Support your industry and work a shift during the Fairfield County Fair, October 6- 13.
The free market system will ultimately have a significant voice in how our farm animals are managed . . . the bottom line is that our clientele wants to know more about the food we are producing.
Those words were shared eight years ago by John Grimes as he discussed the 2010 agreement that initiated the creation of the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board. Little has changed today in that regard, and little is expected to change anytime soon. With the majority of our consuming public two, three, or even four generations removed from the farm, whether we like it or not, public concern for how our food is produced, by whom, and the sustainability of methods we use is the reality of the world we presently live in. As we consider how best to gain confidence with consumers regarding the daily care and efficient production of livestock and the wholesome nutrition it provides their family’s diet, perhaps one of the best opportunities we have begins in a few weeks with the opening of the Fairfield County Fair.
After several years of hiatus, local cattlemen, their spouses, older 4-H and FFA youth, and livestock industry people are once again being invited to promote locally grown and harvested beef directly to local consumers by simply serving a shift in the Fairfield County Cattlemen’s Steak Trailer throughout the Fair.
Over the years, any cattleman who ever spent time serving the public from a food stand might agree a fair – especially our local county Fair – is a unique experience where the most rural and urban segments of our society have the opportunity to interact. Or, as the Ohio State Fair publicity recently suggested, it offers meals served by the Ohio farmers who raise and grow the food that feeds our world.
Simply, the best!
It does indeed provide the opportunity for us to promote our product and answer questions the consumer might have about it. If you don’t believe in the value of “promoting your own product,” then spending a few hours in the Steak Trailer serving ribeye sandwiches, “Cattlemen’s Burgers” or perhaps even a hickory smoked brisket sandwich might change your mind!
If you’d like to help out by working a 4 hour shift sometime during the Fair from October 6 through the 13th, simply contact local FCCA Director Ray Breagel (740-743-0141) and he’ll get you signed up. The trailer will be open daily from 10 to 10, with groups of 4 people staffing 4 hour shifts, beginning at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
Years ago, innovative merchandisers such as Colonel Sanders, Bob Evans, and Orvil Reddenbacher discovered the benefit of associating the face of the producer to the product that was being marketed. The same benefits are evident at “commodity” food stands located at places like State and County Fairs. It can only add to consumer confidence in a product when they know producers and their families are willing to “show their face” at the point of consumption.
Since we serve locally grown beef processed by local business partner Bay Packing, your support of the Fairfield County Cattlemen’s Steak Trailer is also a show of support for our local beef cattle industry. And, since much of the funding generated by the Steak Trailer each year is returned to support our youth through spending at the Junior Fair Livestock Sale and providing college scholarships, you’ll also be helping to support the next generation of informed young cattlemen and cattlewomen!
