2024 N.C. State Fair
News from the Deep Fried Crew
45 years and counting: Hickory farmer finds the fun in showing dairy cows at the N.C. State Fair
When Major Bond reflects on the decades he and his family have been showing livestock at the N.C. State Fair, one story sticks out. It should have been like any typical show. And it was – until one of his heifers went into labor. She wasn’t due to calve for a few weeks, Bond recalled, but the trip from his dairy farm in Hickory, North Carolina, “must have sped things along.” As one might imagine, the sight drew a large crowd. Between 200 and 300 people gathered around to watch, a father and daughter among them. Bond remembers the child, probably 9 or 10 years old, struggling to get a view of the birth.
News from the Deep Fried Crew
Mission
To showcase and promote the state's agriculture, agribusiness, arts, crafts and culture through the annual agricultural fair. The Fair offers the agricultural community a venue to showcase its crops, livestock and new technology. The Fair is also an opportunity for the state's ever-increasing urban population to learn about agriculture through educational and competitive exhibits in the areas of livestock, horticulture, cooking, folk art and much more. More than $700,000 in prize money is awarded each year.