Every year for the past 95, millions of people have visited the Pennsylvania Farm Show. It is popularly known as the best agricultural event in the entire Commonwealth. What makes this show so special for me is not that it is during the dead of winter, but the fact that I got to see it all through the lens of a friend’s Nikon camera. During this eventful, sometimes tiring week, I got to serve as a Press Intern for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which allowed me and seven other friends to cover the events for the entire show.
At the beginning of each day, the group would go over which events or shows we were to cover, which was a nice way to see the various events during the show.
I covered a large variety of topics which ranged from bid calling, junior market shows, and even the most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil!
It certainly was a long and strenuous week, in which the interns averaged working about twelve hours a day. In order to write a press release for the events we were covering, each intern would have to attend a portion of their event to snap some photos while the event was taking place. During that time, we would have to keep track with the announcer’s booth to make sure we had the correct placings of the show to put in the press release.
Here some of the snapshots I took throughout the week; many of these are my favorites.
Getting a drink
Breakfast time!
Punxsutawney Phil sleeps at least 20 hours per day. After his rigorous press event, Phil went right back to his cage and fell asleep just like this! By far, my favorite photo of Farm Show!
The group of Penn State press interns on the last day of Farm Show. What a crew!
Serving as a Press Intern for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture at Farm Show is certainly a very rewarding experience. I had the opportunity to meet great people, sample amazing food, and get a true perspective of the diversity of Pennsylvania’s agriculture. One of the great people I got to interact with was the former Secretary of Agriculture, Russell Redding. I got to interact with the Secretary on a daily, even hourly basis at the Farm Show, in which I would coordinate with his assistant how the different shows were progressing, so that he could attend each event to give his remarks. This was certainly a stressful, but rewarding part of the week, in which I can say that I got to help coordinate the Secretary of Agriculture around the Farm Show for a week.
There is always a variety of food to eat during Farm Show; from fried vegetables to maple syrup sundaes, Pennsylvania Livestock Association sandwiches to potato donuts. My favorite would have to be the “Cheese Cubes”, which are deep-fried mozzarella cheese cubes, which are certainly worth every calorie they offer!
If you’ve never been to the Pennsylvania Farm Show, I would definitely recommend going to visit; though you may have to work your way through the large crowds, it is a great venue to experience, in which you’ll see a wide array of Pennsylvania agriculture.
