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County Fair Podcast

County Fair Podcast

Written by: The County Fair Podcast
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 County Fairs are a celebration of community, centered around the legacy of agriculture. Join The County Fair Podcast Team as they interview fair influencers across North America uncovering the secrets of successful fairs in our ever-changing landscape. If you want to see how other's across the nation are adapting their fairs to enhance the fair experience, this show is for you.© SHOWORKS
Episodes
  • Keeping Animals Free From Disease at the County Fair, with Dr. Tara Urbano - Episode 12

    Keeping Animals Free From Disease at the County Fair, with Dr. Tara Urbano - Episode 12
    Jul 13 2022
    This week, your host is joined by Dr. Tara Urbano, DVM from UC Davis!   Dr. Tara Urbano is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from UC Davis. She has an extensive background in livestock practice, including reproductive health, preventive medicine, and food safety. She attended UC Davis, earning a BS in Animal Science (2011) and DVM (2016) as well as completing a clinical residency. She achieved Diplomacy in the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine in 2019.   Originally from Reedley, CA, Dr. Urbano was involved in FFA with swine, caprine, poultry, and equine projects; and served as Resident Shepherd at the UC Davis Sheep Facility during her undergraduate studies. Currently, she is a Staff Veterinarian for the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine's Livestock Reproduction and Herd Health service, where she serves as a clinician for a diverse client base that includes youth showman, seedstock and show animal producers, backyard operations, large-scale commercial operations, and many fairs throughout Northern California. In her spare time, Dr. Urbano enjoys camping, yoga, reading, and hiking with her labrador.Christina and Dr. Urbano discuss the work of veterinarians and their work at the fairs. Dr. Urbano shares her enthusiasm for working with the showmen and their animals and offers some tips to make sure you have your animal fit for public display and human consumption before you bring it to the fair.Listen in to learn about the role of veterinarians at the county fair.   Topics of Discussion: [:45] Christina McFarling welcomes you to this episode of The County Fair Podcast and introduces her guest, Dr. Tara Urbano, DVM from UC Davis. Christina shares Tara’s bio. [2:01] Christina welcomes Dr. Urbano to the podcast. [2:25] Dr. Urbano shares how she chose veterinary medicine. It started with agriculture and FFA. By college, she knew she wanted to be a livestock vet. [3:23] Dr. Urbano joined FFA in her freshman year. She took AgEd courses in high school. Swine [4:35] High School Ag Ed gave her experience in learning by doing in labs and outdoor classes, not sitting in a classroom all the time. On day one, she learned to castrate pigs. There were plenty of hands-on activities to draw her in. [5:10] Dr. Urbano continues with the learn-by-doing style as she teaches fourth-year senior clinical veterinary students. [5:58] The Big Fresno Fair is the local fair for Dr. Urbano. Growing up, she brought market swine, breeding sows, and gelts. The equine projects were marketed through a horse trainer; she made a commission. For poultry, she sold eggs out of the Ag Science Department. There were early morning and late afternoon hours but it was a lot of fun and she wouldn’t change it. [7:11] While raising animals, participants think about the future; making wholesome, safe food for our population, and being ambassadors of their industry for the general public. [8:13] Dr. Urbano talks about her responsibilities at the fair. Health inspections at check-in at County. For the state fair, she does drug residue testing and reviews drug declaration forms, making sure the animals have followed appropriate withdrawal intervals on any medications they have been given to make sure they are suitable to be harvested at the end of the fair. [8:49] Dr. Urbano often ends up doing some veterinary care, depending on what happens during the fair. Occasionally an animal will injure itself or get sick. [9:19] Dr. Urbano sees client animals sometimes before the show. She advises showmen starting projects to connect with a veterinarian now in case there would be an issue along the way or at the fair that requires veterinary care. Also, to read through the fair board’s published health rules and requirements so they can monitor their animal daily and address issues on time.   Cattle, Swine, and Poultry [12:14] When vets check beef, swine, and poultry for health requirements, they are looking for infectious diseases; anything that’s contagious, including zoonotic diseases that can pass between different species of animals and to humans. They do not want these coming into public display. [13:00] Vets are also looking for unsightly conditions; anything that would cause a member of the public who isn’t around livestock very often to ask about the condition. It may be harmless to the animal, but we’re trying to put our best foot forward, such as a bad sunburn peeling on a pig. It is fit for human consumption, but not for public display. [14:20] Any condition that may make the animal unfit for human consumption, such as an animal that is very sick. Dr. Urbano hasn’t had to address this, but it’s something she teaches her students to look for as they’re checking animals for the fair. [14:51] Dr. Urbano barely needs to put her hands on swine. For all species, she prefers to look at them coming off the trailer, before they go into the showgrounds to make sure that they’re free of disease and fit for show and ...
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    43 mins
  • Rebuilding the Placer County Fairground with a Vision with Carrie Fankhauser - Episode 11

    Rebuilding the Placer County Fairground with a Vision with Carrie Fankhauser - Episode 11
    May 10 2022
    This week, your host is joined by the Manager at the Placer County Fair, Carrie Fankhauser!   The Placer County Fair Association ran the Placer County Fair for 80 years. With an economic downturn, the fair was failing and Placer County considered repurposing the fairgrounds for housing. In 2017, the county approached David Attaway, who stepped up with a vision for a revitalized exhibit building and new event center to be used year-round for the home of the fair as well as sporting events, meetings, and more. This began the organization @TheGrounds, which operates the fair on the fourth weekend of June.   Carrie shares the history of the project and the success it is experiencing as she goes into her fourth year of operations with the fair.Listen in for more info about The Placer County Fair and @TheGrounds.   Topics of Discussion: [:45] Christina Rudolph welcomes you to this episode of The County Fair Podcast and introduces her guest, Carrie Fankhauser, Manager at The Placer County Fair and HR Manager at @TheGrounds. [1:05] Christina welcomes Carrie Fankhauser to the podcast! [1:21] The Placer County Fair is located on the old fairgrounds and was operated by the Placer County Fair Association for 80 years. With an economic downturn, the fair needed help. In 2017, @TheGrounds revitalized and expanded the fairgrounds into an event center with a 160,000 square foot indoor sports facility. Some funding came from Placer Valley Tourism. [3:27] There are 25 hotels in the County, with more to come. Placer County is a great area. They wanted a facility to be used in the winter months to keep the hotels busy. In 2019, they broke ground on the Roebbelen Sports Center, named after the construction company. It’s a beautiful, high-tech facility. It’s pretty full for 2022. [6:08] Placer County is northeast of Sacramento, California, on the way to Reno, Nevada. The weather is great with no humidity. It gets hot in the summer. With the fair being held the fourth weekend of June, they always seem to hit the first 100-degree weather! [7:01] The new indoor facility will be used for the fair, providing some protection from the heat. Inside the Roebbelen Center, there will be a cornhole tournament, an acrobatics troupe, and other entertainment, with room for about 20 indoor vendors in the atrium. [8:00] While this is the fifth year that @TheGrounds will run the Placer County Fair, it is the 85th year the fair has been in existence. [8:23] Surrounding the area of @TheGrounds, Placer County has wineries, craft breweries, and agriculture. @TheGrounds is situated in the City of Roseville with museums and arts councils close by. Visitors may not be aware of all the area has to offer. The livestock community is fantastic! [10:18] Exhibitors will bring steer, pigs, goats, sheep, pygmy goats, rabbits, and chickens.[10:59] Carrie tells how COVID-19 influenced the fair. They worked with the county to make testing and vaccinations available, allowing many people to come through the fairgrounds who might not have, otherwise. 2021 was very successful. They were the first fair in the area to open after restrictions were lifted before California closed again! So they were inundated. [16:39] The Placer County Fair’s goal for 2022 is to have 75% of the attendance it had in 2021. [17:03] There is also a fair “right up the road” in a rural area of Placer County, in September, and the State Fair in July is in nearby Sacramento. The county residents support the Placer County Fair. [18:17] Carrie talks about the marketing and branding efforts and the website. They put a lot of effort into marketing in 2021. They have a designated marketing person five days a week in the @TheGrounds office plus the support of Placer Valley Tourism. The Placer County Fair website is also about to be updated. The website can be used to register animals, buy tickets, and more. [20:41] Carrie reveals the marketing focus for 2022. They will have a “Meet the Exhibitor” feature on their Facebook page with bios, pictures, and even short videos. Exhibitors can contribute their information through ShoWorks when they register for the fair. Carrie has been very happy with the simplicity of ShoWorks. [23:26] Carrie gives credit to the staff of @TheGrounds. She shares how the staff has grown from four in 2017 to the large crew of full-time office staff and part-time event workers in 2022. [25:40] @TheGrounds recently lost its CEO, David Attaway, who started @TheGrounds in 2017 and was CEO of Placer Valley Tourism since 2010. Carrie discusses David’s vision for @TheGrounds and how Carrie became both the Fair Manager and the HR Manager for @TheGrounds. The 2022 fair will be Carrie’s first one as the official Fair Manager. [28:24] Christina and Carrie talk about how The Placer County Fair uses all the capabilities of ShoWorks. What would Carrie’s advice be to a brand new user of ShoWorks on how to use it? Use it, from beginning to end! Use the Auction ...
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    38 mins
  • How The Oakland County Fair Came Through the Pandemic and Broke Attendance Records with Sara Ressler - Episode 10

    How The Oakland County Fair Came Through the Pandemic and Broke Attendance Records with Sara Ressler - Episode 10
    Apr 26 2022
    This week, your host is joined by the Assistant General Manager at the Oakland County Fair, Sara Ressler!   Sara Ressler is responsible for handling the marketing and finances for the Oakland County Fair. The Oakland County Fair is a 501c(3) organization with a mission to provide a public educational showcase of our youth through hands-on experience with exhibits, demonstrations, and presentations, as young people develop life skills in a family atmosphere. Before working for the Oakland County Fairs, Sara served on the fair board and was a twenty-year fair volunteer. Outside of the fair, Sara and her family raise and show American Saddlebred horses. They are very involved in the horse community.   In this episode, Sara shares her history both with horses and at The Oakland County Fair. Sara has raised her family around the fair. She shares family stories and her experiences with her family and her fair family! Sara talks about the effects of technology and the pandemic on the fair and what changes are planned, especially around marketing to Millennials and internet access in the county park. She shares her enthusiasm for the youth exhibitors and how they grow in experience and confidence that will last for their lifetimes.Listen in for more info about The Oakland County Fair.   Topics of Discussion: [:45] Christina Rudolph welcomes you to this episode of The County Fair Podcast and introduces her guest, Sara Ressler, Assistant General Manager at The Oakland County Fair.  [1:32] Christina welcomes Sara Ressler to the podcast! [1:51] Sara started with horses when she was four! She has had horses her entire life until she was in college. When her children were young, she took her daughter to the fair, where she saw an American Saddlebred horse. She really liked that horse! That was 20 years ago. [2:55] Sara’s family got their first Saddlebred shortly after that. They currently have nine Saddlebred on their farm. The daughter was 10 when they got the first horse. She is still all-in! She trains the horses and is active in the American Saddlebred show circuit. [3:30] Three years ago the American Saddlebred Association held a raffle for a breeding from the retiring World Grand Five-Gaited Champion Horse. Next year, the resulting horse will be far enough along in his training to start competition. The horse looks just like his “daddy”! [4:42] Alongside her work at the fair, Sara worked for years in Show Office Services, retiring last year. She managed the entries for 21 horse shows a year from Michigan to Georgia and Missouri. The Oakland County Fair is in Oakland County Michigan. [7:09] Sara talks about the wonderful experience she had at the IAFE Convention this year. One session, Marketing to Millennials, presented by college students, was very effective in explaining what Millennials want to see, such as photo opportunities, digital maps, and unique vendors. [13:55] Sara went to the IAFE Convention to pick up ideas to implement at The Oakland County Fair. She decided to work on an integrated interactive map and QR codes for short fair event surveys. The use of technology is now a necessity more than a luxury. [15:49] Sara talks about Wi-Fi availability on a fairground in Northern Oakland County, which is a rural area. They are looking into bringing in fiber optics, but the infrastructure is not there yet. The fair is in a county park. They are looking to partner with the county and also apply for grants and sponsorships. [18:47] Sara encourages fairs to reach out to surrounding fairs for fundraising ideas, such as golden tickets to achieve a goal. [20:39] Sara describes some of the aspects of The Oakland County Fair. It is an opportunity to reconnect to our agricultural roots and see what our kids are doing in their projects with their animals. Sara has a story about a young man in his first year of raising turkeys. [23:04] The younger exhibitors look up to the graduating exhibitors who help and teach them. Children attend the fair and see other children exhibiting and they want to do that too, so they transition to exhibitors and they shine and grow. [25:06] Sara talks about the confidence kids get from their accomplishments. They take that confidence forward in life and apply it to other things. It gives them a leg up for their future. Sara’s children got their first jobs from people who knew their work ethic from exhibiting at the fair. [27:18] Sara’s kids learned when they didn’t place as well as they wanted to, that maybe they hadn’t spent as much time on their project as they should have and they planned to do better the next year. [28:53] Sara tells about the wonderful team around her, both her personal family and the fair family. Her husband is on the board of directors. All three of her kids come back to help her before, during, and after the fair. Her son-in-law participates as a judge. [30:11] The Oakland County Fair will typically have about 2,500 entries. The pandemic ...
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    39 mins
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