Okay, by the time this next week is over, you guys are going to have had more than enough of my yapping about State Fair! As you can tell (from this and that), showing was a big deal in my life, so bear with me.
Anyway, I was chatting with someone at work this week and mentioned that I would be out of the office next Tuesday for the sheep show. She said, "You know, I wish I knew where the animals were at the fair." I had a befuddled look on my face I said, "What are you talking about? Like the livestock?" She said, "Yea, I've never seen the animals." I didn't know what to say--she is missing what it's all about!
She apparently goes to the midway, maybe hits up a horse race, eats a corn dog or some other fried food on a stick, and does some of the commercial buildings and art exhibits and calls it a day. And apparently she's not alone. One of my friends just started school at UNM and was shocked that most of the people in her dorm had never been to the fair, despite living here their whole lives!
My experience, obviously, has always been exactly the opposite--I don't think I've ever set foot on that midway! I have always spent probably 95% of my time at either the livestock barns or in the dorms where the exhibitors stay during the week. The other 5% would be divided between rodeos at Tingley, street dances in front of Tingley, and the horse races in the afternoon.
For me the animals are the State Fair. For her, they had nothing to do with it. I think we have a big disconnect here that we need to fix somehow.
A huge point of having fairs is to give the public an opportunity to see animal agriculture in person. Today the average American is 3 generations removed from the farm. For a lot of people, this might be the only time they ever see a steer or a pig or a lamb in person. Educating consumers is something that is vitally important to agriculture--and somehow our State Fair is missing a great opportunity to do that.
In the livestock barns there are not only the junior exhibitors' animals, but there are also sheep shearing demonstrations, wool weaving exhibits, and they actually milk dairy cows and talk people through the entire process. All of these things are great ideas and important things for people to learn--but they are only effective if the people who we want to educate make it into the barns!
I'm not saying some people don't wonder into the barns. Every year showing I would get three questions from "city people" in the barns. And I do mean every year, without exception. (1) [Referring to the lambs wearing muzzles] Do they bite your fingers?; (2) [Regarding shearing the lambs] Does that hurt?; and (3) [Referring to the finewool lambs] Is that one a boy because he has horns?
Some of the questions seemed silly, and sometimes it was annoying when people wanted to pet the lambs, but you know what, it was usually pretty cool too. It's fun getting to teach people about animals and our way of life. It's great that they are there, forming their own opinions about us and our industry, instead of listening to one of the crazy anti-agriculture organizations that exist today.
I hope that this disconnect between State Fair goers and the livestock exhibits can be cured somehow--I'm not exactly sure what the "fix" is. Maybe we need to be sure the people on the State Fair Board or whatever it's called know about agriculture and showing an want to work hard to promote it. That's probably not something we can fix over night. But I know that if everyone tells all of their friends that they should go to the fair AND be sure to check out the animals, that might be a start. 
Fairs should be free advertising and education for agriculture--and I can't think of better spokesmen than junior showers! They are what it's all about!
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