Episode 25 Mercer County Fair
- Transcript
[00:00:01.280] - Intro
Welcome to Beyond Agriculture, the podcast that takes you beyond the scope of Ag and into the real life stories, conversations and events taking place in our community. Who we are and what we do is beyond agriculture.
[00:00:28.930] - Emily Murphy
Welcome back to beyond agriculture. I'm Emily Murphy, a marketing intern here at Central Kentucky Ag Credit, and I'm here with...
[00:00:35.200] - Linda McClanahan
Linda McClanahan. I'm the Mercer County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources.
[00:00:41.310] - Emily Murphy
And we are here at the Mercer County Fair, which is actually my home county. So it's really good to be here with some familiar faces. And Linda, can you tell us a little bit about what you do as an ag agent in Mercer County?
[00:00:52.320] - Linda McClanahan
Sure, I just work with the farmers here in the county and help them provide services for their crop and livestock needs and help them with everything from soil testing to plant disease diagnosis, weed identification, farm visits, all that sort of stuff. Just really helping them provide a service to them. And I love my job because I get to serve through agriculture.
[00:01:11.240] - Emily Murphy
What would you say is the most rewarding part of your job?
[00:01:13.640] - Linda McClanahan
It's definitely the people and being able to work with the farmers that we have. We have a lot of excellent farmers here. We have a good group of younger farmers, too. Like, the average age of the farmers here in our county is a little bit less than some counties, so I really appreciate that part of it. But for me, it's all just about being able to serve people through agriculture.
[00:01:29.430] - Emily Murphy
Awesome. That's good to hear. So what would you say is the most unique aspect of being at the Mercer County Fair?
[00:01:35.590] - Linda McClanahan
I think the rich history is definitely the most unique aspect of the Mercer county fair. And the fact that we still show all the livestock species and have an outstanding horse show, as well as other motorsports events, other activities with the county fair. So it's the oldest continuous running county fair in the country, and I think that's just the rich history that we have is probably the most unique thing about it.
[00:01:54.950] - Emily Murphy
Awesome. So, circling back a little bit, can you tell us how you got involved in agriculture?
[00:01:59.550] - Linda McClanahan
Absolutely. So I grew up on a farm. I grew up on a beef cattle and tobacco farm, and then was very heavily involved in 4-H and FFA as a young person, and then went to college. I got a Bachelor's Degree in Agriculture and Natural Resources from Berea College, and then a Master's Degree in Crop Science from the University of Kentucky and was an Extension Associate for ten months in dairy cattle at the University of Kentucky, and then started here in Mercer County 17 years ago.
[00:02:24.630] - Emily Murphy
Perfect. So, could you tell us more about what it's been like working with the next generation of agriculture?
[00:02:30.590] - Linda McClanahan
Sure. So when I first came here, we did have a lot of young farmers. Some of those have aged up, so they're, you know, more in their forties age range now. But we had a really large group of those young farmers, like 18 to 40. So that was really fun for me because I'm in that age group and it's been rewarding being able to see as they grow and they take over farms or some of them are first generation farmers. So we've done a lot of educational programs together, a lot of demonstrations on their farms. So it's been fun watching them just grow in their leadership capacities and skills on the farm.
[00:03:05.100] - Emily Murphy
Nice. So what are we doing here tonight at the Mercer County Fair? Could you tell us about the sheep show that's going on?
[00:03:10.140] - Linda McClanahan
Sure, so we have the sheep show here. It's been going on for a long time, too. So I've been involved in the Mercer County Fair for 17 years. Our dairy show is the largest show that we have at our county fair as far as livestock species are concerned. And then we have our sheep show tonight. We have pigs and goats on Saturday, poultry and rabbits also on Saturday, and the beef is the following Monday. So like I said, we show all the livestock species. We have a huge floral hall which Ag Credit helped fund part of that project a long time ago now. I think it was like twelve years ago now that we did that project. And so we, you know, we, of course, appreciate the support that Ag credit provides for our county fair and some of the special projects that we've done with you all, including one of our livestock barns. And then our horse show is the largest county fair horse show in Kentucky as well. So we have a lot of diversity within our county fair.
[00:04:03.030] - Emily Murphy
Awesome. Well, thank you for sharing about your experiences at the fair this week. And we can't wait to see how the sheep show turns out.
[00:04:09.610] - Linda McClanahan
Thank you.
[00:04:11.230] - Emily Murphy
I'm here with Dana Anderson, who is the Mercer County 4-H Agent. And Dana, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you've been doing at the fair this week?
[00:04:20.020] - Dana Anderson
I have been the 4-H Agent here in Mercer County for 28 years of my 33 years of being an Extension Agent. And the Mercer County Fair is very unique, that it is the oldest existing fair and horse show in the United States. And so with that comes some major responsibilities. And so obviously, the Extension Office and 4-H and FFA as well, our integral part is all the livestock shows that we have here. And over the years that I've been involved here, in 28 years, we have seen a big transition of livestock animals at our fair. 25 years ago, we didn't have a swine show. 25 years ago, we didn't have a rabbit show. 25 years ago, we didn't even have a goat show. So it has really grown into different facets of agriculture, which has been pretty essential.
[00:05:14.490] - Emily Murphy
What do you think's been the most unique experience that you've had at the county fair?
[00:05:18.520] - Dana Anderson
Most unique experience, probably in all the years, was the years when the goat shows were really big and they would actually drop these $50,000 valued goats and let kids babysit them at night. It was just, like crazy that somebody had that much money tied up into a boar goat. But that's been probably the most unique thing that we had so many goats here at that time. And obviously, our goat shows have sort of declined in years, but we're trying to rebound those back to those years.
[00:05:51.800] - Emily Murphy
All right, and before we wrap up, could you maybe say what your favorite part about being a 4-H Agent is?
[00:05:57.840] - Dana Anderson
Favorite part of being a 4-H agent, I think, is when you see youth excel, whenever you tell people you put into anything, you get out of it. And when I see youth excel and want to gain knowledge and share that knowledge with others and become future leaders, which is essential. So at this point, I'm going to actually say she was my cloverbud kid, went on to be a State 4-H Officer and now doing internships. So that makes me very proud to see our youth excel and knowing everything that they can do. It's quite gratifying to see that.
[00:06:33.350] - Emily Murphy
Right. It really is a full-circle moment. Well, thank you for sharing. We're really glad to have you on here.
[00:06:38.800] - Dana Anderson
Thank you.
[00:06:39.870] - Emily Murphy
I'm here with Alexis Jones here at the Mercer County Fair. So, Alexis, could you tell us what you're doing at the fair this week?
[00:06:46.180] - Alexis Jones
Yeah, so, actually, our youth investment Mercer County Youth Investment Livestock Club has a concession stand that's ran by our students and by our youth that's in 4-H and FFA. And we are actually raising money for our projects that we're going to be selling in September. And we are working with them all the way from April, March, all the way till August, when Kentucky State Fair is.
[00:07:11.430] - Emily Murphy
So, Alexis, you are an FFA alumni, correct?
[00:07:14.490] - Alexis Jones
Yes, yes.
[00:07:14.730] - Emily Murphy
So kind of tell us how you got to where you are today.
[00:07:17.370] - Alexis Jones
Yeah so, actually, funny story. My dad was an agriculture educator for 33 years when I graduated, he recently retired. So with that, I was in agriculture, FFA, 4-H, everything throughout my whole-entire life. And now where else would I be if I wasn't? I don't know what I'd be into. And agriculture has just really given me a passion and something that keeps me motivated.
[00:07:41.930] - Emily Murphy
So what would you say is the biggest lesson you've learned through FFA and just being in the agriculture industry overall?
[00:07:47.010] - Alexis Jones
Yeah so I think the biggest lesson is honestly just people not understanding what agriculture is and what agriculture does for them. Agriculture is something that is in everybody's life 24/7/365 days a year, every single day. Whether you're a farmer, whether you're just a pedestrian walking, whether you're wherever you are in your life, agriculture is a part of you, and it is you. And so just kind of getting people to understand, like advocating or just agriculture in general is in your life. So not necessarily hating on it or anything, but just understanding and valuing what agriculture does and what it is for everyone.
[00:08:21.590] - Emily Murphy
Awesome. Well, thank you for sharing. We were really glad to have you on here today.
[00:08:24.530] - Alexis Jones
Thank you, thank you.
[00:08:25.750] - Emily Murphy
I am here with Charlie Flach. And, Charlie, could you tell us what you're doing here at the fair this week?
[00:08:31.210] - Charlie Flach
We're just selling some food from the 4-H concession stand over here, and we've just been in it for a really long time, teaching people about agriculture while we do it. So.
[00:08:44.080] - Emily Murphy
Awesome. So could you tell us a little bit more about yourself and how you got involved in agriculture growing up?
[00:08:50.570] - Charlie Flach
Yeah, I was. I've been in agriculture ever since I was born. My dad used to do stuff with crops, and then he got into the animal business, and now we raise goats and sell goats, and we also have some pigs at home that we show, and we just show our show livestock.
[00:09:05.840] - Emily Murphy
So you're in 4-H and FFA, correct?
[00:09:08.870] - Charlie Flach
Yes, I've been in 4-H for three years, and I've been in FFA for one year now.
[00:09:13.500] - Emily Murphy
Awesome. So could you tell us what your best experience has been so far and maybe what lessons it's taught you as an individual?
[00:09:20.330] - Charlie Flach
I mean, some of the best experiences I've had is just meeting new people, you know, exploring everything out there, learning a bunch about other animals that I didn't know, like, a lot about. And I showed the state fair. It's fun to show there some lessons it's taught me. It's just a lot about hard work because, I mean, getting banners and stuff, it's definitely not an easy thing. You have to continuously work at it, learn more about it. And I've, like I said, I've been doing this since I was little, and I still continue to learn more about it. So it's just a lot about hard work, paying attention, and just keep going forward.
[00:09:52.590] - Emily Murphy
So what do you look forward to most when showing at the fair? County or state fair? Either or.
[00:09:59.120] - Charlie Flach
I mean, both. Just really meeting new people. There's always a lot, like I said, there's always a lot more to learn. You never know what you're going to find out through your way. And also winning. That feels pretty good. I think anyone could agree on that.
[00:10:12.600] - Emily Murphy
So that's awesome. Thank you for sharing.
[00:10:16.810] - Emily Murphy
I'm here with Cort, who is a Mercer County 4-H and FFA member. So, Court, could you introduce yourself and just tell us what you're doing here at the fair?
[00:10:25.090] - Cort Flach
My name is Cort Flach, and I'm helping run the concessions for the youth investment sale.
[00:10:33.220] - Emily Murphy
So how did you get involved in livestock?
[00:10:34.980] - Cort Flach
As a child, through my dad who raised goats and cattle.
[00:10:39.400] - Emily Murphy
So do you show goats and cattle?
[00:10:41.240] - Cort Flach
No, I show pigs.
[00:10:42.490] - Emily Murphy
You show pigs? What's your favorite part of showing pigs?
[00:10:45.610] - Cort Flach
I don't know. I just like meeting the people that also show pigs and everything.
[00:10:49.780] - Emily Murphy
Do you show, like, are you showing at the county fair this week?
[00:10:52.240] - Cort Flach
Yeah, I am.
[00:10:53.080] - Emily Murphy
Have you done that already or is that coming up?
[00:10:56.370] - Cort Flach
It's coming up at the end of this week, Saturday morning.
[00:11:00.470] - Emily Murphy
So what do you look forward to most when showing at the county fair?
[00:11:04.110] - Cort Flach
I really look forward to hoping to win it all. But you can't always win, right?
[00:11:10.190] - Emily Murphy
That's good. Well, thank you for sharing with us.
[00:11:13.810] - Emily Murphy
So I'm here with Zane Ison. Zane, could you tell us what you're doing at the fair and a little bit more about yourself?
[00:11:19.910] - Zane Ison
This week here at the fair, we're at our concession stands here that we set up for every year. We're here every night throughout the week raising money for our youth investment sale that we have in September. The youth investment sale is a sale that we have, we host every year, where each child from Mercer County gets to bring out one project that they've raised. We can sell it there where local businesses can come support and just give us some money and give money to our local kids to help us put them back into our projects, back into our animals, feed shelters, just anything. And the way we do this setup here is we get to raise some money here and some money goes from this, goes towards us and helps just better our youth and our livestock stuff.
[00:12:07.910] - Emily Murphy
Awesome. So you're an FFA alumni, correct?
[00:12:10.260] - Zane Ison
Yes, ma'am.
[00:12:10.820] - Emily Murphy
So could you tell us what your biggest lesson learned through FFA is and how it's made you the person you are today?
[00:12:17.290] - Zane Ison
I'd say what I've learned the most through FFA would be probably hard work gets you pretty far in life. There's not much you can't do if you work for it. I've met a lot of people through FFA. I've met everybody in here through FFA, met great ag teachers through FFA. FFA is really, it's really been a positive impact all my life. It's made me who the person I am today, really.
[00:12:43.760] - Emily Murphy
Awesome. Well, that was a really good answer. Could you tell us about, like you said you showed hogs, is that correct? Could you tell us about maybe some shows you have coming up and what you're looking most forward to?
[00:12:51.360] - Zane Ison
This Saturday, 8:00 in the morning is our Mercer County pig show. And then after that we'll head to Louisville for State Fair. Be the third week of August. Be up there Monday through Sunday showing about every day except one day. I think we're showing every day.
[00:13:10.630] - Emily Murphy
So what do you look most forward to when you show at the state fair?
[00:13:15.030] - Zane Ison
I'd say getting to hang out with friends, hanging out with people who live 3 hours away and we don't hardly get to see them until state fair. Or just meeting the new breeders around here and just kind of getting more knowledge about pigs or anything, really.
[00:13:29.420] - Emily Murphy
Awesome, well, thank you for sharing with me.
[00:13:32.390] - Outro
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