It’s back, and great as ever; the Great Frederick Fair celebrates its 200th anniversary. Once starting as a two-day cattle show and fair in May 1822, the Great Frederick Fair has grown to include a wide variety of aspects that many fairgoers love, such as funnel cakes, thrilling carnival rides, and adorable animal expositions. As for Tuscarora, the Future Farmers of America (FFA) club greatly contributes to the agricultural expositions of the fair, such as the horticulture competitions and farm animal showings. 

     Junior middle hitter on the Titans varsity volleyball team and vice president of the THS FFA, Christina Lockett shares how the Tuscarora FFA contributes to the fair as well as what agriculture means to her. She notes that contributing to the fair has led to her “…helping out more with the community…” by informing a greater audience about the importance of agriculture. Lockett also notes that the THS FFA conducts fair entries, such as dog toys and posters, while also doing food drives to help the poor in Frederick County. The annual contributions of the THS FFA to the Frederick Fair are a yearly tradition, as they aspire to better the local Frederick community.

     As vice president of the Tuscarora FFA and student of many agricultural classes at THS, Lockett touches on what agriculture means to her, noting that it is “…a wide variety of businesses helping out farming…” especially since the farming industry does not generate a great amount of money in the modern economy. In the future, Lockett aspires to work in pre-vet large animal sciences, “…working with cattle and livestock when [she] grows up.” Her participation in numerous agricultural classes as well as the FFA will pave the way for her success later in life as she pursues her ultimate goal.

     In today’s world, the continuous advancement of technology has greatly contributed to further innovations in farming equipment and techniques, allowing for a greater amount of food to be produced. Historically an agricultural region, Frederick has traditionally given FCPS students a day off of school to go enjoy the fair, especially due to the great number of students who show animals and compete in fair competitions. Lockett notes that “…without agriculture, we wouldn’t…have food…and most people wouldn’t know where their food comes from…” also mentioning that it is “…a big issue in society today…” as people are often uneducated about the source of their food as well as the process it takes to get crops from field to table. Lockett additionally makes the point that “…we’re running out of farmers, so we’re running out of food, too…” especially as a growing number of the population grows more towards desk jobs or takes part in the big tech industry.

     For agriculture, though it is not as popular as it was in Frederick even 50 years ago, students still take interest in it, as seen in the award-winning THS FFA program. Lockett touches on this recent success of hers by remarking that “…[she] won [her] poster first place…” which discussed the milking machine that is used for milking cows. Additionally, FFA member Rachel Zimmerman won second place overall for her goat showing. To continue the success, Lockett boasts that she competed in a veterinary science competition and won, taking the FFA team “…to nationals in November…” setting them up for a very exciting upcoming season. 

     Though agriculture may not be as popular within Frederick county today, the THS FFA team does its best to insure that as many residents as possible are informed about the importance of agriculture. As for the Great Frederick Fair, it serves as a fun learning experience for people of all ages.