Catching a nap at the Dairy Cattle Building during the New York State Fair in Syracuse. (Dick Blume )
Two years after Doug met Carol at the New York State Fair, they married. It was 1980.
Carol rose quickly in the ranks of dairy barn management and became co-superintendent with Sam Slack around 1984-85. After Slack retired about 12 years ago, Doug took his place.
Doug Waterman is the co-superintendent of the Dairy Cattle Barn at the New York State Fair.
Now, the Watermans run the Dairy Cattle Barn together. Carol manages people; Doug manages cows.
“Carol does the paperwork, hires the clerks, gets the judges, makes sure they get paid,” said Doug Waterman, 57. “She gets the whole thing structured. Without her, it would fall apart.”
Waterman and the staff get the cattle in and out of the barn. They’re on-call 24/7 during the fair, at the mercy of fairgoers, veterinarians and security.
They showcase Holsteins and Milking Shorthorns during the first half of the fair, while Jersey, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire and Guernseys arrive for the second half.
The staff must stay up all night to rotate the cattle after fairgoers leave.
The dairy cattle barn is slammed with traffic all day long. It’s hot, uncomfortable and often a hassle, but Waterman’s fondness for good cows keeps him coming back.
Jeffrey Huckins of Oneida washes a cow during the New York State Fair.File photo by David Lassman , Sept. 2, 1979
Born and raised on a farm in Madison, N.Y., Waterman attended the fair once or twice as a boy, and started showing dairy cattle in 1975.
Things have changed a lot since then.
“As the fair has tried to grow attendance, they’ve drifted away from agriculture in a way,” Waterman said. “It’s just made it much more difficult.”
He would rather see a stronger focus on quality experiences and education for fair-goers, rather than upping the numbers through the gate.
For example, the dairy barn team used to move cattle through all four sides of the building. Today, they’re allowed to use just one side. The fair blocked off other sides with vendors.
The fair is a business, and Doug understands why they do it. “But I think one of our main goals should be to educate the public properly how animals are cared for and treated, so they truly understand where milk comes from, where meat comes from.”
Annabella, a one-year-old Jersey, is groomed at the New York State Fair on Wednesday, August 27, 2014. Photo by Michelle Gabel.
Waterman also noticed fairgoer attitudes change in the last 10 years.
“They’re a little bit more entitled,” he said. “Exhibitors complain that people don’t ask anymore to pet their animals. They just walk right in and get a cow up to take pictures. That’s a little disappointing.”
Waterman says every exhibitor is willing to let people take photos, but fairgoers need to ask first. That way the exhibitors can make sure no one gets hurt.
Each fair season, about 8 or 10 fairgoers will startle a cow and walk away with a minor injury, Waterman said. He’s talking about grown-ups.
Waterman smiles and says: “Kids still have manners.”
Source: Syracuse.com
