Fair promotes bright jobs future for young Manatee farmers

MANATEE -- When the Manatee County Fair got its start 100 years ago the county's agriculture industry was smaller and one of a limited number of ways to make a living here.

At the time, cattle ranching and citrus production were major components of the county's farm economy, as was vegetable farming, much of which was done along the coast in places including present-day Bayshore and Terra Ceia. Most of those fields have long been planted with subdivisions.

When fairgoers tour agriculture exhibitions and attend livestock shows at this year's Manatee County Fair, which begins Thursday and runs through Jan. 24, they will get a look into an industry that has learned to do a lot more with less. The county ranks seventh out of Florida's 67 counties in terms of agricultural production. In 2014, agriculture had an estimated $2.29 billion annual economic impact in the county.

Surprisingly, all this production is happening in the middle of one of the state's most rapidly developing areas. During the past dozen years, the county has lost 40,000 acres of farm land to new housing, mining and other uses.

Despite the changes over the past century, the fair at 17th Street West and 14th Avenue West, Palmetto, isn't backing away from its original primary focus of promoting agriculture as a career and way of life for the county's young people. Dan West, the Manatee County Fair's manager, said big agriculture is a fixture here.

"Our intention here at the fair is to continue to promote and bolster that agricultural knowledge in the county," West said.

Manatee County is home to industrial-sized tomato, citrus, potato and berry operations, cattle ranches that span thousands of acres and even a few tiny community farms. At the

January fair, which is held well after harvest, the agricultural focal point is largely on livestock. The fair's livestock shows and sales, once open to all, have been youth-only for 40 years.

The intent, West said, is to get young farmers active and excited in the industry. This year, the livestock shows alone will feature more than 500 exhibitors.

Manatee farm community leaders say the fair shows and involvement with local chapters of FFA and 4-H do much to build interest. That's important, because the bar to entering farming can be high. Modern farm operations require land, expensive equipment and can come with operating expenses that are daunting for a young farmer just starting out.

But running a farm is only one aspect of the Manatee ag economy. Gary Reeder, president of the Manatee County Farm Bureau, said today's industry reaches well beyond the fields and barnyards.

"There's plenty of jobs out there," he said. "Research, soil science, marketing, administration, education. The ag community is begging people to get degrees in agriculture."

One change in the industry that hasn't yet taken hold at the fair is the rise of community-supported agriculture, or CSA. The movement in Manatee County is centered on Geraldson Community Farm, a non-profit that occupies about 20 acres of county-owned land near Robinson Preserve in West Bradenton. Operated by a handful of employees and a larger cadre of volunteers, the farm raises a variety of crops throughout the year for its 200 member families.

Christa Leonard, the farm's manager, said CSAs expose people who may or may not have farming backgrounds to the industry. In operation for eight seasons, the farm has seen about 75 percent of its employees in that time leave the operation to go into agricultural careers elsewhere.

Leonard said she is interested in increasing the profile of her farm and other CSAs in the future.

"We have a major focus on good food and helping other farmers," she said.

There will be more farmers to give that help to in the future, if the Manatee County Fair has anything to say about it. Host to one of the state's largest youth agriculture programs, it is poised to meet the needs of the industry in the coming years.

"There are still lots of opportunities in agriculture," West said.

Opening night on Thursday will feature the swine show, the first agriculture event.

Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter @MattAtBradenton.

This story was originally published January 10, 2016 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Fair promotes bright jobs future for young Manatee farmers ."