Attendance shot up at the North Carolina State Fair Tuesday, with a Tuesday-record of 71,199 people, and Brian Long, a fair spokesman, said it was because of the weather.

“We hope the meteorologists are all wrong and we’re not going to get rain this weekend,” he said.

The weather tends to be the a key factor in attendance, he said, but if pleasant weather continues, it could also be good for the state’s economy.

The State Fair is a big draw each year, and a record 858,611 people came last year.

“Attendance-wise, we’re not on par with last year’s attendance record,” Long said.

The fair typically brings a revenue of between $8 and $11 million, Long said, and as much as $77 million for the overall economy.

“The State Fair draws people from across the state,” he said. “A lot of attendance comes from outside Wake County.”

According to Long, it boosts surrounding businesses like hotels and restaurants when families come from around the state to spend money in Raleigh and at the State Fair.

Many people that come to the fair are repeat visitors, as Crystal Mitchell, a junior in poultry science and Treasurer for the Poultry Science Club, said her family was before she came to college.

“I grew up around the State Fair showing cows with my family, and I worked at the chick booth last year,” she said.

Mitchell’s family had chicken houses with beef cattle, she said, and from her youth she showed cattle at the fair. She said with the many upkeep costs for showing animals, in raising them and making them presentable for show, coming to the fair can be expensive.

“It takes a lot of dedication and a lot of money sometimes,” she said.

Mitchell said that because her dad has managed the family’s money well, they have avoided problems with higher costs for their farm.

“Right now, [our farm] has been OK,” she said. “I watch the market prices for cattle every day.”

Feed prices are a top expense for people with livestock, she said.

But feed prices tend to increase and decrease cyclically, she said, so farmers have learned to deal with it.

“The real dedicated people are going to stick it out,” she said.

Mitchell said she has noticed some people ending their runs at the State Fair, but she was not sure if the economy has played a role in it.

“I definitely see people that have stopped showing [cattle],” she said. While she said she is not sure what their reasons were, the economy could have played a role.

Even as the agricultural economy changes in North Carolina, Long said the fair continues to serve the purpose that it began with.

“We still use the fair to market agriculture to the public,” he said.

The fair began as a place for farmers to showcase agriculture, with “tons of people that compete in livestock and poultry shows,” Long said.

“Agriculture is still very much the mission of the fair,” he said.

April Lee, a junior in poultry science, said the poultry-focused parts of the fair have been more crowded than in past years.

“For younger kids, [they come] for the rides, and for older ones, they might want to know more about agriculture,” she said.

Coming to the fair is an effective way to learn about agriculture, especially for young people, she said.

“They don’t know how much it impacts their lives, and it’s a good way for them to be informed,” Lee said. “Even if they come out for the rides, they can be informed about agriculture.”