Have Fun with Agriculture at the South Carolina State Fair | Arts & Culture

Have you ever ginned cotton? You can this year at the South Carolina Department of Agriculture’s (SCDA) interactive displays inside the Cantey Building at the South Carolina State Fair.

The SCDA’s interactive displays are fun for all ages and highlight the impact of agriculture on our daily lives from the food we eat, to the clothes we wear, or the fuel in our vehicles. Children can gin some local cotton to take home thanks to the South Carolina Cotton Board, or they can learn about healthy eating from the Farm to School program. As always, you will find tractors and other tools farmers use in the SCDA area. 

October 10-13 The South Carolina Beef and Cotton Boards will be on display, followed by the Peanut, Soybean, and Peach commodity boards from Oct. 14-17, and the Pork Board and the SC Equine Industry will host booths Oct. 18-21. Local dairies will also take part handing out samples of local milk.  You will also find South Carolina Specialty Foods Association members selling their products.

While visiting the Cantey Building, make time to stop by the "Fresh on the Menu" stage to pick up a few new culinary tricks from some of South Carolina’s most well-known chefs, like USC’s Patricia Moore-Pastides.  Participating chefs will highlight how easy it is to cook with Certified SC Grown produce and products. 

For a complete list of chefs and their cooking demo times, visit www.certifiedscgrown.com and look under Hot Topics.