FINDLAY, Ohio — The county fair is about more than rides and fried food on a stick.
For some, it's about friendly competition and showing off their prized pickings. At the Hancock County Fair, WTOL 11 checked in with crop exhibitors at the Hancock County Fair to see how this year's growing season treated them.
While many county fair visitors hit the midway or livestock barns, usually tucked away off the beaten path, FFA exhibitors are having their crops judged.
It was a tumultuous growing season this year in Hancock County, with the weather going from cold and wet, to dry, then wet, then dry again.
But the Ohio Farm Bureau said that for most farmers, things have balanced out as we enter September.
"There wasn't a lot of pooling and a lot of loss for too much rain or anything," Kirsten Kemner with the Ohio Farm Bureau said. "So the weather, there were times where we definitely needed rain, everything kind of balanced out in the end."
Hancock County Master Gardener volunteers were busy answering questions about growing in garden beds and landscaping.
They said this year, home growers had to be on top of their watering game to get a solid yield.
"They were very rough, but they have really filled out," volunteer Denise Smith said. "And this last rain we got, all of the pods are filling up with beans and everything, it's looking pretty good."
Mark Badertscher was judging this year's corn and bean category Wednesday.
He said both crops grew incredibly slow at the beginning of growing season, but have leveled out.
But we still need some more optimal weather to help this year's crop before the first freeze in mid to late October.
"But the beans were not filled out in the pod yet. So, we do need some more rain and we do need some more heat units to fill out the beans to finish off the soybean crop," Badertscher said.
Local 4-H leaders say the variety of activities kids can take part in at the county fair is important, to get as many kids involved as possible.
From baking, Lego builds, and art, all the way to woodworking and wreath making
"I think along the way we have a lot of different judging contests, and different events to participate in and reach those goals along the way, but kind of encourage you to stay active throughout," Lauren Burner-Kitzler, 4-H educator at the Hancock County OSU Extension office, said. "You know, it's not just a one day or one month project, it's an all around the year project for most members."
The 2023 Hancock County Fair runs through Sept. 4.