LJWorld.com

Photo by Mike Yoder

Holly Vesecky, 7, hangs on a fence gate while her father William Vesecky, Vinland, brings her calf Butterscotch in from the pasture so she can work with the calf in preparation for the fair. Holly, a member of the Vinland Valley 4-H Club, will compete in several events at the Douglas County Fair with her bucket calf, flowers, pig, duck, chicken and rabbits. This will be her first participation in the annual fair.

Tucker Gabriel has received an economics lesson this year along with his main 4-H project.

The 10-year-old Eudora boy has watched the sticker shock set in as the cost to feed his market steer that he plans to show at the Douglas County Fair (Friday through Aug. 3) has increased.

Steeper corn prices have driven the higher costs for feed, which are up nearly 50 percent compared to last year, according to reports. Tucker's feed for his steer has included a mix of corn, soybean meal and oil, molasses, oats and cottonseed hulls.

"Everything has gone up, mainly because of fuel, every feed ingredient," said his father, Jim Gabriel, of Gabriel Farms.

But the life lessons of responsibility of raising the animal and managing the project have offset the cost, his father said.

"The knowledge you gain from it, it's something that will help him later in life," said Jim Gabriel, also a fair board member.

Fair remains popular

With higher food and fuel prices forcing families to tighten budgets, so far it hasn't cut into the number of livestock and other entries for the fair. Organizers said the strength of the 4-H program and the fair's appeal as a local event could make it a success during tougher economic times.

Tradition has also driven Holly Vesecky, 7, of Vinland, to raise a bucket calf, a pig, a duck, rabbits and chickens to show at the fair.

"It kind of prepares them for life because they learn that for their work, their reward at the end might be the prize at the end of the fair or just raising them in general," said Holly's father, William Vesecky.

Higher fuel and food prices also haven't influenced the fair board's planning for this year's event. Organizers still expect 20,000 to 25,000 to attend the 10-day event at the fairgrounds, 2110 Harper St.

"When maybe they can't go on a summer vacation, they can still come out to the fairgrounds and enjoy family time together," fair board president Tara Flory said. "It's local, and I think people are more open to doing local things these days."

Organizers say the fair still has plenty to do for free, including evening concerts.

Flory said the fair board had tried to publicize its prize money for the demolition derby on Aug. 1 - traditionally the fair's busiest night and a major fundraiser - to provide incentives to encourage participants to show up.

"With the economy, you never know, but we're hopeful that we'll have strong numbers, especially with this being a free fair," she said.

So far, the economy doesn't appear to have diminished the 4-H entries. The extension office also has about 4,900 entries already submitted for exhibits, including more than or the same amount of livestock entries as last year, including for cattle and pigs.

"It's amazed me that we're holding together this well," said Bill Wood, agricultural agent for K-State Research and Extension in Douglas County.

Good experience

High feed prices have been a concern, but Wood said many 4-H members are likely involved in the fair for the experience of raising an animal. It also helps to have the 4-H/FFA Livestock Auction Aug. 3, when the children and teenagers can also get premium bids to help offset costs.

It even costs more to buy ingredients to bake a cake or make other food projects to enter them. Twilla Brown, the food supervisor, is confident the benefits of the cooking projects for the 4-H members will outweigh any added cost.

"That's a family, community competition. It's all rolled into one, and it's something they look forward to ever year," Brown said.

As part of the food judging, 4-H organizers also plan to sell the project and donate the money to local food pantries. They will also be collecting canned goods.

Flory said if fundraising became leaner this year through the carnival or other events, it could affect planning for the 2009 fair. But fair board members say they are confident the fair's tradition and free events and parking will bring in thousands of people.

The fair board depends on about $10,000 in funding from the county commission, plus the county providing maintenance crews and security through the sheriff's office. Tickets sales for events, like the derby, and the carnival make up the rest of the board's budget.

"That hopefully will be a big draw for people to come and experience the fair, even when times are maybe a little lean financially," she said.