By Susan Suenram ? Guest Commentary
I am worried about the steady decline in the livestock and agricultural emphasis at the 49th District Agricultural Fair in Lakeport. I voiced my concerns at the March 23 fair board meeting. There were seven others present with the same concerns. Our worries fell on deaf ears. Although we out-numbered the fair board members, they voted 6-1 to allow Lakeport Hobbies to use the Paul Alexander Barn during the fair. The fair board made no decision on where to house the Open Dairy Goat Exhibit, which is now displaced. With the Baldwin Pavilion already bursting at the seams with livestock, the empty dirt floor beef barn and the empty horse barn were suggested as alternatives.
The popular Open Dairy Goat Exhibit has used the same barn since the late 1990s when the first goat show was held. The Paul Alexander Barn is ideal because of the clean concrete floor, dust-free environment for milking and animal health. A misting system keeps the animals cool on hot September days, which reduces the animals” stress.
Filling the concrete floor with dirt and housing remote controlled car races does not seem to be a very practical use of a livestock barn. I am sure that the fairgrounds will receive some revenue from Lakeport Hobbies, but I do not believe it should come at the expense of other longtime fair exhibitors!
I am saddened to see empty horse and cattle barns at our fair. It raises the question, “What is next to go?”
My husband and I have been involved in agriculture in Lake County all of our lives. We have shown at “our” fair as 4-H members in our youth and our own children have grown up through the 4-H and FFA programs. We have been 4-H leaders, Jr. Livestock Committee members and served as committee volunteers to improve the fairgrounds. There is a tree planted at the Junior Building in memory of my mother and father for their generous support to the Lake County 4-H program and its youth.
I am a past Lake County Fair Board member, with a life-long passion for agriculture. I strongly believe that an agricultural based lifestyle has much to offer the youth of today. Farm children usually learn lessons of life that are denied to their non-farm counterparts. Children who grow up caring for animals learn responsibility at an early age and they learn to have compassion for those animals.
In today”s economy, many people are interested in becoming self-sustainable, growing their own vegetables and raising their own animals for food. Our “Buy local” theme cannot be promoted anywhere better than at our local county fair, through livestock and agricultural exhibits. I would like to see our fair management out promoting and encouraging more of these types of exhibits instead of contracting away the use of our barns.
Agriculture is the leading industry in Lake County and in the state of California. I feel that agriculture should have better representation on our fair board than just one person. I was that one person once and I know how difficult it is to be heard. My hat is off to Jennifer Strong for going to bat for us at that last meeting!
I am confident that the dairy goat exhibitors will adjust to whatever happens. I am disturbed, though, at the ease at which decisions are made by the powers that be and their failure to support livestock and agriculture at our fair. It is time agriculture is made a priority. In the future, when more space is needed for the Junior Livestock exhibits, or when the Open Beef group wish to return to showing at the fair, or the Open Dairy Goats need more space and, hopefully, someday horses will return, it would be nice if all of the remaining livestock barns are not contracted out to other interests!
Write to the fair board to voice your support of local agriculture. Write soon, your letters to the fair board must go into the information packets for the next meeting.
Sue and her husband are organic farmers in Kelseyville. She can be reached at suenran.ranch@att.net.
