HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Farm Show was in full swing on its second day Sunday with livestock shows, baking contests and draft horse pulls.
Crowds were heavy Saturday and Sunday, although icy conditions kept some at bay Saturday evening, said Chris Ryder, state Department of Agriculture spokesman.
Ryder said attendance was down by about 2,000 cars in the parking lot Saturday evening compared with last year's show.
Still, Saturday was a big day for Blair County, as Bubba, a goat owned by Jeremy Mock of Williamsburg, was named grand champion heavyweight goat.
"I was shocked, said Jeremy, 17. "It's just a big show. It's hard to get it. It's like a team trying to get to the Super Bowl."
Jeremy's parents, Jack and Peggy Mock, have been involved with 4-H livestock clubs in Blair County since the mid-1980s. Peggy Mock said she was "very surprised and overwhelmed" when her son won - there were more than 200 goats in the competition.
"When the kids come down here, they just want to make it to the sale," she said, explaining that the top four goats in 11 classes are sold at the livestock auction.
Across the farm show complex, some vegetables grown in Cambria County also were recognized as the best in the state. Potatoes produced by Benshoff Farms in New Germany were named grand champions. The farm also won several awards for straw, green cabbage, gourds and Indian corn, among other produce.
Produce, Cindy Benshoff said, is judged on size, quality and uniformity of specimens.
"It's the best you can get," Benshoff said of her grand champion potatoes. "It means you're the best out of the whole state."
Not everything went off without a hitch for locals at the farm show. Whitley Furry, 10, of New Enterprise said she was feeling a "little sore" Sunday after a 2,000-pound Clydesdale named Jane stepped on her foot Saturday in the show ring. But she said not even a ton of horseflesh would stop her from showing the animals.
"They are exciting," Whitley said. "And it's a hobby nobody else has."
The Furrys were stationed across the aisle from Spring Mount Percherons of Warriors Mark. Owners Linda and David Hershey said they enjoy the camaraderie with Whitley's parents, Tammy and Derry Furry, who own Orchard View Clydesdales, and the other draft horse exhibitors.
"We're all there to help each other," Linda Hershey said. "We know what it's like to start out and know nothing. We make a lot of friends here."
In the equine arena, LuAnn Coleman of Shirleysburg watched her daughter, Suzanna Coleman, 18, win a champion ribbon with her light middleweight steer.
Coleman said this was the fifth year the family had exhibited animals at the farm show. To her, one of the best parts of the show was talking with the public as they stroll through the barns.
"It's just showing the kids the things that are important," Coleman said. "They come through and ask, 'What is that?' or different things about the cows."
It was the fourth year John and Kelley Shultz of James Creek brought their children to the farm show. Their son, Alex, 7, and daughter, Kara, 20 months, were too young to show animals, but their oldest daughter, Katie, 9, was showing sheep and pigs.
"It's very educational," John Shultz said. "There's so much to learn here. It's just a great experience - farming's a great way to grow up."
Mirror Staff Writer Ashley Gurbal is at 946-7435.
