Allow us to introduce ourselves: We are Ashley Tate, Reily Bell and Branson Van Fleet, the 2023 Ohio Farm Bureau state fair interns. We recently began our summer working with the Ohio Farm Bureau and are excited for everything to come! Our responsibility is to oversee all aspects of the Land & Living exhibit at this year’s Ohio State Fair. Over the next few months, we will collaborate with commodity groups and agriculturalists across Ohio to develop educational exhibits and activities that enlighten fairgoers about the diverse agriculture industry in our state. However, we needed to experience it ourselves first. During our first full week with the Ohio Farm Bureau, we packed up and took off on the annual intern trip.
Each year, the state fair interns begin their summer with a trip to different farms around Ohio. The farms we visit are owned by members of the Ohio Farm Bureau Board of Trustees. During our visits, we learn about the same types of agriculture that we will be educating others about during the fair. This year, we were also joined by the OSIA Intern Adam Bensman, pictured above with us.
We recently returned from our trip and are happy to say that it was a great experience! Since this trip was such a big part of our summer, we wanted to share it with all of you. Continue reading to learn about each farm we visited and the experiences we had while being “On the Farm”.
Harrison Farms
Our first stop on the trip was to Harrison Farms in Canal Winchester, owned by Katherine Harrison. Located in the bottom corner of Franklin County, there is no shortage of diversity on this farm. Living close to Columbus gives Katherine a unique opportunity to tap into a part of the industry that is often overlooked – agritourism. Whether it is goat yoga or the beautiful event spaces, many people are drawn to Katherine’s farm. While there, visitors can see her many animals, including sheep, goats, chickens, bees, ducks, pigs, cats, and even her horse, Molly. If that doesn’t make you want to sing “Old McDonald,” we don’t know what will! Katherine truly has it all, and we were grateful for the opportunity to experience her farm.
Another thing that makes her farm even cooler is that a lot of her animals are rescue animals. Unfortunately, animals such as ducks, goats, cats and much more are often purchased by people who are unable to or unaware of how to take care of them. Once this becomes evident, many of them are sent to Harrison Farms where they can live the rest of their life happily with proper care.
From the baby goats that are part of goat yoga, to the farm celebrities like Nina the goat and Molly the horse, they were all a blast to be around. It was neat to learn more about agritourism and the ever-evolving activities within it. If you are ever looking to get away from the fast pace of life and want to relax with some awesome animals, we highly recommend checking out Harrison Farms!
Source: ofbf.org
Photo Credit: gettyimages-vwalakte
Categories: Ohio, Education, General