The business of farming showcased at Middletown Grange Fair
Cows, corn, and candidates are among the usual sightings at the Middletown Grange Fair that opened Wednesday on the sprawling Grange fairgrounds in Wrightstown. It runs until Sunday.
I wanted to devote my column today to highlight the historic fair that comes around every year. But election time also comes around every year, so among the tractors, farm products, and blue ribbon contests, you’re likely to spot Republican and Democratic candidates shaking hands in advance of November 4’s upcoming municipal elections and next year’s First District congressional race.
Important as these elections are, the Middletown Grange offers a welcome break from all the political noise.
And the event also highlights our good fortune to live in Bucks County — a mix of stunning beauty and history, replete with natural parks, lakes, and preserved open space, much of it idyllic farmland. A diverse community, Bucks has grown in population and development, but agriculture is still more than a small niche. This week, the Grange showcased the work and lifestyle of the farming community and also its impact on the county’s economy.
Historically, farmers were early providers to the families who established Bucks County more than 200 years ago. Today, our farmers rank nationally in direct sales to consumers! And in an increasingly urbanized region and county, it’s good to know there are 824 working farms in Bucks, on 77,255 acres, according to the last agricultural census in 2017.
The Middletown Grange got its start in 1948, when a small group of local farmers decided to enter a national contest: Who can grow 300 bushels of corn on one acre? Well, Bucks farmers came up with 105 bushels from its Yardley site, didn’t win, but then organized themselves into an official Grange organization that supported the dairy and crop farmers that worked and lived in communities from the Delaware Riverfront villages to Upper Bucks.
If you go to the fair, you’ll enjoy sampling and purchasing homegrown products, seeing farm equipment (old and modern), livestock, and 4-H Club members beaming with pride in the animals they raised and care for year-round.
And you might hear some good stories, as I did, from a young man in a barn, his head propped up on a big black and white cow. He explained she was so nervous settling in, likely bothered by the trip from Upper Bucks and the noise at the fairground, so he just stayed close by — all night and that day to keep his favorite cow calm.
That teenage boy and others like him are a special version of Gen Z, those from thirteen to 30 years old.
To those of us who grew up in cities or living in the older, densely populated communities within our county, it may seem like another world. But in reality the farmers and their families are an integral part of Bucks County.
It’s worth a visit – you have until Sunday.
The Grange fairgrounds are three miles above Newtown, off Route 413, and located at 576 Penns Park Road, Wrightstown. There’s no admission fee, but parking costs $20. A portion of the parking fee goes to the Lingohocken Fire Company and the Bucks County Fraternal Order of Police.
Pat Wandling hosts Speak Your Piece weekdays at noon on WBCB 1490.
