Agriculture show to offer taste of farm life

| 02/03/2011

(CNS): Visitors to this year’s agricultural show will be getting a close up of life down on the farm with demonstrations and exhibitions that show what local farmers get up to every day. Already a popular day out, organisers say that Grand Cayman’s 44th show will be bigger and better than ever. Agriculture Society President Errol Watler said traditional art demonstrations, cultural exhibits, tea tasting and a scavenger hunt are just a few of the activities that people can enjoy, alongside the Beautiful Baby Contest, the YMS drill and the equestrian activities. Entertainment includes a gospel concert, the Cayman Islands Marching Band, dance demonstrations, and a number of local bands.

“We will have a cow milking demonstration, chicken hatchling demonstration and discussion on the work of the Caymanian farmer,” he said. ”A returning feature this year is the schools’ interactive tent which gives children the opportunity to showcase their art, crafts, essays and poems focused on agriculture and the environment. We are expecting to have an exciting show with activities for the entire family, and we ask everyone to come and be a part of it,” said Watler.

Director of the Department of Agriculture Adrian Estwick said he was proud of the support that the department continues to give to the show and the farmers of the Cayman Islands. “This collaborative process involving the ministry, the department, the farmers, and the society is what continues to keep the show growing from strength to strength,” Estwick said.

Minister of Agriculture Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said the show has grown in significance as agriculture begins to take a more important role in the Island’s development. “The ministry continues to lend our support to both the Grand Cayman and the Cayman Brac agriculture shows because we believe in our farmers, and we recognise that these shows provide a great forum for them to showcase and market their goods,” she added.

The show takes place at the Grounds in Lower Valley on Ash Wednesday (9 March), which is a public holiday, and cost $10 to enter. The popular $20,000 grand prize raffle is also back. Tickets are $25 and include the $10 entrance fee. People can pre-purchase raffle tickets at Funky Tangs or pay at the gate on the day of the show. Gates open at 7am, with the official opening ceremony at 9am.

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  1. Visitorfromnj says:

    WOW! Nicholas Ebanks you go boy! He is doing an amazing job and guess what, his animals look happy. We have plenty of farms in NJ but the animals never look that happy. Congratulations to Nicholas! Thanks again for the information. Everyone should go and see how small scale farming is done. Grow in your backyard. The vegies and meat is amazing! Peace!

  2. Visitorfromnj says:

    thank you so much for the information. I am most certainly going to call and see if I can go and talk to the farmer, because I can already see he does different things with the plants than I do at home. How can you say he is not a farmer? He is farming 5 acres. That is actually quite large for a small Island. People should be proud of him.

  3. Feeling the gas pains says:

    Too bad I won’t be able to take my family of 5 to this event now that I have to weigh spending $50 on entrance (+ additional cash for food, drinks, and miscellanous purchases) or $50 on gas!

  4. UDP Supporter says:

    This is the Cayman I remember! The good old days are long gone!

  5. Anonymous says:

    visitorfromnj: We don’t really have farms here as you understand the word “farm” just as we don’t really have ‘scenery” or “culture’ the way these words are understood in the rest of the world (and you have to just smile and sigh when nationalistic people here attempt to assure you otherwise). Nonetheless many of us love it, for all its foibles and shortcomings (and which country large or small doesn’t have those?)

    • Anonymous says:

      Everything in Cayman is, by necessity, on a smaller scale than what you might be used to.  Which does not negate the accomplishments of local farmers.

      Indeed without much land (whether you are measuring across or down), some local farmers are doing quite well and it would be appropriate to at least check them out before condescending.

      As for scenery and culture, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  You probably shouldn’t be using the word "we" (as in "we don’t have…) when you are referring only to yourself.

       

       

      • visitorfromnj says:

        Thank you for your comments! i was a bit taken back by the comment. I don’t care if the farm is on 1 acre, or 1/16th of an acre. I am interested. How do you grow your vegatables? I have a beatiful garden in my back yard, approx, 50’X15′. I have friends that come to see my harvest so they can get ideas about how I do my “farming”. i have friends that have free range chickens…..on a small lot. I am still interested in how they feed them, water them, get the eggs, etc. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, in this case, ME. I want to see how the goats are taken care of, do you milk the goats? Do you make cheese with the milk from the goats? Steer, do you raise them just for meat, or do you have milk cows as well? It is a shame the negativity that people show on a daily basis. Still, I am interested in seeing local farms. Maybe with the rental car I have, I can just get in the car and go take a ride and see where the farms are. Any suggestions are appreciated! When I visit a destination I like to learn the way local folks do the things we do at home. Most of the time, I can take some of the ideas and incorporate into my everyday life. Maybe others should take the same tactic!

      • Anonymous says:

        Credit is indeed due to those accomplishments but it would be interesting to know how many people we have in Cayman who are farming as their ONLY source of income (as is the norm elsewhere in the world). In other words, how many are also construction contractors, heavy equipment and aggregate suppliers, electronic equipment retailers, carpet and floor tile retailers etc etc -all businesses that cansubsidise their farming. Cayman’s “farmers” are doing as well as they can but the poster at wed 18:17 is right, they’re not farmers as recognised anywhere else. They’re cow, goat, pig, fruit, vegetable producers on a small scale. But all credit to them for that.

        • Anonymous says:

          Perhaps the local farmers would not be recognized as such anywhere else.  But props to them nonetheless.

          It is interesting to be that at one time long ago cotton was a "major" export of the Cayman Islands.

           

          • Anonymous says:

            Have you noticed all the cotton plants growing wild along the roads? They’re full of bolls right now. Not very big bolls but pretty “high cotton.”

        • Anonymous says:

           18:12- why bash a farmer because he does other work as well?  It just shows that he/she is willing to work hard to accomplish what he/she needs to in life.  I will soon grow fruits and vegetables in my yard.  It is the Caymanian way of life and yes, I have a regular job.

          In these hard times, we should all be growing our own food.

          BTW: the best milk in the world is that nice natural fresh cow milk.  I wish that I had some right now.  It’s been about 20 years.  

        • Anonymous says:

          I have to chuckle at this, having grown up in the U.S. surrounded by farmers who made as much in a year (sometimes more) from government subsidies as they did from growing crops or raising herds.  In fact, some of those subsidies were paid out to farmers for NOT GROWING certain crops. 

          So, if your definition of a farmer is someone who has "farming as their ONLY source of income" then that leaves out a lot of farmers I know.

           

          • Anonymous says:

            10:58: But if they did not have “farms”-registered/certain amount of acres/history of farming etc, would they still get the subsidies you refer to? The lamentable situation you describe operates in EU countries too but you have to qualify as a “farmer” and fulfill certain criteria to get the subsidies.

            • Anonymous says:

              A farmer is a farmer is a farmer.  Not sure what your point is but it is clearly positioned right at the top of your head.

               

              • Alice B Toklas says:

                Your comment “a farmer is a farmer is a farmer” is as totally meaningless as its originator Gertrude Stein’s “a rose is a rose is a rose” was and still is, so I would avoid “witty” comments such as the one you make about the other poster in your second sentence. You’re no smarter than he/she is.

                • Anonymous says:

                  Wow.  Thanks for the input Alice.

                  It seems to me that the line of discussion was that "real" farmers could be easily identified by the fact that their large-scale farms allowed them to earn their living solely by that farm, whether they were growing crops or receiving subsidies.

                  It also seems to me that what was claimed was that local farmers aren’t really farmers because they farm on a very small scale and they may actually have other sources of income than their farms.

                  Both contentions seem to me to be a bit odd and I would maintain that if you are growing crops or raising herds on such a scale that there is excess which you can sell to local residents or markets, then you should be considered a "real" farmer.

                  The comment "a farmer is a farmer is a farmer" was made to insist what I believe is the truth… Cayman farmers are real farmers and should be treated with some respect.  If someone farms, that is what makes them a farmer.

                  W%B5h

  6. Rorschach says:

    That picture is PRICELESS!!!   SOOOO Many thought went through my head when I saw it….too bad CNS would have refused to print them..  🙂

  7. visitorfromnj says:

    Counting down the days until I am on the Island once again. I was wondering if there are any local farms that will give you tours of their working farms. I have read articles about fairly large goat farm, milk farm, beef farm. I have not been able to find any information about those farms, but would love to go and visit and see how the farming is handled locally. Any tips are appreciated! I hope everyone enjoys the agricultural fair. peace my Island friends!