Heat Complicates Fair Experience But Filling A Freezer Comes Easy

When you think of the county fair, you might picture carnival rides, fried food, and blue ribbons. But what about bringing home a freezer full of meat?

When you head to the county fair, you can support young producers and stock up on beef, pork, or lamb. Andy Geiss joins Stephanie Hoff to discuss the possibilities. Geiss operates Geiss Meat Service in Merrill. He's also the president of the Wisconsin Association of Meat Processors. Geiss walks us through the process of buying meat at the fair and why it matters for your community.

He says before placing a bid at the livestock auction, you should know how much meat you’ll be bringing home and if you have enough freezer space.

Dangerously hot weather will blanket Wisconsin today. Stu Muck also cautions that there could be some sporadic thunderstorms that might pop up and create havoc too.

Sometimes things don't go according to plan, but that can create opportunity. Randy Cath with the Steffes Group auction firm joins Pam Jahnke to highlight an upcoming Wisconsin auction that features gently used harvest equipment that won't be needed by the owner, but could be a wonderful addition to another farm. Cath says sometimes farms have more equipment than their acres require and that presents a great opportunity. Paid for by Steffes Group.

Today the House Agriculture Committee will take a look at a "fix" for California's Proposition 12. Will Coggin from the Center for Environment and Welfare says consumers have had it with the escalated price on pork and eggs within their borders. Now the challenge will be to overcome the heavily funded animal rights activists that created Prop 12, with a more moderate approach to farming methods.

The excessive heat Wisconsin will experience today is only one of the elements that county fairs and their exhibitor will have to overcome and manage through. Kiley Allan visits with Bernie O'Rourke, UW-Extension Youth Livestock Specialist, about all the stress exhibitors and their animals can experience. Different surroundings, sounds, people, water - it adds up! Making sure that exhibitors have their eyes wide open to the challenges before they leave the farm is not only critical, but a public safety issue.

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