This Saturday, Chenango County will celebrate its agricultural heritage with the 10th Annual Dairy Day.
The free, family-friendly event is sponsored annually by Chenango County Dairy Promotion, and will feature a parade, activities for kids of all ages, farm animals and, of course, plenty of dairy products.
“It’s our tenth year, and we’re trying to redirect the focus,” reported Marge Davis, who is spearheading the 10-person Dairy Day planning committee for the first time. The intention is to provide more hands-on activities for kids and adults, which will be fun and educational at the same time.
The day will kick off with the annual Dairy Day Parade at 11 a.m., with floats lining up at the P & C parking lot and proceeding down East Main Street to the fairgrounds.
Parade Marshall Terry Ives, who was recently honored with the Dan Marshman Ag Leadership Award, will lead the parade atop an antique tractor. Other participants will include the Puckerville Pullers antique tractor club, the Smyrna Citizens Band, the Bainbridge Old Time Band, the Sherburne-Earlville High School Band, Red Barn Alpacas, Chenango County Dairy Princess and Court and the Chenango County Historical Society, as well as various 4-H Clubs, scouting groups and school groups.
And, of course, no agricultural parade would be complete without farm animals, tractors, feed trucks and milk trucks.
The procession will also include a number of ag related businesses, such as Laden Produce, Schwann and Agro Farma, the New Berlin maker of Chobani Greek style yogurt. Each of those businesses will be among the more than 20 exhibitors on hand sampling and selling their wares at the fairgrounds following the parade.
According to Janet Pfromm of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County, who helps coordinate the event, the “merriment” which will follow the parade from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. will give kids and adults alike the chance to learn where their food comes from.
“We’ve kept it educational,” Pfromm said, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun as well.
The interactive exhibits will include the always-popular Petting Zoo, with animals of all shapes and sizes - everything from chickens and poultry, to alpacas, miniature horses, pigs, goats, cattle and one of each dairy breed.
Kids will even have a chance to try their hand at simulated farm chores, hand-sheering a sheep, and milking a goat. They’ll also get to navigate a hay bale maze, participate in a kiddy tractor pull and learn about growing corn at the Farmer for a Day exhibit. Entries from the Dairy Day coloring contest will be on display as well, and there will be plenty of free samples of milk, ice cream and yogurt.
According to Pfromm, other activities will include a display about veterinary science from Leatherstocking Veterinary Services, ATV safety tips from the Chenango County Trailriders and dance lessons from Martha Ryan of the Norwich Community Dance Club. Habitat for Humanity will also be hosting a skillet toss to raise money for their non-profit organization. At the Farm Family Insurance booth, Dairy Day-goers will even have the chance to plant a seed to take home.
In addition, the Grange will be doing face painting, and serving up New York Beef “Sundaes:” A scoop of mashed potatoes topped with shredded beef in gravy, a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of shredded cheese with a cherry tomato on top.
According to Pfromm, a milking display, featuring both antique and more modern equipment, will be a particular highlight. And one which will help kids put to rest an age old question: Do brown cows really make chocolate milk?
The 10th Annual Dairy Day will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 19 at the Chenango County Fairgrounds in Norwich. The event will kick off with the Dairy Day Parade, which will also step off at 11. For more information, contact Cornell Cooperative Extension at 334-5841.