When you read this, I will have been to five state fairs in a span of three weeks.

While all are right here in the Midwest, each is as different as the next. But they all

command great crowds as people flock to eat fair food, look at exhibits, attend great

concerts and get on a ride or two.

 

It’s an amazing time of year, where agriculture is front and center for everyone to enjoy.

I saw a line of people waiting to get into the building full of agriculture

exhibits at the Iowa State Fair. These families were not in line

for food, or in line to ride a ride or see a show – but to see what the

world of agriculture has on display. In my book, this is awesome.

We have a wide world of people out there who are not only curious

where their food comes from, but just about agriculture in

general. Some of them just want to touch a cow.

Others want to see how hogs walk. Some of them want to feel

the softness of a horse’s muzzle, and some folks just want to

be taken back to their roots where they romanticize about a

gentler, slower life of hot, hazy summer days spent drinking a

cold Coke or a glass of iced tea sitting under a big shade tree

on their grandparents’ farm.

Consumers of our agricultural products come from all over to

experience what they know nothing about. They sneer at the

smell of manure, stand in awe at the size of a mature cow and

cannot even fathom the beauty of a six-horse Percheron hitch dressed up in their

polished leather harnesses and shiny silver accents.

As I observe the action of exhibitors and reaction of the public, I wonder, as exhibitors,

are we worthy of the public’s attention? Do we act like we care about what

consumers think of us? Or do we look at them as a nuisance, getting in the way

during a busy show day?

Are we mindful to keep things tidy so they don’t have to step around manure piles?

Are we careful to watch out for those who don’t know enough to get out of the way

of the 1,200-pound steer? Are we impatient with those who don’t have the common

sense to keep their hands away from a horse’s mouth? I think all of us have had moments where we regret our reaction to a consumer.

Especially when we are hot, sweaty, sleep-deprived and hungry for a good meal.

This is a unique opportunity for producers to educate the public in person. Let’s

not squander it with an exhaustion-filled response to a difficult situation. Leave our

consumers with a good taste in their mouth.

A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of

this publication.