Goshen Fair Honors the Town’s Agricultural Achievements

Local farmers walked away as champions from the 110th Annual Goshen Fair on Labor Day weekend. Dozens of ranchers, farmers, 4H youth, and livestock showmen attended the fair to participate in a variety of livestock and produce competitions.

Throughout the three day fair, livestock and produce would be judged in a variety of categories to determine which were the best. For cows, they were divided up between beef and dairy cattle to be judged on their health, appearance, and showmanship. “Part of the fair is called showmanship. It’s how the showman presents themselves,” explained Roxbury farmer Chris Wheeler. “They dress all in white to show the cleanliness of the industry and it’s to show how they present the animal.” Judges look for large dairy cows to support their big utters to produce lots of milk. Much of this weight is found on the bottom of dairy cows, making them look more skinny than they actually are on the upper parts of their body. To perhaps the surprise of many guests, much of the cattle brought to the fair were raised as simple pets not to be eaten or commercially milked. “They’re pets. We don’t ship milk or anything like that,” said Wheeler. “They’ll be in the field till they pass away and then we’ll bury them just like your favorite dog.” Wheeler and her daughter Rebecca raise primarily Ayrshire, Jersey, and Holstein dairy cows. Jerseys are very calm breeds of cows that are very friendly towards humans, making them perfect pets or training cows for first time farmers. “These cows, the jerseys, produce a lot of fat. These are the good ice cream and cheese cows,” added Wheeler. Ashers have a bit more attitude while Holstein cows are larger than the former breeds and are typical milk cows. Many farmers still use these pets cows to help cultivate hay with their manure.

Image Description: Two Hereford cows are washed outside the Goshen Fair livestock barns.

Not everyone used cows as pets, however. Several farmers produce milk and sell them to local dairy companies such as Arethusa Farm. “We ship our milk to Arethusa…,” said Birch Mill Farmer Jada Wilson. “Our milk is picked up everyday. So every other day it’ll go to Arethusa to be made into ice cream and cheese. Then the alternating days it goes to Cabot [Creamery].” The Falls Village-based farm milks 45 cows made up of Brown Swiss, Ayrshire and Holstein breeds. Birch Mill Farm produces hay and forages in addition to their dairy products. Much of their cows are bred to be show cows that produce exceptional milk, “The Swiss, we have a very put together breeding program for them because we show them. So [my boss] will buy nicer, higher quality bull semen to breed them with…,” Wilson explained. “Nowadays, you get a catalog and there’s plenty of different traits to the bull or whatever so you can pick if you want to get better legs for your cow or milk production. It’s very intricate and sometimes confusing.” Many farms artificially inseminate their female cows to protect them from potential harm caused by bulls in procreation. Their breeding programs led to the creation of the now four year old Swiss cow Pineapple who won many feats at the fair this year, “Pineapple here, she was grand champion of the Swiss show so her ribbons are for Grand Champion of the Swiss show and the Senior show…,” said Wilson. “[Shows] are split up by kids and ages so they’re in a junior show and then an open show with all of the adults and then some of the kids too. So there’s just different divisions within the show.” Since Pineapple won as champion for the Swiss breed, she competed against all of the other champions for the other dairy breeds for the honor to be named Supreme Champion. Pineapple went on to become Supreme Champion on Labor Day!

Image Description: Birch Hill Farm Swiss cow Pineapple became the dairy cow Supreme Champion on Labor Day!

In contrast to beef and dairy competitions, cavies, goats, poultry, rabbits, sheep, and swine competed to become fair champions. Goats were judged between meat and dairy breeds for their health, appearances, and showmanship. According to Future Farmers of America member Kelsey Marin, the ideal goat for these competitions are wide with long necks. Sheep meanwhile were judged between meat and wool breeds for their health, appearance, and quality of wool. Rabbits were also judged between meat and fur breeds, though rabbits are less commonly farmed for their meat and fur these days. Rather, rabbits and cavies, otherwise known as guinea pigs, are brought for showmanship and more often for kids to learn from and interact with. Historically guinea pigs were domesticated from their Andes Mountains place of origin for their meat by ancient indigenous people. It wasn’t until the 16th century when European colonists arrived in South America that guinea pigs would gain popularity as pets. Today, the tradition of consuming guinea pigs remains as around 65 million guinea pigs are eaten annually in South American countries according to Now This News. Rabbits and cavies are not the only livestock becoming increasingly absent from competitions. Swine or pigs as they are more commonly known as, are becoming a rare sight at the Goshen Fair due to towns implementing restrictions to where pigs can be raised. The Connecticut Public Health Code requires that pigsties, enclosure for pigs, must be 300 feet from any adjacent dwelling. Individual municipalities may place further restrictions on farming pigs such as Bridgeport prohibiting pigs kept within 100 feet of any house, schoolhouse, church, street, or park.

Image Description: Gary Vincent’s Goshen Fair record breaking 1,274 pound pumpkin.

In contrast to livestock, local produce was also judged at the Goshen Fair. These were judged by the size, consistency, and overall appearance. A few barns were filled with produce from various farms including but not limited to peppers, onions, corn, sunflowers, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelons, and, of course, pumpkins. Several farmers spent all summer attempting to grow the largest pumpkin at the fair but all were dwarfed by the colossal pumpkin grown by Plainville resident Gary Vincent. This year Vincent broke the record for the Goshen Fair’s largest pumpkin with a 1,274 pound Atlantic Giant pumpkin, “That’s my third time I set a new record at that layoff. I set it originally with a pumpkin that I think was 1,220 pounds. That was about four years ago but I came back with one last year. I think it was 1,236 [pounds].” A long time vegetable gardener, Vincent first began growing Atlantic Giants in 1981 when his wife brought him some seeds from Springfield, Massachusetts. His first pumpkin he grew was 275 pounds. He didn't enter serious pumpkin competitions until 2007 and since then he has cultivated titans. “I’ve grown two pumpkins in the last eight years that have come in eighth place in the world each year that I grew them. That’s been my highlight so far,” Vincent explained. “I’ve been trying to break the world record and I’ve been trying to get my Connecticut state record back which I held for four years.” In 2015, Vincent broke the state record for the largest pumpkin with a whopping 1,992.5 pound Atlantic Giant, winning first place at the annual Topsfield Fair’s All New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off. Vincent held this state record until Pomfret, Connecticut resident Alex Noel overthrew him with a 2,294.5 pound pumpkin in 2019. That same year Vincent grew his biggest pumpkin weighing 2,169.5 pounds, just 125 pounds short of Noel’s squash. Vincent has since attempted to grow larger pumpkins but this summer’s heavy rains have severely impacted his giants, “We’ve had so much rain this year that with a lot of rain comes disease and rot… When you have a lot of rain you have a lot of rot. Don’t forget, there’s a lot of water in them pumpkins.” According to Vincent, Atlantic Giants can grow 30-50 pounds a day, if grown correctly. This year Vincent won $600 for winning first place and breaking the fair’s record for the largest pumpkin. While Vincent attempts to regain his state record title, he often donates his other produce to his local church. In addition to the giant pumpkin’s other farmers brought colossal produce such as Emily Ciesielski who brought a 17 foot 7 inches tall sunflower.

While not everyone walked away as livestock or produce champions this year, every farmer, rancher, 4H member, and livestock showman were able to display their agricultural achievements and inspire the next generation of farmers.