Our society and the agricultural communities have been through many changes over the past years, but the goals of the county fairs remain consistent today . . . providing a family oriented show dedicated to education, entertainment and fellowship to all.

The county fairs serve as one of the few remaining links between farm and non-farm residents. Today, less than 2 percent of our population lives or works on a farm. That makes county fairs more important than ever before.

More often than not, education and communication can avoid basic misunderstandings between farm and non-farm residents. Too often, non-farm residents are ready to lay blame on the farming sector for a problem or concern that is unwarranted. On the other hand, farm residents must realize the need to get along with, and positively promote, their occupation to non-farm residents.

While the decline in the number of farms will continue for years to come, the remaining producers will strive to meet the needs of tomorrow's society. Farm and non-farm residents will need to co-exist, and county fairs will provide an avenue for positive interaction.

Some of the upcoming farm events include:

The Butler Farm Show, running now through Saturday.

The Hookstown Fair, Aug. 23 to 27.

Big Knob Grange Fair, Aug. 30 to Sept. 3.

To locate other fairs in the region, log on to the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs at www.pafairs.org.

USDA's Farm Service Agency has announced that the deadline to sign up for the Crop Disaster Program is Sept. 9 for the 2003 and 2004 crop years. Sign-up for the 2005 year will be Dec. 16. Producers who suffered crop loss from damaging weather in 2003-05 will be eligible for assistance.Specifically, producers suffering a greater than 35 percent production loss and/or more than a 20 percent quality loss are eligible.The payment rate has been increased to 65 percent of the established commodity price for insured crops and noninsured crops, and 60 percent of the price for uninsured commodities. Previous disaster assistance provided payments of 50 and 45 percent for those same categories.For more information, contact the Butler, Beaver and Allegheny County FSA office at 625 Evans City Road, #103, Butler, PA 16001-8704 or call 724-482-4800.Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.