ISTOCK.COM / GLOBALP BABY! Georgia Grown Baby Barn brings farming to life By Pamela A. Keene ANDY HARRISON V Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black. "Through the hard and tireless work of our team and partners, we were able to double and sometimes even triple that opportunity. The enthralled expressions on the faces of both children and adults as they stood there attentively was all the evidence we needed to know that the Baby Barn was a rousing success." The Baby Barn will be open for its second year at the 30th annual Georgia National Fair Oct. 3-13 at ANDY HARRISON eterinarian Lee Jones knew this birth would be unusual, but he didn't expect twins. As the official veterinarian for the Georgia National Fair's Georgia Grown Baby Barn, Jones was poised to assist with the first delivery of the brand-new program. He was in for some surprises. Besides the delivery of two healthy, female Holstein calves, Jones was amazed at the number of spectators and their response on opening day of the Baby Barn last October. "They spontaneously broke into applause," Jones says. "I've been at livestock births on farms when the dairy farmer and I would trade high-fives, but I've never heard applause at the birth of calves before." The Baby Barn is a project of the Georgia Department of Agriculture's Georgia Grown program. "The plan was to provide Georgia National Fair attendees the opportunity of a lifetime with a chance to witness a live birth of a calf once a day," says Above: Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black reacts with the crowd observing a calf birth at the Baby Barn last year. Left: Baby Barn ambassadors help take care of the calves and other animals during the fair. www.georgiamagazine.org 19http://www.georgiamagazine.org