Farm Gadget Show will again be part of 2017 Fair
Exhibitors everywhere are invited to be part of this year’s Farm Gadget Show at the 2017 Clay County Fair.
The show, which started in 2015, began from the “All Around the Farm” page that comes out in the back of every “Successful Farmer” magazine.
“Exhibits don’t have to be something you made (or make) from scratch, but could be something you have improved on to make it work for the job you need done on the farm,” said Karen Schwaller, show superintendent.
Schwaller said farmers tend to be problem solvers. “If farmers can’t find what they need or want, they often go back to their farm shops to make what they need—whether it’s something they build from scraps out of the iron pile or wood pile, or they might make an improvement on an existing piece of machinery to change or improve the way it operates,” she said.
Exhibits can be something as small as a hand-held object, to something that needs to be hauled onto the fairgrounds on a trailer. Whatever the “gadget,” it needs to be something that can be used on the farm. Photo exhibits will also be accepted if the gadget cannot physically be brought to the Fair, but will be used for exhibit purposes only, and will not be eligible for cash prizes.
Farm Gadget Show exhibits are judged on workmanship, design, usefulness, appearance, safety and creative use of resources. The Fair offers $100 for first place in each category, $50 for second place and $25 for third place.
“We have categories for adult and youth individuals, along with groups of adults and groups of youth,” said Schwaller. “Any farm inventions or machine changes/improvements you bring are fair game as long as they follow the guidelines on the Fair’s website.”
Exhibitors don’t have to be farmers, but the exhibit does need to be farm-related. Exhibits do not have to look like they came from the showroom floor, either, Schwaller said.
This year’s show will also showcase old-time farm gadgets as the Fair celebrates its Centennial. Anyone with an old/antique exhibit they would like to bring in for display purposes only is welcome to do so. Those exhibits will be protected in glass cases, and fairgoers will have a chance to guess what the “gadgets” are to win gift certificates to eating establishments at the Fair.
“This new competition area has gotten much traffic in its first two years at the Fair, and fairgoers do seem interested in looking at the exhibits and reading about how they are used,” said Schwaller.
CLICK HERE for an exhibitor handbook and learn more about the show’s guidelines and rules.