Farm Show expected to attract a large crowd
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A gargantuan food court, a tractor showroom, rodeo cowboys and contests for everything from the best livestock to the tastiest apple pie are among the attractions expected to draw as many as a half-million visitors to this year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show, which opens Saturday.
The eight-day annual show, which bills itself as the nation’s largest indoor agricultural event, gives farmers a unique opportunity to socialize with counterparts from across the state and see whose products win blue-ribbon bragging rights. Non-farmers come for entertainment, the food and an inside glimpse of the state’s $6 billion agriculture industry.
“You get to meet a lot of people and you talk to the people who buy your stuff,” said Dale Maulfair, 55, a dairy farmer from Lebanon County.
“And it’s fun.”
Maulfair, who has participated in the farm show for nearly four decades, plans to enter 10 red-and-white Ayrshire cows and heifers from his herd of about 150 cattle to compete for ribbons in separate classes.
Officials call this the 95th farm show, although it was not officially given that name until it moved in 1931 into what is now called the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, located just off Interstate 81 in the state capital.
This year’s show runs through Jan. 15 – leaving organizers of Gov.-elect Tom Corbett’s swearing-in celebration just three days to transform the space into an elegant setting for his $150-a-ticket inaugural ball.
In all, more than 7,000 animals – dairy cattle, beef cattle, hogs, horses, chickens, goats, sheep and rabbits – are expected to be exhibited and judged throughout the week.
Vegetables, fruits and other plants also are being judged, among them apples, mushrooms, potatoes, corn, honey, maple syrup and even Christmas trees.
Dwight Mickey, who raises apples, pears, peaches and plums on his 40-acre orchard in Franklin County, said his fruit has won about 2,500 ribbons in the 34 shows he has attended.
Six times, his apples have won the award for the best overall bushel.
He said the prizes are good publicity for his small business and people like to meet the farmer who grows their food.
“They like to see the people who gets their hands dirty,” he said. “Our apples didn’t travel 2,000 miles, they traveled 200 feet.”
The food court, a favorite destination for many, offers a cornucopia of Pennsylvania foods, including fried mushrooms, pulled-pork sandwiches, milkshakes, shoofly pie, maple candy and potatoes in the forms of fries and doughnuts.
In an adjoining space the size of a small airplane hangar, shiny tractors, horse trailers and other farm vehicles of varying sizes are on display.
In the Main Hall, there will be cooking demonstrations and culinary competitions, as well as presentations on traditional skills such as knife sharpening, wool spinning, wood carving and square dancing.
A high-school championship rodeo is slated for the opening day of the show. On the final three evenings, rodeo fans can watch professional riders from the northeastern United States compete for $280,000 in prizes in events sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, spokesman David Murat said Wednesday.