By Duncan Allison

Go to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in the middle of the winter?

No way, but the Pennsylvania Farm Show is always held in the second week of January and is celebrating its 100th show this year.

It is the largest indoor agricultural event in America and attracts tens of thousands of visitors. It has something for everyone and is certainly not just for farmers. For many families it has become an annual tradition.

This week-long event is open each day from Saturday January 9th at 8am to 9.00 pm until Saturday January 14th when it closes at 5.00 pm. The Show is being held in Harrisburg at the Farm Show site which consists of 24 acres under roof and spread through eleven buildings.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show includes approximately 300 commercial exhibitors and includes over 13,000 competitive exhibits. Admission is free.

There truly is something for everyone and if you get a bit tired walking around seeing the livestock and exhibits, there are three arenas where you can sit down and enjoy a wide variety of different events.

One of the strengths of Pennsylvania’s agriculture is its wide diversity of both crops and livestock. This is evident in the wide range of livestock and crops that farmers bring to the Show to compete for awards.

You can see the champion beef cattle, sheep, swine (9 breeds), draft horses and the samples of hay and straw, apiary products, corn, small grains, edible nuts, fruit, vegetables, mushrooms and Christmas trees.

The judging is carried out on Friday January 8th before the Show opens to the public so you can take a look at the animal or exhibit which has been chosen for an award and the telltale ribbons.

If legs begin to tire, time can be spent sitting down in one of the three arenas. The range of activities is amazing – Arena Carriage Racing, Celebrity Draft Horse Team Driving, Tractor Square Dance, Livestock Judging, Rabbit Hopping Contest, Celebrity Great Grape Stomp, Square Dance Contest and Exhibition, Youth Pedal Tractor Pull, 35th Annual Sheep to Shawl Contest, Cow Milking Contest and many more.

Tickets are only needed for the greatest show on dirt, the First Frontier Circuit Finals Rodeo which is held during the last three evenings of the Farm Show.

There are many educational exhibits and approximately 20 learning stations located throughout the PA Farm Show to explore the many different aspects of Pennsylvania’s number one industry.

The Farm Equipment Display features the sophisticated equipment that is now needed. There are many vendors supplying a wide range of products including 32 wineries which will be displaying their wines and offering tasting opportunities.

No farm show these days is complete without cooking competitions and demonstration by celebrity chefs, cookbook authors and culinary schools. The focus is on the use of Pennsylvania produced ingredients.

2007 was the first year for the PA Preferred Best Chef of Pennsylvania Finals and there are other contests in the Family Living Center including the Blue Ribbon Pie Contest, Sticky Bun Contest, Old Fashioned Fudge Contest and the Incredible Angel Food Contest.

Having your taste buds titillated may remind you of your need for some calories to keep you going. Food is obviously not neglected and the Food Court is a favorite spot for many people as visitors can find some of the best food served in Pennsylvania.

This will be a historic year to visit the Farm Show while it celebrates its 100th anniversary. A brief article like this cannot even begin to indicate the huge variety of exhibits and activities that can be visited at the Farm Show.

More information on the location, parking and details of events can be found on the PA Farm Show website. A further article will report on any Chester County farmers that have managed to win awards at the Farm Show.

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Duncan Allison gained degrees in horticulture and extension education in the UK and US and spent most of his career working for the DuPont Company developing and marketing crop protection chemicals. Recently he has written reports for a global ag publisher and for New Jersey-based international business consultants Kline & Co. For the last 16 years he has been heavily involved in the local farming of Chester County where he has lived with his wife and family since 1980.