Specialty Crop

Specialty-crop-related entries in the Open classes include jellies and syrups; preserves, marmalades, butters, and jams; canned vegetables; canned fruits; products made with honey (bread, cookies, cakes, candy, and canned goods); dried foods (including fruits, vegetables, fruit leather, herbs, mushrooms, and soup mixes); freeze-dried foods (candies, fruits, and vegetables, among others); pies (among them apple, cherry, berry, raisin, rhubarb, other fruit, and mincemeat); and cookies (among them fruit bars and nut drop).

There are a number of very interesting classes in the Open bees and honey class, including Caucasian bees, queen with brood in a single comb observation hive; Italian bees, queen with brood in a single comb observation hive; case of white comb honey exhibition grade; jars of white chunky honey; jars of water white extract honey; light yellow beeswax; and various displays, including honey, home prepared foods in which honey is the only sweetening or preserving agent, and ones showing the value of bees to agriculture, the uses of honey, and the uses of beeswax. The final class is an attractive, interesting, and instructive exhibit focused on the beekeeping industry, which may include bees, honey, beeswax, pollen, products made with honey, etc.

There are both traditional and unusual contests in Open horticulture, including vegetables, vegetable display (“Highlight of my Fremont County garden”), fruits, herbs, and one started in 2023, “Wacky, weird or just plain ugly,” which showcases outrageous oddities of the horticulture world.

The Open floriculture flowers’ class has several contests tied directly to specialty crops, including cut flowers and flower arrangements.

There are also youth culinary contests, including specialty-crop related contests, among them jams, jellies, canned vegetables, canned fruits, and pickled cucumbers.

Additionally, there are many categories for 4-H and FFA members, including ones in agronomy, horticulture, and foods. Those participating in the Open, FFA, and 4-H contests can compete at the state fair, and prizes are awarded at both the county and state levels.

The Fremont County Fair, held annually in late July and early August, also includes crazy figure 8 races, junior livestock sale, motocross, bull riding, ranch rodeo, PRCA rodeo, hog n’ mud wrestling, parade, and carnival.