Photos by Tom Rivers
On Lower Lake Road in Barker, just across the Orleans County line in Niagara County, the corn is looking good at Atwater Farms, a dairy with several grain silos that are rural landmarks.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Apples grow in this orchard in Gaines earlier this week.
Press release, NY Apple Association
FISHERS – New York state apple growers are back, and they mean business – lots more business this year because of a bigger, better crop with more of the varieties consumers love.
That’s the trade report from a conference call of leading apple growers from across the state that was held July 25. The call was hosted by New York Apple Association, which issued a statement today about the impending big crop.
Growers said this year’s crop would be 100 percent or more than their typical crop due to near-perfect growing conditions, and recent new plantings now coming into production.
This year’s harvest is expected to begin on time and proceed on schedule, with the first shipments of apples arriving at market mid-August. Fruit size and sugars should be excellent as growers have enjoyed close to perfect growing conditions this year – strong bloom, good pollination and plenty of sunlight, heat and moisture.
New York state apple shippers will have more supplies of popular varieties including HoneyCrisp, Gala, McIntosh and Empire because of new plantings over the past 5 to 6 years that are now figuratively – and literally – bearing fruit.
“We want retailers to know that we have more than rebounded from last year, thanks to much more benevolent weather and smart growers who’ve been planting more of what consumers want,” said NYAA President Jim Allen, who hosted the grower conference call. “Call your shippers today to start planning your New York state apple promotions.”
Allen noted that harvest bins, packing capacity and storage space are sufficient to allow an orderly progression to market.
NYAA’s grower leaders forecasted the 2013 New York apple crop will easily meet the state’s 5-year average production of 29 million bushels, and recent plantings now coming into production may push that to exceed 30 million bushels. This year’s good-news crop comes after early-season freezes last year decimated much of the state’s crop in the bud. The 2012 crop was estimated at 17.1 million bushels.
Growers are happy this year, and they are certain retailer and consumers will be too.
“Our retailers saw what was possible last year even with a small crop, prices were strong,” said Allen. “The New York apple industry can’t wait to see what we can do together with them this year.”
To build buyer demand for the 2013 crop, NYAA has been advertising all year long to retailers. Taglines have included “from blossom to awesome” and “live from New York!”
Courtesy of Farm Credit – Farm Credit East’s 2013 interns include front row, from left: Samantha Graf, Christian Carrion and Kaitlyn Miller of Albion. Back row: Alyssa Guilianelli, Darren Fuller, Gregory Murray, Casey Wells and Ashley Simmons.
Press release, Farm Credit East
BATAVIA – Farm Credit East continues its successful college intern program for college students in 2013 with eight interns focused on careers in agriculture.
The group includes Kaitlyn Miller of Albion, who is working out of Farm Credit’s Batavia office. She formatted all the policies and executive orders for Farm Credit’s EastNet – the organization’s Internet site. She also updated the Young, Beginner and Small Farmer Report that is submitted annually to Farm Credit Administration.
Miller will be returning to St. John Fisher this fall for her senior year. She is the daughter of Richard and Sharon Miller.
The 12-week internship opportunity is offered to college juniors each summer. Interns are placed throughout Farm Credit East branch offices. During the experience, students earn an inside look into Farm Credit East and the various careers available by shadowing employees of all different roles. Each intern also completes a major project, many of which fulfill business plan initiatives. These projects contribute valuable information to be used in reports and future planning.
“Our internship program serves as an excellent recruiting tool to maintain Farm Credit East’s commitment to the Northeast agriculture industry,” said Bill Lipinski, CEO of Farm Credit East. “Our internship advisors work hard to put together a well-rounded experience so that each intern is exposed to agriculture native to that area.”
Besides Miller, this year’s Farm Credit East team of eight interns included: Christian Carrion, Cornell University; Darren Fuller, Hamilton College; Samantha Graf, University of Connecticut; Alyssa Guilianelli, Delaware Valley College; Gregory Murray, Cornell University; Ashley Simmons, SUNY Cobleskill; and Casey Wells, Western New England University.
Farm Credit East is the largest lender to Northeast agriculture. It implements the internship program for individuals working towards degrees in agribusiness, accounting, finance or similar fields.
For more information on the Farm Credit East internship program, please contact Briana Beebe at Briana.Beebe@FarmCreditEast.com.
Photos courtesy of Ingrid Lamont – Cornell University and New York Apple Growers LLC today unveiled the names of two new apple varieties in Geneva at Cornell’s Agricultural Experiment Station.
GENEVA – Cornell University and New York Apple Growers LLC have unveiled the names of two new apples that the fruit industry believes will be popular with consumers and profitable for growers.
SnapDragon is a cross between Honeycrisp and NY 752. The new spicy-sweet flavored apple has Honeycrisp’s juiciness and firmness, but doesn’t have that apple’s production problems. Honeycrisp can be vulnerable to seasonal pathogens that cause defects and the apple is tricky to store over winter.
RubyFrost is a cross between Braeburn with Autumn Crisp. That new apple will be 95 percent red.
The new varieties are grown on 930 acres in apple-growing regions throughout the state. When the first mature crop hits the market in 2015 there will be about 930,000 bushels of the two varieties combined.
The trees are still young and aren’t yet producing a full crop. But there will be enough to introduce SnapDragon and RubyFrost to the public through farm markets this year.
The New York Apple Growers are working with Cornell’s apple breeding company to make the new varieties exclusive to NY growers. Cornell will receive royalties from tree and fruit sales, and those funds will support the breeding program, helping to fund a pipeline of more new varieties in the future.
SnapDragon has a juicy crispiness.
Press release
Cornell University
GENEVA – After years of development and consumer testing as “NY1” and “NY2” Cornell University and New York Apple Growers have given the hottest new apples in the Empire State names worthy of their unique assets:
SnapDragon and RubyFrost.
The names were revealed this afternoon by Jeff Crist, vice chairman of the NYAG board of directors, at the annual Fruit Field Days at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, where Cornell breeder and Horticulture Professor Susan Brown developed the varieties.
“SnapDragon is a great name for this apple because consumers found its crispy texture and sweet flavor so appealing,” said Mark Russell, an apple grower and NYAG member.
Each new apple has its own logo.
SnapDragon, formerly NY1, gets its juicy crispness from its Honeycrisp parent, and it has a spicy-sweet flavor that was a big hit with taste testers. Russell anticipates it will be a popular apple for snacking, especially for children.
Brown said she recognized its promise and fast-tracked it for commercialization.
“I remember my very first bite of SnapDragon. The taste, the crispness and the juiciness impressed us,” Brown said. “Retailers will appreciate its other qualities as well, because although SnapDragon’s harvest window starts relatively early – in late September – its long storage and shelf life means retailers may be able to offer it with consistent quality for a longer time than Honeycrisp.”
RubyFrost, formerly NY2, which ripens later in the fall and stores well, will provide a boost of vitamin C well into winter. Brown expects it will be popular with fans of Empire and Granny Smith.
RubyFrost apples are juicy with a red skin.
“I think juicy and refreshing when I eat a RubyFrost,” Russell said. “It’s a fascinating apple, with a beautiful skin and a nice sugar-acid balance, but to me the crisp juiciness is rewarding every time.”
The two varieties have been a decade in the making, and how they’ve gone to market is a first for the Cornell apple-breeding program and the New York apple industry.
Historically, public universities developed new apple breeds and released them to the industry freely. But in 1980, the Bayh-Dole Act gave universities the ability to retain the intellectual property rights for their research, with limited plant-based royalties.
In May 2010, Cornell forged a partnership for a managed release with NYAG, a new industry group, to establish an exclusive licensing agreement in North America for the two apple varieties. Growers pay royalties on trees purchased, acreage planted and fruit produced, and the income is used to market the new varieties and support Cornell’s apple-breeding program.
The first trees were planted in farmers’ orchards in 2011, and now 400 acres are growing across the state. According to NYAG, the still-young trees will produce a limited crop this year, but intrepid consumers can search out SnapDragon and RubyFrost at select NYAG farm stands across the state. By 2015, the varieties will be vying for space in grocery stores among the Empires, Galas and Honeycrisps.
Greater quality, better storage, and disease and insect resistance have long been the goals of Cornell’s apple breeding program. In addition to SnapDragon and RubyFrost, Cornell has released 66 apple varieties since the late 1890s, including the popular Cortland, Macoun, Empire and Jonagold. Brown herself has brought consumers the highly popular Fortune and Autumncrisp varieties, as well as 11 cherry varieties.
Provided photo – Charley London of Albion is the grand champion of the Western Walk Trot.
Press release, Orleans County 4-H Posted
KNOWLESVILLE – About 200 4-H’ers competed in numerous events showing livestock and other animals at the annual 4-H Fair last week.
Click here to see a list of the champion results.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Roger Lamont, an apple grower and leader of NYAG LLC, holds an apple known as NY 2. The name for the new variety will be announced on Thursday in Geneva at the Agricultural Experiment Station.
ALBION – For about a decade, Roger Lamont has referred to them as NY 1’s and NY 2’s. But on Thursday, he will bury those names forever.
Two new varieties that Lamont has helped nurture from near infancy will be named. Each will have its own logo. Cornell University will make the announcement with a group of growers led by Lamont, who has been farming in Albion for a half century.
The announcement will be made in Geneva at the Agriculture Experiment Station. Lamont said the varieties are important to the future of the state’s $300 million apple industry. Orleans County is the state’s second-leading apple producer behind Wayne County.
New York is the second-ranked apple state in the country, trailing Washington, which is by far the dominant apple producer. Washington grows about 130 million bushels of apples a year, compared to 30 million in NY.
Washington’s output has NY growers looking for an edge in the marketplace.
Roger Lamont believes the new varieties, and more to be developed in the future, are critical for New York’s apple industry.
“We worry about being competitive with Washington because they grow five times what we do,” Lamont said. “These new varieties will be unique to New York.”
Lamont has served as chairman of New York Apple Growers LLC, an organization with about 140 members. They all paid for trees of the new varieties, and NYAG has developed a growing and marketing plan to ensure the new apples hit the marketplace in a coordinated way to ensure enough supply for consumers while growers can still make a good profit.
The new varieties are grown on 930 acres in apple-growing regions throughout the state. When the first mature crop hits the market in 2015 there will be about 930,000 bushels of the two varieties combined.
The trees are still young and aren’t yet producing a full crop. But there will be enough to introduce the varieties to the public through farm markets this year.
The New York Apple Growers are working with Cornell’s apple breeding company to make the new varieties exclusive to NY growers. Cornell will receive royalties from tree and fruit sales, and those funds will support the breeding program, helping to fund a pipeline of more new varieties in the future.
New York 1, whose parents are Honeycrisp and a selection called NY 752, has Honeycrisp’s juiciness but will be easier to grow for fruit farmers.
These will be the first “managed varieties” in NY. Cornell used to develop apples, and they were introduced in a haphazard manner. Growers didn’t work together on planning acreage or developing a marketing initiative for the varieties. That often meant new varieties were slow to catch on with the public. If a new apple proved to be a star, growers might then overproduce the variety, driving down the price.
The new varieties offer the prospect of a premium price. Lamont said growers have been looking for successors to the very popular Honeycrisp variety, which continues to command a high price despite a huge increase in production.
Consumers typically pay $50 to $60 a bushel for Honeycrisp, a very profitable price for growers. Many other varieties barely break even. The two new varieties will be priced at Honeycrisp levels.
Lamont believes both new varieties will be popular with consumers for the taste, and they will also be easier to grow than the finicky Honeycrisp.
Lamont has nurtured two apple varieties for about a decade, giving up land in his orchard to test how well they grow.
Both new apples will be red, although NY 1 will be a bi-color apple and not as red as NY 2.
New York II is a cross between Braeburn with Autumn Crisp. The new apple will be 95 percent red.
New York 1 is a cross between Honeycrisp and NY 752. The new spicy-sweet flavored apple has Honeycrisp’s juiciness and firmness, but doesn’t have that apple’s production problems. Honeycrisp can be vulnerable to seasonal pathogens that cause defects and the apple is tricky to store over winter.
New York 2 was developed by crossing Braeburn with Autumn Crisp. It has a sweet and tart flavor.
“It will be a shiny red apple,” Lamont said. “I call it a ruby red.”
He expects they will be a hit with consumers.
“We’re rolling them out as fast as possible,” he said. “If the marketplace demands it, we can always plant more.”
Photo by Tom Rivers – Roger Lamont is pleased with the progress of these Honeycrisp apples and others at his fruit farm on Densmore Road in Albion. Lamont and many other growers had a small crop to pick last year.
Last year Orleans County’s leading crop was decimated by a series of spring freezes that killed blossoms on fruit trees.
There were far fewer apples in the fall. Statewide the apple crop totaled 720 million pounds last year compared to 1.22 billion in 2011. The diminished number meant fewer jobs picking fruit, sorting and packing apples in packing houses, and transporting them on delivery trucks.
This year should be a different story. Farmers say they have been blessed with ample rain and lots of sunshine. They should see a full crop that is high in flavor, said Debbie Breth, a fruit specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension. She is based out of the CCE’s office in Knowlesville.
“The quality will definitely be good,” Breth said today. “We’ve had plentiful moisture and the sunshine makes sugar.”
Last year the apple crop was down 41 percent in a $300 million annual industry in New York.
This year’s prolonged cool spring actually has been good for the apple crop, allowing for an extended pollination.
Breth said farmers have had to contend with more pests this year because many farms cut back on the use of sprays last year when they lost their crop. Some of the pests and insects wintered in the orchards and have required more effort to combat this year, she said.
But she is pleased overall with how the trees have rebounded after last year. The crop also is benefitting from a bigger output from many recently planted high-density orchards, she said.
Photo by Tom Rivers – Mandy Armer raised this sheep, named Coal, and donated the proceeds to Hospice of Orleans County. The sheep was sold three times on Saturday, raising money for Hospice and the 4-H program.
KNOWLESVILLE – Mandy Armer, 18, of Barre spent more than two months feeding, cleaning and caring for a sheep.
Her payoff could have come at the end of the Orleans County 4-H Fair at the meat auction. But Armer chose instead to donate proceeds from the sale, $531.30, to Hospice of Orleans.
Mandy has lost relatives to cancer. The long-time 4-H’er wanted to support an organization in Orleans County that assists cancer patients and other terminally ill residents.
“I wanted to do something that would help and support something that is local,” she said.
Panek Farms in Albion paid $454.30 for the sheep. The farm then decided to donate the animal back so it could be resold again. Former 4-H’er Robert Bannister of Point Breeze, who served as auctioneer of the meat auction, then paid $1 a pound – another $77 donation to Hospice, making $531.30 altogether for the agency.
Bannister, who now lives in Castlewood, SD, then donated the animal back so it could again be resold. This time Ed Rogger, a meat processor in Basom, paid $1 per pound or $77 and donated the money to the 4-H program.
The fourth annual 4-H animal meat auction netted $20,760 in sales. The sale included three steers, seven hogs, seven meat goats, five lambs, seven chickens, four turkeys and four rabbits.
The 4-H kids raised the animals and many of them connected with buyers for the auction. The 4-H’ers typically use the funds from the sale to invest in next year’s animals and to save for college, said Kerri McKenna, a 4-H community educator and auction coordinator.
“This program allows 4-H’ers to apply real world skills no matter what industry they’re going into,” McKenna said.
She praised the generous buyers, who paid well above the market price for the animals.
“The buyers want to support the youth,” she said.
Armer just finished her freshman year at Alfred. She had four other animals in the auction, two meat goats and two more sheep. She wanted to thank the other buyers: Bentley Brothers, A.L. Bennett and Sons, Tractor Supply and Domoy Farms.
Photos by Tom Rivers – Janie Schutz poses with a steer after she won the grand master showman crown on Friday at the Orleans County 4-H Fair.
Jenny McKenna leads the showmen in the ring Friday with goats. Jenny took the grand master reserve title.
KNOWLESVILLE – The new grand master showman of the Orleans County 4-H Fair is a veteran in the show ring.
Janie Schutz, 17, of Waterport has showing animals at the fair since she was 8. She has experience with horses, beef cattle, pigs, meat goats and lambs.
On Friday she used her knowledge of all those animals, plus a steady composure, to win one of the fair’s most prestigious titles.
Janie is busy at the fair and for weeks and months leading up to annual event, tending to the animals and practicing with them. She has enjoyed working with different livestock mainly because it expanded her connections with so many 4-H’ers.
“You get more friends that way,” she said. “You meet more people.”
The grand master showman contest took the top showman from each of the larger animals, and pitted them all together, requiring the nine master showman to show all nine animals. (There were eight master showman in the competition because Jayne Bannister won two titles: swine and beef.)
Judge Steve Ledoux told the crowd he was impressed by the master showmen – all girls.
“They stepped out of their comfort zones,” he said. “They deserve a lot of credit for guts and determination.”
Schutz qualified by winning the sheep showman title. Other master showman include Bailey Flint, llama; Elise Slayton, Horses – English; Mandy Armer, dairy goat; Megan Blackburn, meat goat; Jayne Bannister, beef and swine; Jenny McKenna, dairy; and Haley Watkins, Horse – Western.
The master showmen ham it up for the cameras Friday after the competition to determine the grand master showman. Each person qualified for Friday’s event by winning the master showman for an animal. The group includes, from left: Bailey Flint, llama; Elise Slayton, Horses – English; Mandy Armer, dairy goat; Megan Blackburn, meat goat; Janie Schutz, sheep; Jayne Bannister, beef and swine; Jenny McKenna, dairy; and Haley Watkins, Horse – Western.
McKenna was the grand master showman reserve champion.
Schutz has one more year to show animals at the fair. She is planning to major in sociology in college with the goal to become a school guidance counselor.
“I still want to own my own farm at home,” she said.
The small animal grand master showman competition begins at noon today at the Wachob Pavilion.
Elise Slayton competes in the grand master showman competition on Friday, an event that took the top showman from nine animals. Elise qualified after winning the English horse showmanship title.
Photos by Tom Rivers – The Fearless Flores perform south of Knights Building. They are on the schedule at 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30.
Daily Feature: Midway Rides of Utica $18 unlimited ride wristband from 1 pm to 5 pm or 6 pm to10 pm. (Each wristband good for one session only)
Daily Feature: Orleans County 4-H Fair Dunk Tank, located across from the Senior Council stand
Daily Feature: Kids Love Trucks: Orleans Emergency, Fire Dept., Law Enforcement, and Ambulance Services from across the county
8 am: Senior Council Stand opens
9:30 am: Horse Games Day (Gymkhana) – Carlos Marcello Arena
10 am: All Buildings open
10 am: Little Britches Swine Show (open to the public) at Swine Pavilion
10:30 am: Goat Costume Contest – Knights Building
11 am: Vegetable Art Contest (open for all) at Education Center Lawn
11 am to 3 pm: 89.1 The Point Live broadcast
11 am to 2 pm: Kids Love Trucks: ORLEANS EMERGENCY, Fire Dept., Law Enforcement, and Ambulance Services from across the county – Education Center Parking Lot
11:10 am: Iron Chef 4-H Youth Activity Starts – Trolley Building
11:30 am: Sheep Costume Contest – Knights Building
12 pm: Small Animal Grand Master Showman Competition at Wachob Pavilion
12 pm: Leaders’ Pie Stand opens
12 pm to 8:30 pm: Master Gardener – Lawn of Education Center
12:10 pm: Iron Chef 4-H Youth Activity Judging – Trolley Building
1 pm: WNY Garden Tractor Pullers Association Tractor Pull at South West Lawn
1 pm: Registration ends for Small Fry Pedal Tractor Pull - Fair Office
1:30 pm: Small Fry Pedal Tractor Pull Pedal Tractor Course – Fair Office
2:30 pm: Dog Knowledge Bowl – Show Arena
Fried dough, candy apples, cotton candy and lots of other fair food staples are available.
2:30 pm: Fearless Flores – South of Knights Building
3 pm: Master Gardener Lecture – Education Center
3:30 pm: Market Animal Auction Preview – Show Arena
4 pm: Market Animal Auction – Show Arena
4 pm: Small Fry Pedal Tractor Pull – Pedal Tractor Course
4 pm: Chainsaw Chix – Log Cabin
4:30 pm: Fearless Flores – South of Knights Building
5 pm: Steak Dinner: Sponsored by Renovation Lodge #97 Grand Lodge F&AM of NY Cost $12 – Curtis Pavilion
6 pm: Set up for band at OrleansHub.com Stage
6 pm: Chainsaw Chix at Log Cabin
6:30 pm: Fearless Flores – South of Knights Building
7 pm: Timekeeper (Classic & Modern Rock) – OrleansHub.com Stage
7 pm: Master Gardener Lecture – Education Center
7 pm: Awards Ceremony and Crowning of Fair Royalty at Curtis Pavilion
8 pm: Chainsaw Chix – Log Cabin
8:30 pm: Fearless Flores – South of Knights Building
9 pm: 4-H Dairy Cow Bingo – Cattle Building
10 pm: Buildings close
10 pm: Greased Pole Climbing Contest, Final Qualifying Round (Teams Must Pre-
register at Fair Office)
10:30 pm: Greased Pole Championship
Photos by Tom Rivers
The Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds is hosting fire departments, police agencies and other emergency first responders today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. next to the Buzz Hill Education Center.
I was invited for a trip high in the Albion ladder truck. Bill Francis managed the controls and sent me 103 feet up in the air to capture some images of the fairgrounds.
I was joined by Lynn Miller, an EMT with the Carlton Fire Company. Miller had never been in the ladder truck before.
Fair-goers are welcome to meet firefighters and tour the trucks. Mercy Flight also is expected to visit with one of the agency’s helicopters.
Photo by Tom Rivers – The grain storage facility in Knowlesville along Route 31 is shown during a sunset earlier this week. The county is seeing an increased demand in farmland.
ALBION – Farmers in Orleans County have formally requested that nearly 1,500 acres of land be put in certified agricultural districts, which provide legal protections for farmers to do normal farm practices.
The County Legislature had a public hearing on the land inclusions on Wednesday. The Legislature endorsed the additions, which will now go to the state for its approval.
The county and state provide an opportunity every year for land to be added to an ag district. This year is the biggest increase on an annual basis in many years, county officials said.
They credit an increased demand and value for farmland, driven partly by a big rise in corn and grain prices. The county has the added benefit of an ethanol plant in Medina, which has proven to have an insatiable appetite for corn, using about 20 million bushels a year.
Farmers want to add 1,452 acres to ag districts in Barre, Clarendon, Carlton, Gaines, Murray and Ridgeway.
The size of acreage varies from 0.57 acre owned by Susan Machamer on North State Street Road in Murray to 298.8 acres owned by Gary and Sue Ellen Davy on Ridge Road in Gaines.
The Orleans County Farmland Protection Board endorsed the additions on July 10.
Just because the land is in an ag district that doesn’t mean farmers can do whatever they want with the property.
“You still have to do it correctly and by the rules,” said Barry Flansburg, the Farmland Protection Board chairman.
Photos by Tom Rivers – The Midway lights up the fairgrounds on Thursday night.
Daily Feature: Midway Rides of Utica $18 unlimited ride wristband 3 pm to 10 pmDaily Feature: Orleans County 4-H Fair Dunk Tank, located across from the Senior Council stand
Daily Feature: Produced in Orleans County Display, Lartz Commercial Exhibit Building
8 am: Senior Council Stand Opens
9:30 am: Youth Ag Olympics Fun Activities – South Lawn
9:30 am: Miniature Horse Show & Driving Competition - Carlos Marcello Arena
10 am: $5 Admission per car starts
10 am: All Buildings Open
10 am: Grand Master Showman Workshop starting in Show Arena
10:30 am: Tractor Driving Contest – South Parking Lot
12 pm: Leaders’ Pie Stand Opens
12 pm: Goat Knowledge Bowl: Dairy and Meat – Knights Building
12:30 pm: Dog Show, Agility Competition (Classes 23-30) – Show Arena
1 pm: Little Shepherds Sheep Show – Knights Building
1 pm: Story Hour sponsored by Lee-Whedon Memorial Library – Trolley Building
1:30 pm: Magic of Cliff Hopkins & Kelly – OrleansHub.com Stage
3 pm to 10 pm: Midway Rides of Utica $18 Unlimited Ride wristband
The Chainsaw Chix will be in action several times today.
3 pm: Story Hour sponsored by Lee-Whedon Memorial Library – Trolley Building3 pm: Horse Judging Contest – Education Center
3:30 pm: Magic of Cliff Hopkins & Kelly – OrleansHub.com Stage
4 pm: Royalty questionnaires due – Fair Office
4 pm: Chainsaw Chix – Log Cabin
4 pm to 8:30 pm: Master Gardener - Lawn of Education Center
4:30 pm: Fearless Flores – South of Knights Building
5 pm: Friday Night Fish Fry sponsored by Renovation Lodge #97 Cost: $9 Adult (Half portion $7) – Curtis Pavilion
5:30 pm: Classic Car Cruise-In - Education Center Parking Lot
5:30 pm: Magic of Cliff Hopkins & Kelly – OrleansHub.com Stage
6 pm: Set Up for Band – OrleansHub.com Stage
6 pm: Registration Ends for Small Fry Pedal Tractor Pull at Fair Office
6 pm: Grand Master Showman – Livestock Areas
Chelsea Bowen, 5, of Holley rides the mechanical bull on Thursday.
6 pm to 8 pm: Pie Eating Contest sponsored by Brown’s Berry Patch (Register at Fair Office during the week) – Curtis Pavilion
6 pm: Chainsaw Chix – Log Cabin
6:30 pm: Fearless Flores – South of Knights Building
6:30 pm: Small Fry Pedal Tractor Pull Pedal Tractor Course near Fair Office
7 pm: Julie Dunlap & High Maintenance Country Band at OrleansHub.com Stage
7 pm: Quadrille Horse Demonstration – Carlos Marcello Arena
7 pm: Spanish/English Story Hour sponsored by Lee-Whedon Memorial Library – Trolley Building
8 pm: Chainsaw Chix – Log Cabin
8:30 pm: Fearless Flores – South of Knights Building
10 pm: Buildings Close
10 pm: Fireworks (Rain Date Saturday at 10 pm)
10:30 pm: Greased Pole Climbing Contest
(Teams must pre-register at Fair Office)
Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – It’s a busy night at the fair. The Cornell Cooperative Extension has an army of volunteers serving up a chicken barbecue. Linda Kirby and her daughter Jamie Brennan are among the volunteers. They are doling out the strawberry desserts.
There is also a motorcycle cruise-in next to the Buzz Hill Education Center. Jason Jeffords of Carlton is pictured on a Harley Davidson Road King Classic.
The karaoke finals start at 8 p.m. and the grease pole is on tap for 10.
