The North Carolina State Fair is a rewarding environment that provides a unique opportunity for CALS students to share their knowledge and love of animals with the general public, according to current volunteers from the Animals Science and Pre-Veterinary Clubs.
Animal Science Club Senior Activities Officer Callie McAdams, a senior in animal science and agricultural business management, said though the booths her organization is sponsoring at the fair have not had any major problems, safety precautions must always be taken.
“As a whole, things are running smoothly,” McAdams said. “In terms of safety you have to be careful because many people don’t know how to act around animals, and although they are tamed the animals can be unpredictable.”
McAdams is the coordinator of the Milking Booth, where people have the opportunity to learn how to milk a cow, and said she is often taken aback by some of the questions she is asked by fair-goers.
“It always catches you off guard how uneducated the general public is about agriculture,” McAdams said. “Although some people have a good idea about what they are talking about we sometimes get questions that, for people with farming backgrounds, seem like common sense.”
Courtney Parnell, a junior in biological sciences, said she is working with some local livestock sellers at the fair and through this experience has also seen the ignorance of the general public concerning animal science.
“Some of the responses I get are very negative because people don’t really understand where the food they buy in their grocery stores comes from,” Parnell said. “The sellers are all more than happy to answer any questions anyone has, many people just aren’t interested.”
Parnell said this is her first year volunteering on behalf of the Pre-Veterinary club at the fair and insuring the safety of careless fair-goers is one of her primary responsibilities.
“I have to make sure people don’t walk behind and in between the pens because they can get injured and most people aren’t very knowledgeable about how to act around animals,” Parnell said.
Anna Wiest, a senior in agricultural education and animal science, said she helps organize volunteer activities on behalf of the Animal Science Club and is happy to explain all that she can to fair patrons.
“Many people want to learn more and we do out best to answer those questions,” Wiest said. “It’s just nice to get to interact with animals because spending time on campus so much, many of us don’t get to spend as much time with animals as we would like.”
Wiest said some of the most amazing revelations she has witnessed came from young children, many of whom have never seen a cow before.
“Many kids are amazed that milk comes from cows and not from the grocery store,” Wiest said. Wiest explained that planning for the Animal Science Club-sponsored booths begins back in the spring with recruiting volunteers and making arrangements to have animals donated from local livestock holders.
She said booths were prepared a week before the fair began and on a daily basis volunteers must arrive to work at 6 a.m. each morning to help feed and clean the animals
McAdams said even though it requires a great deal of strenuous labor, she is happy she can be a part of the fair each year and finds interacting with people greatly rewarding.
“This is one of my favorite times of the year,” McAdams said. “It is a lot of work, but it is also a lot of fun.”
