By Randy McNutt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

When a lamb raised by Kyle Blakely of Milford Township received a first-place grand championship at the Butler County Fair this week, the prize represented more than another award. That's because Kyle, 17, doesn't live on a traditional farm.

Joe Brothers of Goshen naps in a stable alongside his prize-winning steers Thursday at the Clermont County Fair in Owensville. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

"The majority of people who show at the fair these days don't live on farms either," said Steve Bartels, a Butler County agricultural extension agent.

Even more interesting, the Butler County Fair - and many other larger fairs in southern Ohio - continues to attract large crowds, despite waves of suburban growth that have washed across the area in the last decade.

The secret? Like some animals, the fairs have adapted to the changing suburban landscape by offering new programs and attractions.

"Obviously, our bigger farms are disappearing," said Dan Martin, secretary-manager of the Butler County Fair. "But a lot of smaller ones - one to five acres - are still there, and people are raising animals. Our Junior Fair program is strong. We used to have a lot of large dairies, but not anymore. That's due to urban growth. Although a lot of families have left the farm, they are still agriculturally oriented. They want their kids to participate in 4-H."

A goat chews on Megan Prewitt's blouse at the Butler County Fair in Hamilton. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

The Butler County Fair in Hamilton will end Saturday and the Clermont County Fair in Owensville on Sunday. They represent our agricultural history and heritage, having been organized in 1851 and 1849, respectively. The 148th Hamilton County Fair in Carthage will run July 30 through Aug. 3.

Despite their growing suburban populations, Butler and Clermont expect to attract 100,000 visitors to their fairs, which is considered a good year. Fairs organizers have achieved this through a savvy balance of hit singers, diverse 4-H programs and, of course, the fairs' traditional appeal.

In any county, the 4-H program is the gear that drives the fair. The group has adapted by offering photography, rocket-building, computers, creative arts, fishing, hunting, forestry, conservation - "anything a kid is interested in," Bartels said.

Although 1,400 4-H members live in Butler County, he said, only about 300 of them live on traditional farms.

FAIR GUIDES

Schedules and information about Tristate fairs

"If we depended solely on kids from farms, we'd be in trouble," he said. "There are only about 300 commercial farms left - those that sell $100,000 or more of products off the farm in a year. But we have 1,025 farms that sell only $1,000 or more."

If you could jump into a time machine and visit the Butler County Fair on October 13-14, 1836, when its forerunner was held in the public square, you would find a much different event. It was called a farmer's holiday. Displays consisted of hoes, scythes, sickles, produce and livestock. Participants held plowing matches. They received awards for their work.

In this way, the fairs have remained constant. But they have gone modern, too.

"This week we had a monster truck show and we were packed - great attendance," said Julie Herron-Renner, who works in the office at the Clermont County Fair. "We had an up-and-coming country singer, Joe Nichols. Every year we try something different. We want to be current and appeal to all ages."

Last week, the Warren County Fair in Lebanon featured for the first time a demolition derby with combines. The Lebanon Raceway was filled - inside and out - as spectators watched nine men, mostly county residents, bang and bump into each other until their vehicles stood motionless.

Fair officials said combine derbies are a trend at fairs across Ohio. Their use helps maintain the rural base of visitors and also appeals to other people as well.

But combines are slowly disappearing from area fields. Warren, Clermont and Butler counties all are experiencing unprecedented suburban growth. In the last 25 years, Butler has lost more than 30,000 acres of farmland to residential, commercial and industrial development in areas such as West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty townships.

Meanwhile, southern Warren County has become one of Ohio's busiest areas, brimming with shopping centers, hotels and big business such as Procter & Gamble. Only the ghost of rural life remains in Deerfield Township. In Clermont County, the eastern side of the county remains rural, while the west is booming with residential and commercial development.

Warren County Fair officials say they expect continued slow growth of the fair, despite the development.

When counties change so drastically, the number of traditional farms and larger animals declines. Not surprisingly, in Butler there are fewer dairy cows today but more sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens and hogs. Horses have also increased, Bartels said, probably reflecting the suburban trend. Butler is among the top three counties in Ohio for the number of young people involved with horses.

On a sunny morning this week at the Butler County fairgrounds, hundreds of children - from grade school to high school age - walked in and out of the barns and prepared their animals for showing.

"There's been a decline in the bigger steers at the fair," said Amy Bens, whose parents own a 115-acre farm in Wayne Township. She farms four acres there and holds a part-time job.

"We see more feeder calves these days because they don't require as much space and time to take care of," she said. "Having the smaller animals, the fair has changed. In other ways, it hasn't."

It has changed in entertainment. This week's singers included major country-music stars Joe Diffie, Tracy Lawrence and Mark Chesnutt.

"We also built exhibits to show people how cows are milked, so kids know that milk comes from cows and not Trauth (dairy company)," Martin said. "We also have the Farm Zone, where people can dig for potatoes and learn what agriculture is all about. Face it, our job is to educate people about farm life."

When Marjorie Angst of St. Clair Township started coming to the Butler County Fair in 1935, the county was all about farm life. She was a childhood member of 4-H and later a leader.

"Our fair board tries to keep things rural," she said. "A lot us keep coming back. The county has lost so many farms, but we still have a good agricultural base."

Patsy Morehead of Reily Township started coming to the fair in 1957, when she was a child in 4-H, and the habit has stuck.

"The biggest change at the fair is that there is no farm equipment this year," she said. "Nothing for the farmers to dream about. They have their own farm shows now."

On Wednesday, when the Hamilton County Fair (once called the Carthage Fair) opens, it will feature non-farm attractions, including a magic show, cooking demonstrations, a county park naturalist program, dancing, jazz, Christian rock, karaoke and "Alahambra Dance of the East."

The fair also will feature offbeat attractions such as Kachunga and the Alligator Show, the Milking Parlor, a blacksmith and the Days of Yesteryear Building, a museum of classic furniture, appliances, farm equipment and cars.

Its big agricultural base long gone, Hamilton County is left with mainly the tradition of the fair. It all happens on 30 acres in Carthage in the northern part of the county, near I-75.

"Today, it is still a distillation of community pride, though its mission has changed," members of the Hamilton County Agricultural Society said on the group's Web site. "For in addition to educating future farmers ... the Hamilton County Fair also serves to educate an urban population about the importance of agriculture.

E-mail rmcnutt@enquirer.com