Come to the Fair!

A showcase of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences programs is on display at the 2013 North Carolina State Fair. Themed “North Carolina’s Homecoming,” the fair officially opened Oct. 17.  And CALS is a prominent part of the fair’s Agriculture Today exhibit.

Located near Gate 11 by the Administration Building, the CALS exhibit is focused on accessibility in agriculture, with displays related to College activities throughout the state.

These include information about and items from the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Research Shop, the North Carolina AgrAbility Partnership and Extension therapeutic horticulture programs.

On view are an all-terrain motorized wheelchair, developed by BAE students working with AgrAbility; a BAE shop-built garden scooter, designed to give farmers with disabilities more mobility in the field; and a raised-bed garden, used in therapeutic horticulture programs such as New Hanover County Cooperative Extension’s Ability Garden.

These devices and other information available to visitors show the many ways the College helps make agriculture accessible to those with limited abilities, spotlight programs that improve the quality of life of the state’s citizens and demonstrate CALS partnerships.

Manning the exhibit daily during the fair’s run are volunteer CALS/Extension staff members, such as Carlos Moses, Durham County Extension 4-H agent, who was there for opening day.

In the park area adjacent to the tent are a parade of cleverly decorated hay bales, created by 4-H’ers from across the state. And nearby, in the education building, visitors can see the ribbon-winning 4-H entries in various contests.

Moving past the Waterfall and Dorton Arena toward the heart of the fairgrounds, fairgoers will see that the ever-popular N.C. State ice cream booth is open for business. Available here are the generous scoops of Howling Cow ice cream, made on the N.C. State campus in CALS’ Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences.

In the Expo Center, a colorful vista of prize-winning produce fills the vast space, while the CALS Animal Science Club’s Milking Booth is in readiness to welcome guests.

And at the west end, livestock competitions are in process. On opening day, youngsters were readying their entries for the Junior Ewe/Market Lamb Showmanship competition.

Horticulture exhibits, farm animals, rides and crazy fair food await—so come on over!—Terri Leith

More scenes from the State Fair: