The way Ken Silsby sees it, without livestock at the state fair, there are people going through life not knowing the difference between a dog and a goat.
For Silsby, his wife Nona Silsby and the dozens of other livestock exhibitors at the Bangor State Fair on Thursday, this year marks the first time in three years livestock have been a part of the annual event.
During the hiatus at the fair, homesteaders in Maine haven’t had a place to show or learn about livestock in the area.
Although the demolition of the barns that housed agricultural exhibits last year seemed like it would spell the end of the fair tradition, animals are back this year and inside the Cross Insurance Center.
“This is not day one of the fair for me,” said Natalie Brennan, director of marketing for events at the Cross Center. “We have been working to make this happen for a while and it’s really great to see how it all came together.”
It’s not the first time large animals have been in the arena as it hosts national bull riding championships. But it was a welcome change for some participants.
“This is a really smart use of the facility and this space,” said Corinna Caron, who has a farm in Corinna. “It was really easy to back into the loading area to unload our animals and they are really enjoying the air conditioning.”
Caron worked with fair organizers to bring livestock back to the Bangor State Fair this year. She would love to see the livestock inside every year.
All around the Cross Center, a space perhaps better known for hosting high school basketball, there were cows, goats, sheep and lambs all getting VIP treatment from their owners.
Clippers hummed as the fur on goat legs were meticulously trimmed. Cows patiently stood in special grooming stalls to be shampooed and brushed. A constant stream of fresh hay and other treats was being delivered to animals who were housed in temporary enclosures lined with inches-deep fresh wood shavings.
The entire space was being kept at a comfortable climate controlled 70 degrees fahrenheit.
Over at her exhibit, Macy Scott was making sure each of her four dairy cows were eating as she led them one by one to a bucket full of special cow treats.
“They get a lot of attention,” said her mother Sheila Scott. “Macy has worked all year for this.”
Macy Scott is a member of Penobscot 4-H Livestock Club. Members spend almost a full year raising one or more livestock animals with the ultimate goal of showing them off and possibly selling them.
The ideal spot to do that had been the Bangor State Fair until a few years ago. Without that venue club members held their annual show and auction on Caron’s farm last year.
It worked as a temporary albeit less than ideal solution, Caron said.
Holding the event on private property meant the thousands of people who would normally see and learn about the animals at the fair did not. It also cut down on the number of buyers who attend the auctions with money to buy animals raised for slaughter by club members.
On Thursday, in between making sure her club members had everything they needed, Caron was organizing the delivery of enough temporary fencing to house the 175 goats scheduled to arrive Saturday.
“We are lucky to be able to borrow the fencing from two other fairs,” Caron said.
There were not a lot of spectators during the first few hours of the fair, but Caron and her 4-H club members are looking forward to talking to people about livestock care over the coming days.
Across the arena in the goat section, Ken and Nona Silsby had already set up a display describing the different breeds of goats and were ready to talk about goats. Close by were two pens housing their recorded gray goats.
“We used take care of the goats Cumberland fair and one year I heard a lady ask ‘I wonder what kind of dog that is?’” Ken Silsby said. “Without having animals at fairs people just don’t understand what farming or farm animals are all about.”
While he was talking, the two judges were examining the Silsbys’ goat breed educational display. Along with helping people learn more about the different livestock at the fair, the displays create a bit of competition among participants.
“If we win, we get $400,” Ken Silsby said. “It won’t happen — the cattle people will get it, they always do.”
