Nebraska 4-H County Fairs to Feature Commodity Carnivals

July 16, 2013

            LINCOLN, Neb. — 4-H Commodity Carnivals will take place throughout Nebraska this summer at county fairs.

            The carnivals are the result of a gift from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group. The goal of the partnership program is to increase the public’s understanding of the value of agriculture and increase agriculture literacy across the nation.

            The new initiative, which will include an interactive learning activity, will debut at county and state fairs in 11 states, including Nebraska.

            Developed by The Ohio State University Extension, the Commodity Carnival will consist of two hands-on mini carnival games – Invest and Grow and Pig-Linko – to introduce the concepts of agriculture futures, options and commodity trading to the target audience of families and youth ages 8-14. Each activity will guide the participants through the process of producing a commodity (i.e., hogs) and selling it.

            Nebraska Commodity Carnival locations, dates and contacts are as follows:

            – Dakota-Thurston County Fair, South Sioux City, July 18-20, Jennifer Hansen, 402-385-6041, jhansen6@unl.edu

            – Adams County Fair, Hastings, July 18-20, Beth Janning, 402-461-7209, elizabeth.janning@unl.edu

            – Cedar County Fair, Hartington, July 19-21, Jackie Steffen, 402-254-6821, jsteffen2@unl.edu

            – Lincoln County Fair, North Platte, July 27-28, Brenda Aufdenkamp, 308-532-2683, brenda.aufdenkamp@unl.edu

            – Cheyenne County Fair, Sidney, July 30-Aug 1, Cynthia Gill, 308-254-4455, cgill2@unl.edu

            – Morrill County Fair, Bridgeport, July 30-Aug. 1, Annette Haas, 308-632-1480, ahaas5@unl.edu           

            – Scotts Bluff County Fair, Mitchell, Aug. 5-7, Annette Haas, 308-632-1480, ahaas5@unl.edu

            – Cuming County Fair, West Point, Aug. 8-11, Patricia Bohaboj, 402-372-6006, pbohaboj@unl.edu

            – Cherry County Fair, Valentine, Aug. 9-11, Jody Dexter, 402-376-1850, benshelbourn@outlook.com

            – Otoe County Fair, Syracuse, Aug. 11-14, Sarah Purcell, 402-269-2301, sarah.purcell@unl.edu

            4-H is in UNL Extension in the university's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.