Al2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 9,1982
BY SHEILA MILLER
HARRIBSURG If you notice
some improvements surrounding
the 66th Pennsylvania Farm Show
this year, you can thank the man
that made them all possible
Farm Show Director Horace
Mann.
Mann, who had 10 previous
Farm Shows under his belt before
returning to Pennsylvania’s
largest agricultural show last
year, is using his experience to
whip the show back to being the
‘best ever.’ Mann’s first stint as
Farm Show director came in
August of 1963 and ended in 1972.
When asked how it felt to be back
in the driver’s seat, Mann ex
claimed, “It’s great. I guess I have
it in my blood.
“1 missed the association with
exhibitors and all that’s involved in
planning the show. It’s time to turn
Farm Show around to where I had\
it.” '
Since taking over the show last
year, Mann said his task of
revamping the foremat of Farm
Show was made easier by the
cooperation he received from staff.
“When I first ran the show, I was in
charge of everything from
stalling the livestock to planning
the equipment areas. Now we each
have an area we’re responsible
for,” he said.
One of the changes that went into
effect this year was a 15 percent
across-the-board increase in
premiums for exhibitors. “Of
course, premiums are always
changing,” explained Mann. “We
try to keep up with other shows and
update our present needs.
“For instance, when I first
started directing the Farm Show,
there were a lot more home
economics exhibits in the sewing
category. Now the emphasis has
YORK CALCIUM
The Economical Replacement
For Oyster Shells
YORK CALCIUM CHIPS
Co 39%
Mg Less than 1 %
• YORK CALCIUM CHIPS are an easily utilized
source of supplemental Calcium to produce
harder egg shell
• Mixes uniformly with the feed
• Uniformly consumed by the birds
• Soft Gray “Chips” - Look for them in your feed
ALL THIS AT LESS THAN
% THE COST OF SHELLS!
“Farm Show’s in my blood” says director Horace
switched to crafts and art. So we
apply the premiums where they’ll
do the most- good for the
exhibitors.”
Helping to pay for this increase
in premiums will be the $2 parking
charge - raised from the former
$1 fee collected in previous years.
Admission to the show still is at no
cost, and said Mann, he has no
indications this will change in the
near future.
There are more exhibitors at
Farm Show this year than ever
before, and with this incrr
numbers comes the pniu*cnu> ui
squeezing them in to the limited
space provided by the complex.
“We’ve utilized every square
foot of space, and are using the
lower concourse area for com
mercial exhibits this year. This
‘valuable’ space wasn’t utilized
last year,” said Mann.
Although he’s whittled down the
waiting list for exhibitors wanting
to win a space in the big show,
Mann said he’s only been able to
catch up to the 1977 applicants. He
said he reduced the waiting list by
about 100 by just “purging" those
applicants who were still on the list
but had ceased to exist. To do this,
he directed his staff to send out
registered letters to all those on the
waiting list, asking if they still
desired a space.
To fit the large numbers of
commercial exhibitors onto the
main exhibition floor, Mann said
the spaces allotted to each were
reduced to either a 10 x 10 or 10 x 15
section. And they were laid out so
that all the supporting pillars on
the main exhibition floor would fall
either in back of the exhibitor’s
space or somewhere inside. “I>ast
year the columns were on the
corners which required all the
large equipment to be pushed to
CHIPS
YOU MAKE THE CHOICE
the center of the space making
the area much smaller than it
should have been,” he said.
And commercial exhibits were
scheduled for both sides of the east
end of the dairy barn this year,
where previously only one side was
used.
“That set up caused a lot of
problems.” explained Mann.
'•Having cattle on one side and
commercial exhibits on the other
wasn’t very conducive.”
One thorn in Mann’s side is the
20,000 square feet of “wasted
space” needed for the required fire
corridors between the poultry
room, small arena, and hog and
sheep bam and the main exhibition
floor. This space was provided
during the time Mann was away
from Farm Show. “It’s a shame to
have lost that amount of 'space
when we have those people who
would like to participate in the
show.”
This year’s main exhibition floor
will be taking on a new “face”
thanks to Mann, with all related
types of equipment being grouped
in one area. “Exhibitors are here
all week, but a farmer only has a
limited amount of time when he
comes to Farm Show,” said Mann.
“If they get their questions an
swered, they’re better satisfied
that’s an advantage to both the
advertiser and the spectator. ”
Mann expressed his willingness
to listen to all the comments
concerning Farm Show from
both the spectators and exhibitors
in an effort to make adjustments
for continually improving the
show. He said he’ll personally be
making his rounds all week,
talking to the people and finding
out their likes and dislikes.
Even before this year’s Farm
Show gets off the ground. Mann
OR
and his staff are already working
on the 1983 ‘ag-stravaganza.’ They
are coining up with a long-range
development plan for the show and
the complex which will hopefully
include additional space.
“When you look at what Farm
Show was when this building was
constructed in the 1930 s and what it
is today, there’s no comparison.
And yet we’re dealing with the
same basic buildings to carry out
the event in style.
“If we had more space, I’d like to
see an area set aside to feature the
latest in agriculture a Futurama
displaying the newest
developments in farming.”
Thoughts of abandoning the site
and relocating the Farm Show
complex in a new place, however,
are not in the director’s plans. With
even 10 percent of the monies it
would require to construct a new
facility, a great deal of im
provements could be made on the
present building.
About $4 million are earmarked
for renovations of the complex
over the next 3 years. These will
include an expanded parking area
(moving closer to the creek and
railroad), improved ventilating
equipment, and a new heating
system which will permit different
areas to be zoned thus saving on
fuel costs.
An on-going expense is painting
the walls of Farm Show. The
ramps received a fresh coat of
brown paint this year covering
up the traditional grafitti and
making it less inviting for visiting
‘artists’ to dabble on the walls.
Mann, who comes to the director
OYSTER SHELLS
Ca. 39%
CONTACT YOUR LOCAL
FEED DEALER & START
SAVING sss!
YORK STONE
& SUPPLY CO.
Roosevelt Ave. Ext., York, PA 17405
Mann
ship with undiminished en
thusiasm each year, also hopes to
improve the show with a color
coding system. “People will be
able to follow a certain color to find
their way around the complex,-’
said Mann. “I’ve seen too many
people who have circled the main
concourse around the large arena
and don’t Joiow where they got on
or where to get off.”
When asked the inevitable
question about what the weather
might hold in store, Mann replied,
“I don’t want to hear the forecast I
was baptized with 20 inches of
snow my first year as Farm Show
director.”
No matter what the weather
forecasters have in store, this
year’s Farm Show will be another
example of Mann’s continuous
endeavors to make each show
better than before.
Now is
the Time
(Continued from Page A 10)
opportunity tor showing animals
and the purchase of new ones. To
those who are exhibiting animals,
and to those who might buy a bred
gilt, or other animals. I’d say be
sure to separate, these animals
trom the rest of the herd or flock
tor at least 30 days. The other
alternative is to treat all animals
in the herd or flock tor the same
infections as the new animal has
received. Sanitation and
separation are two very important
items in good livestock health
programs.