly for the area youth? Do they focus on livestock & poultry projects or other? Are there “open” classes for anyone that wants to compete or are the fairs limited to youth only? Is there any kind of opportunity for adults to compete or otherwise display products, produce, crafts, hobbies etc?

Just thinking …

[dlskidmore]

Personally I found Empire Farm Days to be way more educational than the Monroe County Fair (Monroe County, NY). We did hang around the goat & cattle show for awhile, but it was just a small little sideshow, with a tiny little ring run by the 4H club. 8 cows looked uncomfortably crowded in there. Not that Empire Farm days had a ton of live animal showing, but the cooperative extension office of the university that serves several counties around here had a building bigger than the county livestock barn full of displays, pamphlets, and experts. There were a few live demo animals in various educational exhibits. There were also haying demonstrations at EFD (although I skipped out on those when I saw the monstrous machines they were demonstrating with, I was more interested in learning about the process than seeing how fast a monstrous machine can cover ground.)

Next year though I need to cover the three county fairs in the area where we want to move to, and see if I can detect differences in the agricultural enthusiasm.

[mitchmaine]

Hey oldkat, up here in maine, we have county fairs, all licenced by the state, except for cornish fair, I think. There are about two dozen fairs and only 16 countys so go figure. They run one at a time from late june through til early October. They are agricultural fairs with exhibition halls full of quilts, vegetables, pies, on so on. Lots of cattle, horses, sheep etc. To be judged, and pulling rings for steers oxen and horses. 4-h handles the baby beef judging, and the calf and pig scrambles. Also, to keep the people coming, we now have tractor pulls, mud runs and demolition derbys.
Then there is the common ground country fair, different in that there is no carnival, and tends more to rural life than some of the others fairs might.
Some are big wealthy fairs and some are smaller, but pool and redistribute some of their money to keep them all going.
Once, before travel was so easy, they all happened roughly at the same time and you went to your local fair and that was about it. Times have changed and its nothing to go to several and competitors like horse pullers go to all. They all claim to be 150 – 175 years in existence, so they must be doing something right.
Farming can be a lonely life and it’s a good feeling to get off the farm, take a break from the chores and swap yarns with friends you haven’t seen in a while. Life is good. Your turn. Let us know what fair life is like in your neck of the woods.

mitch

[reb]

We spent the day at the Windsor fair today. It has to be one of the best in Maine, IMO second only to Fryburg. We had alot of fun in our show, and even got to sneak off for a minute to watch the steers obstacle course. Here is a couple pictures of me in the draft pony cart class.
Richard
[IMG]http://www.draftanimalpower.com/photoplog/images/2392/1_win3.JPG[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.draftanimalpower.com/photoplog/images/2392/1_win1.JPG[/IMG]

[dominiquer60]

Robin, Orange county is beautiful, especially the less developed parts. It is a shame that so many dairy farmers across NY are folding, and of course they are mostly small farms, the big ones are “too big to fail.” I was also the only local working cattle exhibit at my fair and it was fun educating folks about my cattle. The last day I let 6 4-H kids have a hand at driving my team, one really took a liking to it and is on the look out for a couple bull calves. That was worth it to me.

In upstate NY just about every county, 50+ has a fair, a few only have youth fairs with kids 18 and under showing, mostly 4-Hers. Most fairs have livestock, vegetables, cooking and arts and craft competitions. Many have draft horse exhibits and shows, few have oxen, and most oxen are a novelty exhibit. We have some huge dairy counties with hundreds of dairy cows and heifers competing in youth and open shows for big honors.

The fair that I have a loyalty to is NY’s only tri-county fair, the Altamont Fair. None of the counties have much agriculture any more and the fairgrounds is larger than most so we have a large footprint to fill with few participants every year. Our cattle barn barely had 100 entries this year but 40 miles away the Washington Co fair had over 100 Brown Swiss alone, but less beef than our fair. Altamont does boast one of the largest poultry shows in the state with over 700 birds, down from 15 years ago when we had 1400. The two men that ran the show before me have passed away and so has half the show with them.

I have always enjoyed my fair as a social time with other farmers and when I was younger it was my only time with farmers and livestock. Educating the public and exposing people to the enjoyment that I get from my work and life is why I keep going back. I also work hard to get youth and their parents involved, with 98 people at my last poultry school, I think I am doing well.

Its nice to read about what fairs are like in the rest of the country/world.

Erika

[mitchmaine]

hi erika, if you had a chance ever, you should try to get over here to fryeburg fair some october. i know its a journey, but i think you might like it. barns after barn of milking cattle with a walk through milking parlor, and barn after barn of beef and working cattle. i’m bad at numbers but i remember that they said once they wanted 500 head on the grounds during the fair. and their rule is if you come and show you are there for the week.
then they have their parade of working cattle all yoked and brushed, shampooed and shined up, looking like a million dollars making a loop around the fairgrounds. its quite a sight to see and you could talk cattle for ever with those folk. just a thought. mitch

[Andy Carson]

Fairs in western PA are pretty heavy on amusement rides, food venders, and retailers both local and national. There is about one per county and they are held in the late summer and fall. There are generally several poorly visited barns that hold 4-H animals, with pigs, sheep, and horses being the most popular (at least it seems). Sometimes there are a few goats and sometimes there is a poultry barn. Usually local dairys have a pretty strong presence, but other than the dairies there aren’t many who bring animals that are not affiliated with 4-H. I don’t think there is usually a class where adults show animals (maybe dairy cows??), but I don’t know for sure as I prefer to visit at the stall/pen reather than watch a show. There are usually alot of riding horses and some riding competitions. Some of the larger fairs have draft horses in stalls, but they are usually the “hitch type” and will sometimes pull a wagon or a cart. I have never seen one do field work at a fair, even as a demo. Most of the fairs have horse pulling competitions (several have pony pulling competitions too) but these horses and owners seem to always trailer in for just the competition and trailer out right afterwards. I have talked to a few, but you kinda have to go out of your way to visit them and they are generally not very interested in talking to or educating the public. I have never seen oxen at a fair around here. The beef cattle are also often roped or fenced off so you can’t get very close or talk to anyone. In general, it seems that the organizers (and maybe the public as well) think of the animal barns as a big petting zoo. The organizers seem to try to insulate and protect the public at the expense of allowing visitors to genuinely learn about the animals. It’s a real shame if you ask me. I have gone to several fairs this year hoping to talk to someone about geese, which I plan to have next year. There has not been a single goose at any fairs I have been to. I suspect they are not good “petting zoo” animals… One thing that I was suprized at is the number of people who restore tractors and show them at the fair. There is almost not enough room for these tractors at some fairs… I really don’t get it, but to each his own I guess. Also, I get a real kick out of the few horse drawn implements and tools that are displayed as “primitives.” I have seen several usefull looking single row cultivators and cornplanters, and at least a couple neck yokes labelled “singletree.” Kinda the opposite of education there… I am glad to hear that the fairs are better in other areas of the county. I have been pretty disappointed with them here.

[dominiquer60]

Mitch,

I took 4 weeks of in Septober of 2008 and hit, Tunbridge, Common Grounds, NEAPFD and Fryeburg with 2-3 days at each place. It was so worth the time and I really enjoyed zig zagging across northern New England, just me, my dog and my pickup. All 4 events were great and I got a lot out of each of them. If I could do it again I would, but I don’t see it happening for some time, so I am very glad that I took that opportunity when I did. Long live Fryeburg and all the other Ag fairs or Ag aspects of fairs.

Erika

[mitchmaine]

hey erika, sounds like a dream vacation.
when we were in school, our local fair was held in october, and we used to get two days off from school to go. seemed like everybody had something to do with it or at it. and up in aroostook, they had three weeks off from school each fall to pick potatoes. lots of hand work then.
if you had stock at the fair, somebody had to spend the night with them. that was before campers and it meant you slept in the hay with a blanket and the cows. night life at a fairgrounds is very interesting. carnies, kids and a watchman or two. i’d like to do that again, but you can only be twelve once, i guess.

[OldKat]

Have been out of pocket lately, but catching up on some interesting posts. Thanks for your input on the fairs in your areas.

Nice rig and a beautiful animal there, reb.

[OldKat]

@mitchmaine 20573 wrote:

hey erika, sounds like a dream vacation.
when we were in school, our local fair was held in october, and we used to get two days off from school to go. seemed like everybody had something to do with it or at it. and up in aroostook, they had three weeks off from school each fall to pick potatoes. lots of hand work then.
if you had stock at the fair, somebody had to spend the night with them. that was before campers and it meant you slept in the hay with a blanket and the cows. night life at a fairgrounds is very interesting. carnies, kids and a watchman or two. i’d like to do that again, but you can only be twelve once, i guess.

Our county fair is still held in October, though this year the wife and I will be in Alabama visiting our oldest so we won’t be attending. 🙁 The kids in our county still get two days off for the fair. Nearly every kid either has something in the fair or finds some reason that they “have to” be there, so it is easier to just shut the schools down for those two days than to deal with all of the absences. A couple of years back our school board was looking for ways to shorten the school year and still get in the state required 185 days of classroom instruction. One of the newcomers to the school board, a lady who had moved into the community some 10 years before from the city suggested doing away with the two days off for the fair. Dang near caused a riot when word got out on that. She did not win re-election later that same year.

Man does THAT bring back memories! Funny how we can live hundreds or even thousands of miles apart and have such experiences in common, yet the people that live just down the road from me would have NO understanding of what that was like. I guess it is just sort of a brotherhood thing.

[near horse]

It seems we all are seeing some of the same “stuff” happening at the county fair(s). I wish they’d close down school here for the fair because it really ends up being wasted days with kids not there but the teachers/admin like getting to count those days towards the total required by the state

Around here, there is really no livestock farming like there was 50-100yrs back – just huge wheat tracts now – so almost any animal exhibitions etc are from the local 4H and FFA groups. And that has seriously dropped back to mostly hogs because they’re “easier” and require “less work and time” than cattle and still bring the same (or better) cash return. It’s down to a handful of kids raising steers.

Funny thing – the LA county fair (that’s Los Angeles all right) had representation from every species breed etc and demos to boot – including draft horses. Most weren’t from the county (or even the state) though!

BTW – how far is Fryeburg from NEAPFD and when is it? If it worked out, I might be able to swing by there on my X-country adventure this Oct (will be at NEAPFD). I might end up with a sore butt after this trip but ……………………

[Author]

Posts