On with the Show 103rd Pa. Farm Show opens this weekend
Just in time to combat the post-holiday blues, the 103rd Pennsylvania Farm Show opens this weekend in Harrisburg.
Running Saturday through Jan. 12th and housed in the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, it is the largest all-indoor agricultural expo in North America. The show is expected to draw 500,000 visitors during its run, according to state Agriculture Department spokesman Bill Nichols.
It will feature 12,000 competitive exhibits, more than 5,200 of which are animal competitions, plus 300 commercial exhibitors.
New wrinkles this year include new livestock classes, the addition of a new breed of beef cattle, the SimAngus, a crossbred animal combining the superior qualities of the Simmental with Angus or Red Angus.
Nichols said, “One of the new things this year is we're taking the best showmen from each of the livestock species and giving them an opportunity to vie for the title of best overall master showman.
“The winner gets the use of a livestock trailer for a year,” he added. “The kids from Butler County are perennial contenders every year.”
Amy Metrick, the Butler County 4-H educator for the Penn State Extension, said the Butler County 4-H contingent this year contains 13 exhibitors.
She said, “We have 11 children showing market animals and two kids showing breeding animals.”
“The market animals, they could potentially make a sale, so many from each class move on,” said Metrick, while the also-rans get a quick trip to the butcher's.
Brooklyn Peters, 16, of Connoquenessing is taking a market lamb to the farm show this year.
“I'm going out Friday morning,” said the member of the Butler County Dairy Club. “I'm showing Saturday. It depends on if I make the sale. That sale isn't until Tuesday.”
“If it doesn't make the sale it gets put on the trailer and sent to the butcher,” said the Butler High School sophomore.
Nichols said one of the other new wrinkles in this year's farm show is “we're actually offering organic options for food purchases.“We will have organic chicken and pasture-raised pork in our food court,” he said.The food court is one of the most popular show attractions, located in the expo hall and the main hall of the complex, and offers a wide variety of Pennsylvania-grown and made products from honey waffles from the Pa. Bee Keepers Association to ice cream cones and toasted cheese sandwiches from the state Dairymen's Association to vegetable wraps from the Pa. Vegetable Growers Association.The farm show complex's exclusive caterer, Savor, has come up with two new creations:n The Cyclone — A cone of brioche bread made with organic flour and filled with a choice of organic chicken or pasture-raised pork smoked on-site, andn The Layer — Five-cheese macaroni and cheese layered with corn pudding, and a choice of organic pork or chicken, drizzled with house-made gold sauce.To wash those down, Nichols said, “This year, people will be able to sample hard ciders that are in production in Pennsylvania.”It's all part of the Farm Show honoring the state's rich agricultural heritage and promising future. In fact the show's theme this year is “Inspiring Pennsylvania's Story.”The theme, which will be focused on throughout the weeklong event, will include related events such as a daily story time for children, interviews with Pennsylvanians working in agriculture and opportunities for attendees to engage and tell their own stories.Nichols said, “If you look on paper some of the stats might not seem as impressive as some of the Midwest states as far as percentage of land devoted to agriculture. But Pennsylvania is a powerhouse, a bastion of agriculture in the Northeast with $7.5 billion in cash receipts for traditional agricultural crops and even milk, livestock and broiler chicken production,”
But the state's agricultural clout shows up in some unexpected places, according to the department's surveys.For instance, said Nichols, “Pennsylvania is ranked number one in the nation in production of hardwood saw timber. The state has 119 billion board feet and growing. And we're internationally renowned for our high-quality hardwoods.”Nichols added, “The state is the mushroom capital of the world with 587.5 million pounds produced annually mainly in the Kennett Square area of Chester County.”Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced his department will showcase six Pennsylvania-based companies that offer technology innovations to advance the agriculture industry.Featured technologies will include crop-monitoring drones; implantable health trackers for livestock; sensory robotics for greenhouse production; potting soil made from recyclable materials; facility and animal monitoring systems; and systems to treat pollution, manage nutrients and produce sustainable fertilizer.Peters said she will be doing volunteer work at the show just as she did last year when she helped deliver dairy facts to the public and helped out at a milking demonstration.“I'm trying for a scholarship,” she said. “Part of the requirement is three years of volunteering at the farm show. This year I plan to work at the food stands educating the public on all different kinds of produce.”
Metrick said she's heading out to Harrisburg and plans to stay Sunday through Sunday.“On Monday and Thursday I will be manning the 4-H booth in the food court selling beef brisket,” Metrick said. “The proceeds got to 4-H.“On Tuesday I will be helping in the Pa. Vegetable Growers Association booth in the food court,” she said. “And Wednesday will be a free day to see the show. Friday, I will be helping my uncle (Harold Dunn of Mount Chestnut) show his sheep,” said Metrick.“When I was in 4-H as a kiddo, I showed sheep out there. We did decent, ”she said. “I can truthfully say I have not missed a farm show since I was born. This will be my 27th.”
