DES MOINES — Tariffs, labels, commodity prices and daily work schedules were all among the topics discussed at various parts of a very long table in the middle of the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 12, when farmers and consumers got together for an event labeled “Farm to Fair.”

“It was a great start,” Collins-area pork producer Dave Struthers said of the event, which was sponsored by the fair and by the state’s various commodity organizations.

DES MOINES — Gary Slater is looking forward to taking the public behind the scenes with the chance to have lunch and a conversation with a farmer at this year’s Iowa State Fair.

“We want people to have fun when they come to the fair,” says Slater, the fair manager, but he adds that the fair serves as a chance for agriculture to show off and to reach out to non-farmers and an urban audience.

The Iowa State Fair runs Aug. 9-19.

Grounds: 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. (No entry or re-entry after 9 p.m. on the last Sunday.)

ANKENY, Iowa — With more than 1 million people expected to attend the 2018 Iowa State Fair, the Iowa Soybean Association plans to engage Iowans about the ways agriculture impacts their lives.

“The iconic Iowa State Fair is the perfect opportunity to unite Iowans and celebrate our state’s rural and urban communities,” Kelly Visser, Iowa Soybean Association communications program coordinator, said in a news release from the group.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Three new fair foods will be competing for the coveted 2018 Iowa State Fair People's Choice Best New Food Award.

Finalists include the All Iowa Belly Up Burger from The Rib Shack and the Apple Eggroll from Applishus as selected by a celebrity panel of judges on July 17. Fair enthusiasts cast their vote via the Iowa State Fair App to save their favorite food. Brown Sugar Polk Belly on a Stick from Iowa Pork Producers was selected as the third finalist.

DES MOINES — The Iowa State Fair Butter Cow will be featured beside a Waterloo Boy Tractor to celebrate John Deere’s 100th anniversary. Both will be on display in the John Deere Agriculture Building’s cooler throughout the Iowa State Fair, according to a fair news release.

John Deere entered the farm tractor business in March 1918 through the acquisition of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company.