The 2011 Pennsylvania Farm Show was another success! 400,000 visitors attended this famous Pennsylvania event throughout eight days. For those of you that do not know what the PA Farm Show is, read my February 4, 2010 entry, Pennsylvania's Celebration of Agriculture.
Exhibitors at the 2011 Pennsylvania Farm Show showed visitors how the state’s agricultural industry is “Keeping Pennsylvania Growing.” This year’s theme allowed the event to showcase agriculture around the commonwealth including new technology and innovations.
Something new this year was the “Parade of Agriculture”. Winning exhibits from the horticulture and family living departments at the Farm Show as well as representatives from all of the departments, commodities, and volunteers paraded through the Large Arena. It was a great highlight of those winning exhibits.
The butter sculpture is also another highlight to the Farm Show. This year 1000 pounds of butter was donated by Land O Lakes and used to sculpt a dairy farmer providing milk to children playing on a jungle gym and tossing a ball with a football player. The butter sculpture case was also new this year- a very unique octagonal shape.
Other highlights to this year’s show were the Celebrity Milking Contest, Draft Horse Driving competition, U.S. Farm Report taping, and energy saving exhibits. The Pennsylvania Farm Show Scholarship Foundation also awarded 25 students with $3,500 scholarships with a matched grant from Delaware Valley College and an additional $2,000 from Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded $900,000 in scholarships to 344 Farm Show youth exhibitors.
The Pennsylvania Farm Show is the largest indoor agricultural event in the nation, featuring nearly 6,000 animals, 10,000 competitive exhibits and 290 commercial exhibitors. Thousands flock to the PA Farm Show and I think you should attend next year!
You just missed the 2011 PA Farm Show since it ended January 15, but you can still enjoy a slide show of photos taken at the show!
