Iowa State Fair shares agricultural message

by | Aug 9, 2017 | 5 Ag Stories, News

The Iowa State Fair gets underway tomorrow, and Iowa State Fair Secretary, Manager and CEO say?s it?s an exciting year for the Iowa State Fair.

?Of course, all of the staples are still here,? Iowa State Fair Secretary, Manager and CEO Gary Slater said. ? We have top-notch livestock shows because we are Iowa. Where can you find better livestock than (in) Iowa? Our Ag Building is full of produce, flowers and lots of wonderful Ag things.?

While all of the staples remain, Slater said the fair welcomes a few new pieces.

?We completed the Jacobson Plaza, which was a three-phase renovation to the outdoor area. That?s where a lot of our Ag dealers set-up shop for their commercial exhibits during the fair. We?re excited about this renovation because it really helps us display those companies in the best light. A couple more things that you can?t see anywhere else, but at the Iowa State Fair are in the Ag Building. Laura Ingles Wilder would have been 150 years old this year, and she lived in Burr Oak, Iowa. We have done a butter sculpture in companion, of course, with our butter cow. Then some of you golfers out there may know the Solheim Cup, which is the female version of the Ryder Cup, is in West Des Moines during the fair. The cup, or trophy, is a really nice looking thing, and we?ve created that in butter.?

Slater said the mission of the Iowa State Fair is not only to put on an event, in celebration of Iowa, but to also make sure that agriculture education is prevalent throughout the event.

?(That?s) mainly because we want to make sure everyone knows where their food and fiber come from,? Slater said. ?If you?re one of our suburbia friends, sometimes it?s a little lost in translation that milk doesn?t just come from the back cold case in the store, (and that) it actually comes from farms. We have that education here in a lot of different ways. We try to make sure that everybody knows that our farmers in Iowa are the best stewards of agriculture.?

Agriculture education opportunities at the Iowa State Fair range from educational areas within livestock barns to the Animal Learning Center, which showcases the birth of several different animal species.