An agricultural producer at the California Mid-State Fair. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Wondering what the latest developments are in locally grown fresh food products? A new program in the Floriculture Building at the Lake County Fair will help answer that question.

Modeled after similar programs a several other fairs, the “Farmer of the Day” program will present two different local food suppliers each day of the fair.

The fair takes place this year from Thursday, Sept. 1, through Sunday, Sept. 4, at the fairgrounds, 401 Martin St., Lakeport.

“Local growers and producers of local food products are often really busy this time of year with harvest, and they can't take four days off from their schedules to be at the county fair,” said Fair Chief Executive Officer Richard Persons.

“So we looked at some other fairs, and saw that they offer growers the chance to be at the fair for a single day, and then have a different grower or producer in the same space the next day, and this year we've worked with Lake County Farm Bureau and Lake County Farmer's Finest to make that happen here,” Persons said. “We hope both the patrons and the producers enjoy it, and it builds enough to start including food and wine pairings in the future.”

The “Farmer of the Day” program will have two booth spaces in the Floriculture Building at the Lake County Fair, with each space featuring a different producer each day.

Filled with Lake County grown flowers, plants, and garden displays, the building is normally cool and quiet, a welcome respite from all the noisy thrills and the heat to be found elsewhere on the fairgrounds.

It's the perfect place to have a pleasant conversation with a local grower or agricultural producer about their direct-to-retail products. Some producers will even offer samples.

Included in the “Farmer of the Day” program are Morgan Valley Produce and Chacewater Olive Mill on Thursday, with Rancho de la Fuente and Wildcat Bees exhibiting on Friday, the LAVA Center & Bio Farms on Saturday, and www.LakeCountyGrown.com on Sunday.

The Floriculture Building is open from the gate opening time until 10 p.m. each evening.

Regular admission prices for the 2011 Lake County Fair are $10 for a regular ticket, $6 for a senior over age 60, and $6 for children ages 6 through 11.

Children under 6 years old are admitted free every day. Children through age 11 are admitted for $3 on Thursday, Sept. 1 only, for “Kid's Day.”