Indiana Farm Bureau looks to educate Hoosiers on Indiana agriculture in the Farm Bureau Building during this year’s state fair. State fair attendees are welcome to partake in free events, activities and giveaways and to view displays and a variety of videos on Indiana farmers. INFB’s activities target visitors of all ages to learn more about where their food comes from and the farmers who raise and produce Indiana’s top commodities.
INFB’s collection of games and exhibits will be open to fairgoers inside the Farm Bureau Building on the north end of the fairgrounds.
“The Indiana State Fair is a great opportunity for us to advocate for the agricultural industry,” said Randy Kron, INFB president. “It’s important for us to share our story, so that visitors walk away with a better understanding of the work that we do every day.”
This year’s highlights include:
- Barn Theatre: The Farm Bureau Building features a “Barn Theatre,” where guests can watch videos about Indiana farmers of all kinds. This year’s videos focus on sheep, white corn, chicken, wheat, draft horses and boer goat farmers. Also included are several agribusiness professionals, who also contribute to Indiana’s agriculture industry, including a lender and an agriculture teacher.
- Free Popcorn: INFB will serve free popcorn every day from noon to 5 p.m. in the Farm Bureau Building. Guests are welcome to enter a drawing to win free popcorn for a year (400 bags of microwaveable popcorn), courtesy of Preferred Popcorn in Palmyra, Indiana.
- Ag Fact Adventure: The Ag Fact Adventure game lets participants search for agricultural facts throughout the Farm Bureau Building to earn a prize. Facts cover a variety of topics like farm technology, household products and food production.
- Matching Game: A new matching game will make its debut in the Farm Bureau Building this year. The new exhibit encourages children to match the farm product with the consumer product that it is made out of, which is meant to teach children about the agricultural products that make up every day items.
“It’s important to show kids how agriculture plays a role in their everyday lives, especially with the foods they eat,” said Kron. “We feel a duty to ensure that the importance of agriculture is not lost with the next generation.”
This year also marks INFB’s 100th anniversary. To educate fairgoers about INFB’s rich history, INFB has created a new display which highlights the major milestones of the organization since 1919. In addition:
- INFB has partnered with People’s Brewing in West Lafayette to brew a beer made with ingredients from Indiana farms. The beer, named 100th Harvest, is produced as a honey wheat ale and can be found in the state fair beer garden. Fairgoers can receive additional information about the product in the Farm Bureau Building. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Farm Bureau Foundation.
- Annual event, Taste from Indiana Farms, hosted by the INFB Women’s Leadership Committee, will take place August 13 through 15 in the Farm Bureau Building auditorium from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. At this free event, volunteers will pass out food samples that contain ingredients grown on Indiana farms. This year, a variety of new commodities will be available for visitors to sample, and new this year attendees may also participate in live food demonstrations and an experimentation station.
Two additional INFB-sponsored events will return for this year’s state fair. Both events are designed to allow guests to learn about livestock in Indiana.
- Animal Town, presented by INFB, is a daily showcase that includes several species of farm animals like beef and dairy cattle, draft horses, llamas, chickens, goats, swine, sheep and rabbits. The exhibit gives state fair attendees a chance to ask questions and closely interact with livestock. Fairgoers can find Animal Town at the east end of the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand.
- The Supreme Drive recognizes Indiana’s supreme 4-H breeding ewes, dairy females and gilts. The Supreme Drive will take place Sunday, August 11 at 4 p.m. in the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
The Indiana State Fair takes place August 2 through August 18 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Events Center in Indianapolis. Daily gate hours are 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. The Farm Bureau Building is located on the north side of the fairgrounds, near gate 12, and is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Source: INFB