Farm fair gets room to grow

The Burlington County Farm Fair will be three times its former size when the 66th anniversary event opens next month in Springfield Township, at a new location saved from development by the county's Open Space program.

The four-day slice of Americana, which traditionally attracts more than 50,000 people, will introduce a competition among local farmers to see who has the mightiest tractor.

The farm fair had outgrown Lumberton's 18-acre Village Green, where it was held for about 50 years, said fair president Jim Soden.

"It's a brand-new fairgrounds," Soden said of the 60-acre Springfield site. "You better bring your sneakers because you will do a lot of walking."

Rows of tents soon will stretch across the enormous grass field at Route 206 and Jacksonville-Jobstown Road, just south of the Columbus Farmers Market. The site was part of a 640-acre sod farm that the county acquired in 2004 for $4.5 million.

Work crews are installing $11 million worth of improvements - permanent equestrian stadiums, lighting, a sound system, and other infrastructure - to prepare for the anticipated crowds.

"The park is designed for the farm fair and other events that will be held here," Freeholder Director Bruce Garganio said during an inspection last week. Crushed stone paths will make the events accessible to disabled people and families with strollers, he said.

The fair, set to open July 20, will be the first event held at the site, which is the largest parcel the county has saved through special taxes designated for preserving open space.

Events by 4-H clubs, Boy Scouts, equestrian groups, and other nonprofit organizations may follow, said Mary Pat Robbie, director of county resource conservation. She said horseback riders are enthusiastic about holding competitions at the facility's two football-field-size riding rings. Stadium seating at the rings can accommodate more than 900 spectators.

At the fair, tents and corrals will display sheep, goats, and cows, and house fruit, vegetable, and pie competitions. There will be thrill rides, cotton candy, and a pageant to crown the fair queen.

On July 21, about 100 tractors will take turns pulling a weighted sled across a 300-foot clay-and-sand track, a new feature at the fair. A recently organized Tractor Pull Club plans to hold a half-dozen more contests throughout the year, according to Soden.

The county purchased the sod farm to save the location from a planned 600-home development and office complex that many feared would ruin the township's identity, said Springfield Mayor Denis McDaniel. "It would have been out of character for our sprawling 30-square-mile rural community," he said.

Long-term plans call for recreational trails to be carved through the meadows and the small woods in the farthest reaches. Matt Johnson, the county's open space coordinator, said Savannah songbirds and other rare species had been spotted on the land.

The first farm fair in the county was a one-day event, Soden said. It was held in Springfield at another farm, then moved to other locations.

"The farm fair certainly is a big thing," said McDaniel. "It celebrates agriculture and it's fun."