By John Smith
The state fair isn't all fun and games. It began as a statewide tribute to New York farming, which today contributes nearly $3 billion to the state's gross domestic product.
That fact can get lost in the excitement of whirling rides and carnival booths, but those are the lures drawing the crowd agriculture industry leaders are aiming for, kids.
Within yards of the colorful fairway is the Dairy Cattle Building where rows of shorthorns or "shorties" and Guernsey cows stand chewing cud under a massive tin roof and blowing fans. It's there that State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball wants to connect the dots for kids with New York's farmlands.
The USDA estimates New York loses an average of 72,000 acres of farmland a year. Yet, as it shrinks, the need for skilled workers adept at technology, marketing, and distribution grows.
"Even though farmers are only one percent of the population, you look at the food system," said the commissioner. "There are so many career opportunities, logistics, food safety, research, genetics, technology. We're talking almost half of the jobs in the country are related to agriculture."
Middle schooler Eli Flynn is just the kind of candidate they're looking for. He came to the fair with his grandfather, John Anderson, to show their cow at the fair. They own Lake Effect farm in Watertown - a birthing center for expectant cows.
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