Draft horses and ag breakfast featured at the fair

You might not guess from their large size, but draft horses are very docile and gentle. “They are actually calmer than other horses,” Steve McQueen of McQueen’s Belgians in New Philadelphia said. “They are easy to break and train.”

The horses take much care with twice daily feeding and grooming. They must have their hooves trimmed and shoes put back on every six weeks.

The horses took center stage at the grandstand on Thursday, Sept. 19 when teams competed in the draft horse hitch show. The McQueen family showed their horses at the fair this year but did not compete in the draft horse hitch show. They have competed in fewer hitch shows recently to focus on breeding and selling Belgian horses.

Though the horses are still being used by the Amish for farm work, the horses McQueen is raising are more athletic. “We breed for confirmation and athletic ability of the horse,” he said. “The more athletic, the more money they bring. A 3-year-old could go for $10,000-$50,000.”

There is a very good market for Belgium horses, and the McQueens have even sold some horses to a buyer in the country of Belgium in Western Europe.

The McQueen farm is home this year to 13 of the animals.

Another important event, the ag breakfast, took place early Thursday morning at the fairgrounds.

“The way the fair falls, many kids take the entire week off school,” Chris Zoller of the OSU Extension office said. “The breakfast brings together school administrators to provide an educational program and show that the kids aren’t just here goofing off. They have commitments.”

The program for this year’s ag breakfast was presented by Ashley Cromer, who teaches the agriculture education program at Claymont High School, which was started last year. Other topics at the breakfast have included careers in agriculture.

“It’s just a good opportunity to learn there is value to the fair,” Zoller said. “Oftentimes when kids are here, they’ll have their textbook or their computer opened up. They are doing their school work along with their responsibilities.”

After the breakfast the administrators have a chance to tour the fair, and many like to check on their students’ projects.

Zoller knows of two former 4-H members who used their experiences to go on to careers as a feed consultant and a veterinarian specializing in swine.

Zoller said Tuscarawas County was very fortunate this year. Many areas in Northwestern and Western Ohio had “thousands and thousands of acres” not planted at all due to significant rainfall this spring. “Only roughly 3,000 acres in our county were not planted due to the weather. Right now we are the bread basket of the state,” he said.

Of Ohio’s 88 counties, Tuscarawas is in the top-five producers of hay and beef and the top 10 in milk production.

The fair celebrates the county’s agricultural roots, and 4-H continues that tradition with many of its members taking livestock projects. The fair provides a place for others to learn about and appreciate what it takes to grow and provide food.