Thousands of people of all ages filled the 11 halls and arenas for the first weekend of the Pennsylvania Farm Show which is celebrating its 99th year. This year’s show started Jan. 10 and runs until Jan. 17 at the PA Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.
George D. Greig, agricultural secretary, wrote in the visitor’s guide, “Thank you for joining us to highlight and celebrate our state’s agricultural number one industry, past, present and future. For nearly a century, Pennsylvanians have traveled to Harrisburg each January to see and showcase the best of Pennsylvania agriculture, from the finest animals to unique hand-crafted wares. We thank you for being a part of this tradition.”
As has been tradition for 25 years now, the butter sculpture was unveiled earlier last week which this year depicts the first-of-its-kind milk distribution program started in June 2014. Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association and its partners held a “Fill a Glass with Hope” event on Friday, Jan. 9.The program provides milk to Pennsylvanians in need.
Ever-changing, the show featured many new exhibits this year. Saturday, Jan. 10 the PA Hardwoods Council WoodMobile was unveiled. The theme of the exhibit is “An Educational Walk in Penn’s Woods” and features a path laid in the trailer’s hardwood floor that draws patrons in to learn about Pennsylvania’s forests through video and touch screens.
In the Large Arena on Sunday, Jan. 11 was the Lumberjack and Lumberjill demonstrations during which the finest Lumberjacks and Lumberjills competed and demonstrated their skills with the spring board, standing chop, underhand chop, axe throwing and cross cut sawing classes.
Residents of all ages were invited to participate in the first Farm Show Ag Olympics which were held on Saturday, Jan. 10. Teams competed to win prizes and individuals tested their skills at stations which featured fun such as dressing up as a scarecrow and testing agriculture trivia knowledge.
Also for some of the younger attendees, new this year is the Farm Show Detectives Learning Stations. Three stations help youth explore more of Pennsylvania agriculture with Penn State College of Agriculture Science’s THINK AG station, Tractor Amusement Ride and Dog Licensing.
Food is a big part of the Farm Show which also includes a number of cooking demonstrations. New this year on Sunday, Jan. 11, was Aaron McCargo Jr., the winner of The Next Food Network Star and star of “Big Daddy’s House.” McCargo’s cooking demonstrations featured easy to make, mouth-watering recipes that were inspired by many years of culinary experience with his fun-loving family.
These new events went well with attendee favorites such as the High School Rodeo, Horse Pulling competitions, the Culinary Connection, Sheep-to-Shawl competition and or course a chance to see all of the animals.
“During your visit to the Pennsylvania Farm Show,” wrote Greig, “I invite you to milk a cow at the Pennsylvania Dairy Princess and Promotion booth, enjoy a famous Farm Show milkshake, or learn first-hand the science and skills used in agriculture at the Today’s Ag display.”
Another popular exhibit at the Farm Show is the FFA and 4-H projects which feature some Berks County students from Tulpehocken, Oley Valley and Kutztown.
The 99th Pennsylvania Farm Show runs from Jan. 10 to Jan. 17 at the Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg. For more information visit www.farmshow.state.pa.us.
