Monday, February 2, 2015

Agriculture at the South Florida Fair

If you follow me on social media, then you heard that Ma and Daddy-dog went to the South Florida Fair on Saturday.  It is mostly an Ag Fair, with some rides for the kids, so pets are not allowed.  Ma thought of Miss Flea when she passed the 4H tent with all the hand-raised chickens and roosters!

When most people think of Florida agriculture, they think oranges and other citrus and maybe sugar cane.  But Florida also produces some top notch honey as well as milk!  One of Ma and Daddy-dog's favorite stops at the Fair is at the Florida Dairy Farmers because they always bring some cows who are pregnant and ready to give birth.  A good amount of calves are born each year at the Fair!

Calf born at the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach, Florida

On many of our camping road trips, we pass dairy farms but we had no idea that they were actually 130 second- and third-generation family-owned dairy farms in Florida!  There are about 122,000 dairy cows among those farms who produce 272 million gallons of milk each year.  Who knew?!?

Cow with her calf born at the South Florida Fair

New this year at the Fair was the Florida Beekeepers Association.  People have been keeping bees in Florida since 1879.  Florida bees produce orange blossom and tupelo honey.  I didn't know this, but those honeys are known and exported throughout the world. 

Interestingly, Florida bees are moved from 2 to 6 times annually, either intrastate or interstate.  Many go to northern states in the summer for pollination, pollinating things like blueberries in Maine to almonds in California.


And you thought Florida was just oranges and alligators!  We love the Fair...it's a great place to learn more about Florida. 

Do you go to your Ag Fair?  

27 comments:

  1. That sounds like a really cool place to visit! Did you know that we love to go to Florida and we go every year for about a month! The timing varies and the places vary, but we do love to get out of the SNOW and dreary, dark days!! We have gone to many of the Farmer's Markets when we visit Florida and some of our most favorite places are Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach, Flagler Beach, and Key West. We will have to WAVE when we drive by!! xo Chloe and LadyBug

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  2. That sounds like a great place to visit, I wonder if I can organise myself a ticket ?
    Loves an dlicky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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  3. What a great place to visit Oz. Have a marvellous Monday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  4. Oz - what a great bit of fun! We love honey, too.

    xox
    Tootsie

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  5. The calves are super cute! The bees are a little scary, but I know they are important, too.

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  6. It looked like a great trip :)

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  7. that's interesting and I love to learn more about your country. I will look for your honey, maybe we have it here too (France is a part of that world, or isn't it? LOL). Honey is rare here because a lot f our bees died during the last years.
    Easy Rider

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  8. Ello Oz my pal.....typiss been so bizee dis munff dat I haz been neglectin I blog-reedin dooties....sorry bowt dat my pal...will be doin better....i like da milk§...but not from cos...I like da goat miluk...

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  9. Hi Oz ... how nice to meet you! Another "flah-ee-da" friend, yay! We kitties are still in the sunshine state, visiting over on the east coast (Titusville/Cocoa/Cocoa Beach area) ... but the Zoolatry Human (Ann) who used to live here, has gone back home now to the c-c-cold north called Maryland.
    We'd love to include you on our mailing list of Florida Furriends so maybe when we snowbird next year we can meet you fur-real! Our email is zoolatry at gmail dot com.
    Bye now!

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  10. We love the pic of the cow and calf...
    AND learning about the bees and honey... BEES are SOOOOOOOO impawtant fur plants ... and they are having some major issues with them being sick... so we are glad that there are plenty being cared fur in Florida...
    THAT is a GOOOOOOOOOOD thingy fur sure.

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  11. It's good that no birds were hurt at that fair.

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  12. Oh wow! Sounds like fun!!!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  13. We used to go every year until the Governor (the one before our current one) closed it down. Budget cuts. Made me so angry. It was held in Detroit and probably the only way for those residents to see and understand what farming is all about. They used to have beekeepers that attended and I always found their display fascinating. We saw a calf being born one year. Timing was right. :)

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  14. I'll bet you got to see lots of cool critters there Oz!

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  15. My peeps love to visit the animal barns at our fair too
    Hugs madi your bfff

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  16. Our Ag fair is the County Fair every year here in Humboldt County CA. Our peeps have been and think it is really cool to see all the local foods and livestock from the area!!
    Smileys!
    Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo

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  17. My mom goes to the ag area if she goes to the state fair, but she only goes every five years or so. I guess at one time my grandpa owned a dairy farm and Mom had two cows of her own. She would drive down to Iowa to visit them now and then with her dad. She still loves cows.

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  18. Nope! But mom went to a dog show, without me too I might add! But growing up there was the 4-H fair every summer that her family went to. Love Dolly

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  19. That sounds like a fun visit. Too bad you couldn't go, Oz. But if you're anything like Mr. N, you would have lost your mind lol. Mr. N gets soooo excited about horses.

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  20. Them things are great to take little peeps to...ours is held with the state fair, and it is grown or born here, it is one display, even have judging of all of them. They even have a petting zoon

    The Mad Scots

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  21. Your ag fair sounds pretty cool! Mom has been to one near us, but not for several years. She used to go a lot with grandpa when they lived on the farm, though!


    Bunny

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  22. My family loves stock shows. My peeps were FFA member and showed animals when they were kids. Their daughter was a FFA member when she was is school matter of fact we still have her first cow she showed and every time mom says something about taking her to the sale barn my sister has a fit. Mom tells her, then you take her and put her in your backyard.

    Aroo to you,
    Sully

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  23. Super place Oz and we lub'z honey xxoxxx


    Mollie and Alfie

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  24. Hey OZ! We heard from Kai at Ultimate pet. Thanks for having the giveaway of Rejeneril, we are so tickled we won a free bottle. Mom ordered some that very day of your post so she could get Bailey started right away. We sure hope it helps him feel better!
    Thanks
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

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  25. Oh Oz...that looks so fun...and warm! We're under a foot of snow with more to come and minus 0 temps here! Brrr...looks so inviting where you are, although the FiveSibes are really enjoying the white stuff!

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  26. what a fun day. I go to our county fair and to the state fair. I love fairs.

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Cairn cuddles,
Oz the Terrier