When you go to the California State Fair this month, expect to see some familiar faces. That's because when it comes to putting together its exhibits, the fair calls upon UC Davis' rich agricultural background and expertise.
When you go to the California State Fair this month, expect to see some familiar faces. That's because when it comes to putting together its exhibits, the fair calls upon UC Davis' rich agricultural background and expertise.
Whether it's through cow birthings, chick hatchings or clarinet performances accompanied by bees, UC Davis will take part in creating fun for the 840,000 people expected to attend the fair this year at the Cal Expo in Sacramento Aug. 16 through Sept. 2.
* The Department of Vegetable Crops will contribute to a celebration of the tomato, the featured commodity this year, by providing the exhibit with historical tomato-harvesting equipment, photographs and certain wild species of the fruit.
"It's a great opportunity for UC Davis to show off its contributions to agriculture," says Garry Pearson, vegetable crops superintendent.
Old tomato transplanters and harvesters such as the 1965 UC Blackwelder Harvester, the first commercial tomato harvester developed by the biological and agricultural engineering department along with the vegetable crops department, will provide a historical perspective on the tomato industry.
The exhibit will also highlight recent developments in the tomato industry and provide a glimpse into the future of tomato growing, development and harvesting, Pearson said.
Cows at the state fair's dairy cattle show are judged within their age class by general appearance, dairy character and udder traits.
"The purpose is to seek out the cow that provides longevity with milk production," says Kreuscher.
All of the preparation for the contest is done by a team of 10 undergraduate, mostly animal science, students. In addition to the 24-hour attention they provide the cows at the fair, the students also set up an educational exhibit promoting the animal science program at UC Davis.
"It's a character-builder for the students," says Kreuscher.
And for the cows?
"If they are handled OK, it's fine," he says. "They're the consummate critters of habit."
The eggs, which spend their first 20 days at the campus hatchery, are brought to the fair to hatch. Afterward, the chicks are taken to heated enclosures called brooders, where visitors can watch them in their first days of life.
Along with chickens and quail, the brooders also hold already-hatched ducklings.
Like the dairy cattle shows, the exhibit is largely put on by UC Davis undergraduates, who answer questions and monitor the eggs and the chicks, Bradley says.
Their work pays off, though. Bradley says the exhibit has had to put up mirrors to accommodate the large crowds.
"We actually have to ask people to leave our exhibit," she says. "Not just children want to stick around and watch."
The livestock nursery, run by Cooperative Extension for 16 years, will be staffed by 15 to 25 veterinary students who care for the animals, answer questions and explain the birthing process through loudspeakers set up throughout the exhibit. The students also provide round-the-clock care for the animals.
The UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital also has an active role in the fair's health examination and drug-testing programs.
Under the direction of veterinarians Liz Bracken and Pam Hullinger, the students physically examine and check the paperwork on each of the more than 5,000 animals that come to the fair. They also conduct random drug testing of the animals in the livestock shows, including the winners.
The exhibit is jointly sponsored by the California State Fair Board, the Cooperative Extension Service and the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
The museum also supplies the exhibit with information about the bugs for an educational display. Visitors to the pavilion will be able to observe--and in some cases hold--12 species of insects from around the world.
* Other UC Davis contributions to the State Fair include livestock DNA gene mapping by the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, UC master gardeners exhibitions by Cooperative Extension and wine competitions by the Department of Enology and Viticulture.
The California State Fairgrounds are located at Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd., off of the Business 80 Freeway.
Willow Cook, a senior comparative literature major, is Dateline's summer intern.
(Neil Michel/Axiom Photo)
