JEFFERSON —
Flowers are perky and pretty, the tomatoes plump and red and livestock is healthy at the Ashtabula County Fair — all despite a summer that’s been short on rain.
The drought has not impacted the number or quality of produce and other home-grown exhibits that hundreds of people have entered in the fair, officials said. Some categories may have seen fewer entries due to the weather, but this year’s ribbon-winners compare favorably to the champions from previous summers, they said.
“There’s a nice quality of vegetables here,” said Wynn Wessell, a fair board director. “It’s obvious they’ve been well cared for. They look good.”
Larry Kotnick, fair board president, said the amount of hay entered in the fair was down, which he attributed to the dry spell. “Most farms got just one cutting of hay,” he said.
Livestock put before judges haven’t shown any effects of the hot, dry summer, Wessell said. Pigs and cattle have benefited from the care lavished on them by their youthful owners, he said. A judge at the carcass show was impressed by the hogs she examined, he said.
“The quality of the hogs was excellent,” Wessell said.
Ashtabula County’s farmers know how to care for livestock in all kinds of adverse conditions, Wessell said. “It’s their livelihood,” he said.
4-H members, meanwhile, take pains to groom the best animal they can for the fair, the directors said.
“They take pride in their animals,” Wessell said. “They do everything they can to take care of them.”
Rainfall has been a “hit or miss” situation in the county this summer, Wessell said. Some areas have received downpours while spots just a few miles away remain parched, he said.
Rainfall in northeast Ohio is down nearly two inches compared to averages, according to information from the National Weather Service. Rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for today and Friday, say NWS forecasters.
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