This Week's Facts:
-
Document of the Month Filled
with Fun Fair Facts
-
USDA Resources Highlight
Agriculture Stats
-
Online Exhibit Presents
Indiana State Fair History
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Census Profiles State Fairs
Across America
Indiana
State Fair Fast Facts!
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The Ind. State Fair is the country's
6th oldest State Fair,
originating in 1852.
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2010 is the Year of Pigs at the State Fair. As of June of
2010, Indiana’s hog/pig inventory is 3,600,000. Indiana is
5th in the nation for pork production.
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Indiana Pork production contributes
$3 billion to Indiana’s economy annually.
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This year at the State Fair, learn about Japan through the
Bridges to Japan exhibit in
the new International Pavilion, which will feature
technological advances like “humanoid” robots and a
Shinkansen bullet train display.
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"Indiana is the only state in the U.S. with three Japanese
auto assembly plants, with 220 Japanese facilities in
Indiana employing more than
43,000 Hoosiers, making
Japan the clear front-runner among the state's international
partners.” - Theresa Kulczak, executive director of the
Japan-America Society of Indiana
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Friday Facts Editorial Team:
Katharine Springer
State Data
Center Coordinator
Elisabeth
O’Donnell
Federal Documents Librarian
&
Kim Brown-Harden
State
Documents Coordinator
 
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government info |
 In
honor of the Indiana State Fair starting this week, we are
dedicating this issue of Friday Facts to all things
Fair-related. The fair runs from August 6 through the 22 and
most days is open from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM (EDT). Before you
visit the fair, make sure to check out their
website to find out who
will be there in concert, see complete fair hours and even buy
tickets for events!
The 2010 Fair celebrates the Year of the Pig. Be sure to
visit the fair this year to get your share of bacon, hog calling
and pig racing. See you there!
Document of the
Month Filled with Fun Fair Facts
 This
month’s document will highlight one of the early fair
publications. The Indiana State Fair Premium List includes
exhibition programs, members of the Indiana State Board of
Agriculture, premium (prize) lists from various entry categories
and rules and regulations. They include interesting facts and
details about the fair. For example, general admission to the
fairgrounds was $0.50 in 1913! If you had a Berkshire Boar that
was two years old or older, you could win $15 for the first
place prize. The list also includes a list of other state fairs
with their dates and locations and a listing of smaller fairs
throughout the state and the dates they occurred. The Premium
list was published 1913-1958 and can be found at the Indiana
State Library at ISLI 606 I. Enjoy the fair!
USDA Resources Highlight Agriculture Stats
 As
everyone knows, one huge part of the State Fair is the
agricultural aspect. Whether you’re showing animals, looking at
the Antique Tractor Barn or even trying to seek out the biggest
pumpkin in the state, you know how important agriculture is to
Indiana. If something piques your fancy while you’re at the
fair and you want to learn a little more about it, the US
Department of Agriculture has several databases that may help
you. If you’re looking for actual statistics related to
agriculture, the first place you’ll want to stop at is the
National Agricultural Statistics Service. This
sub-agency of the USDA compiles agricultural data from respected
sources – both government and non-government – and makes them
available for you. You can search from their homepage or go
directly to their
Quick Stats page.
You also may want to check out
Amber Waves, the USDA
journal on the economics of agriculture. You can find
information on livestock, biofuels or studies that have been
done on a variety of agricultural topics. They also include
some statistical information. Finally, you can access citations
to agricultural resources by searching
AGRICOLA, the National Agricultural Library
catalog.
Online Exhibit
Presents Indiana State Fair History
 The
Indiana State Library’s
Manuscripts and Rare Books Collection
has an
online exhibit celebrating
the history of the Indiana State Fair! This is a great
collection of photographs chronicling the State Fair throughout
its history. You can look up pictures from the 1973 Pet Parade
or even a poster from the 1887 Fair. Check out the collection
and get ready to celebrate the last days of summer with elephant
ears, lemon shake-ups and tons of exhibits. Join the Indiana
State Library and other State agencies on
Hoosier Heritage Day, Thursday,
August 12th at the State Fair. You can watch historical
re-enactments or even answer some Indiana trivia!
Census Profiles
State Fairs Across America
 Profile
America, a public service of the U.S. Census
Bureau, provides 60 second sound bytes of current events and
observances. One of the latest profiles,
State Fair Time, mentions
state fairs across the country, including Indiana. Transcripts
and links to mp3 and wav files are available through the Census
Bureau’s Multimedia Gallery
here. Radio stations can
request a CD of the feature by calling (301) 763-3011 or writing
pio@census.gov.
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