FORTUNE — It’s county fair time again. Agricultural groups and local businesses are setting up at America’s midways and fairgrounds. Their goal: to celebrate (and profit from) the pastoral pleasures of agro-America — from livestock shows to good old-fashioned carnival games to, of course, food! The San Diego County Fair, pictured here, draws record crowds and brings a real economic boost to the area. –Tara Moore
By the numbers:
$170 million: The estimated impact of the 22-day fair on the local economy. The livestock auction generated $432,271 in 2010.
100,000 pounds: The total amount of chicken sold by Chicken Charlie, the San Diego fair’s top vendor in 2010. It was among 110 food booths catering to over 1.3 million total attendees.
6 million: The number of young people enrolled in 4-H (stands for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health) programs. Believe it or not, that’s up from 1.9 million participants in the 1950s.
Sources: San Diego County Fair, Del Mar Fairgrounds, USDA-NIFA
This article is from the July 25, 2011 issue of Fortune.