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Agriculture building at Trumbull County Fair is loaded with facts and activities
Trumbull residents gear up for 170th
By Ed Runyan
BAZETTA
Did you know that all cows are female? Mature male bovines are called bulls.
Did you know that an average dairy cow produces 90 glasses of milk per day?
A cow is pregnant for about nine months and gives birth to a calf that weighs 60 to 100 pounds. A mother pig, called a sow, is pregnant for nearly four months and gives birth to eight to 12 piglets weighing about 2 pounds at birth.
These are some some facts on display by the Trumbull County Farm Bureau in the agriculture building just east of the grandstand at the Trumbull County Fair.
For those interested in learning about agriculture, land, water or other natural things, or who just want to play in a huge “sand box” filled with kernels of field corn, the agriculture building is the place to be.
On Monday, the set-up day, the farm bureau, county soil and water conservation district and Ohio Department of Natural Resources were finishing their displays in preparation for the official start of the fair today.
Farm bureau member Milton Eddie of Champion said the corn sand box is popular with children, the educational materials are of interest to all ages, but a new combine simulator is expected to draw interest from older kids and adults.
A combine harvester is a piece of farm equipment with a header at the front as much as 40 feet wide that gathers grains, such as wheat.
To give nonfarmers an idea of what it’s like to drive one of these big rigs, the farm bureau will have a simulator in its display area that people can use. It’s one of many interactive displays in the agriculture building. Games, and giveaways also will take place.
“It’s interesting how many people are interested in learning about farming,” Eddie said.
Jan Solomon, a fair board member, said she thinks interest has increased with the more intense interest shown by young adults in fresh food, grass-fed meat and organic produce.
The soil and water conservation district also is available to teach visitors about the value of trees, said Ramona Kindell of Cleveland, an intern with the district and a student at Youngstown State University.
Children can get their picture taken inside one of the trees the soil and water district has placed in its display area.
Between the agriculture building and the grandstand is one of the new feature attractions, a live shark encounter that will be shown two to three times per day from a 5,000 gallon aquarium on a semi tractor-trailer. The 15-minute presentation is from Haai, Inc. Aquatic Exhibits of Florida.
The signature attractions at the Trumbull fair are the motorized auto races in the grandstand; the junior-fair events, such as livestock and horse shows; performers and food.
Solomon, whose husband owns a 1974 Corvette, said she thinks she understands a little of the obsession some people have for old tractors, which are on display on the other side of the grandstand.
“These are their babies,” she said of the members of the Antique Tractor Club of Trumbull County. “Their attitude toward their tractors is the same as my husband’s love of his 1974 Corvette. People can come and reminisce about what was on their dad’s farm that they couldn’t keep.”
Admission to the fair is free today, but it will cost $6 to ride the mechanical rides. Admission, including rides, will cost $8 per day throughout the rest of the fair, which ends Sunday.