Agriculture on display at Ward O'Hara

Local agriculture organizations hope to revive a revered tradition in Cayuga County once dedicated to highlighting the area's ties to farming.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County 4-H Youth Development program, in conjunction with Cayuga County Parks and Trails and the Ward W. O'Hara Agricultural & Country Living Museum and Dr. Joseph F. Karpinski Sr. Educational Center, will host the 2012 4-H Youth Fair and Remember the Big Six Picnic events July 12 to 15.

Dorothy Slegle, the Cooperative Extension's 4-H Community Educator, said young people throughout the county have been diligently constructing animal and non-animal projects for months in preparation for the event.

"We did our non-animal project judging Sunday and Monday, and they've been getting their displays set up," Slegle said.

She said projects will be judged with blue, red and white ribbons awarded by the 4-H program's judges. A select number of projects will be selected to compete at the New York State Fair this August.

Besides the non-animal projects, which include topics ranging from food and nutrition, communication, art, woodworking and horticulture, many of the youth projects focus on animal husbandry.

"We have about 30 dairy cattle this year, eight or nine dogs and about 25 chickens, rabbits and ducks," Slegle said. "People who come to view the exhibits will be able to talk with the exhibitors about their animals."

The 4-H program aims to teach school-aged children concrete skills they can use once they graduate, she said.

"The things they do help them build life skills that can take them through college and into adulthood," she said. "Some of our students start as young as 5 and work all the way through high school."

To add to the agricultural excitement, the weekend's event will harken back to the Big Six Picnic, an event that brought together the community's farm-themed organizations.

In the 1950s, '60s and '70s the Cayuga County Farm and Home Bureaus, the 4-H clubs, the Vocational Agricultural Teachers Association of Cayuga County, the Dairymen's League, Pamona Grange and the Easter Milk Producers Co-Operative Association banded together as the Big Six to host an annual event.

Called the Big Six Picnic, the free event offered agricultural displays, attraction and entertainment.

In honor of the Big Six, this year's shindig will offer tractor displays, wagon rides, vendors, live entertainment and more.

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