The Daily Star, Oneonta, NY - otsego county news, delaware county news, oneonta news, oneonta sports

Breaking News

Local News

August 4, 2012

4-H fuses fun with farming at Otsego fair

Eight-year-old Emily Hammond of Gilbertsville said she was having fun at the Otsego County Fair on Friday while closely following in her father's footsteps.

She won a blue ribbon for a Yorkshire gilt named Glitter at the 4-H swine show. Her father, Dan Hammond, 44, started in 4-H when he was 8, riding horses.

The fourth-grader said she has been showing farm animals for about two years as part of the Gilbertsville Dairy 4-H group.

"It's just fun to do," she said.

Hammond raises mostly raises beef on his Gilbertsville farm. He was glad Emily and his other two daughters, Meredith, 12, and Kendra, 6, are involved with the program and taking care of animals.

"It gives them a sense of responsibility, he said. "It's going to pay off for them when they go to college."

Emily said, "I look forward to the fair." She said she enjoys being with other people who care about animals and seeing friends.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Otsego County 4-H Director Patti Zellmer said that there are about 200 youths from 10 through 18 years old, who have 2,300 entries in a wide assortment of categories at the fair.

There are about 40 4-H groups in the county, she said.

This is her second year in the position, so she did not know how this compares to other years, but "the numbers are strong," Zellmer said.

As the program provides more offerings in such fields as science and technology, along with the traditional agricultural field, "it has developed into a whole lot more," she said

Attendance at the fair has been about on par with last year, fair manager Judy Harris said. With the weather cooperating so far, she said she expects attendance to total about 18,000 for the first three days.

Text Only
Local News

Additional Content
Join the Debate
Helium
Additional Resources
CNHI News Service
Poll

Do you think it will be a hot summer?

Yes
No
There's no way to tell
     View Results