More than funnel cakes and ferris wheels

When I think of the fair I think of greasy food from trailers and rickety rides that came in on a trailer.

In the agriculture community other words come to mind such as cattle shows, horse shows, blue ribbons, and grand champion. Since I didn't grow up with a farming background I didn't realize the livestock presentation side of the fair. I had been to a few county fairs growing up and we saw the animals but it seemed more like a petting zoo to me; not people's pride and joy. I still don't know all the steps to have a show pig or goat or cow. I do know it takes effort and work to get an animal ready to show.

 

We attended the KY state fair last week for a few days. There is so much more than food at the fair. We volunteered at the KY Soybean Association and KY Beef booth. There was a putt putt golf course with farm facts which was great for the non-farm attendees. I'll share a few.

Animal Agriculture (our pigs) is the number 1 consumer for US soy, consuming 97% of US soybean meal.
Kentucky is the 18th in the nation for soybean meal usage.

 We grow soybeans which then are processed and fed to our pigs.

Soybeans consist of 2 primary components 20% oil and 80% meal.
The meal is mainly used to feed livestock, while the oil is used in a variety of forms from cooking oils to biodiesel.

 

A staple at the KY state fair is Freddy Farm Bureau an interactive talking man.

We missed the fair last year since we were on vacation in Florida but C1 remembered him from when he was 3. He wanted to talk to the "big blue guy".