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MO State Fair ready if drought/heat continue
If the current drought and heat continue through the upcoming Missouri State Fair, Director Mark Wolfe says they are ready for fairgoers and livestock. Wolfe tells Brownfield their livestock facilities are set up for keeping animals comfortable.
Wolfe tells Brownfield Ag News, “All those barns have electric power for fans and plenty of water supply. Missouri’s state department of ag vet office will be on-site throughout. Those people do a terrific job. We went through a very hot fair back in 2007 and I think had almost zero casualties amongst the animals.”
Wolfe says people need to stay hydrated and take advantage of the 15 air conditioned buildings at the fair. He says this has been an “odd” year, “In terms of the length of time that we’ve had to put up with this heat and the extent of the drought in Missouri. You know, maybe it’s an opportunity to come out to the fair and have a little fun. Come out and see the good side of agriculture, for sure, and come out and enjoy what we’ve done at the fair this year to promote our youth and the future of agriculture in our state.”
State Fair Commissioner Lowell Mohler of Jefferson City says they anticipate a solid state fair attendance based on county fairs.
Mohler tells Brownfield Ag News, “Kind of the best of the best come to Sedalia following the county fairs and we always watch the attendance, during July particularly, at county fairs and this year even in spite of the heat and the drought their numbers have been up. So, it’s very encouraging and, again, I think people want to have fun and fairs are a place to do that.”
So, far, Wolfe says, the drought has not affected the number of exhibitors. The Missouri State Fair runs August 9th through the 19th in Sedalia, Missouri. The fair campground opens for livestock exhibitors on August 5th.
AUDIO: Mark Wolfe & Lowell Mohler (4:00 mp3)
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