FAIRFIELD COUNTY FAIR

Poultry not coming to Fair this year

Carl Burnett Jr.
Reporter

LANCASTER — The Fairfield County Fair is just around the corner and there will be migrations of cattle, hogs, rabbits, horses, and sheep headed to the fairgrounds. One thing you won't see this year is poultry.

Leslie Cooksey, OSU Extension 4-H educator, talks about some of the alternatives poultry exhibitors will have at the fair this year.

"We aren't going to have any chickens or turkeys or anything with feathers this year brought onto the fairgrounds," said Leslie S. Cooksey, Ohio State University Extension educator for 4-H youth development in Fairfield County. "Because our fair is the last one in the state, many of our kids hadn't purchased their turkeys or chickens for the fair yet."

Earlier this summer the Ohio Department of Agriculture canceled all poultry shows at all the county fairs because of a threat of a deadly bird flu spreading across the United States.

In June the deadly virus was credited with killing more than 44 million birds in the Midwest. The move was to protect the state as the second largest egg producing state in the union. Chicken and turkey farms bring in about $2.3 billion to the state's economy.

Cooksey said the poultry division is one of the most popular with kids.

"It doesn't take up a lot of room, like cattle or hogs," Cooksey said

In 2014 there were 140 poultry exhibitors from 4-H and Future Farmers of America clubs that participated at the Fairfield County Fair.

"Many of the exhibitors took more than one to comprise over 535 poultry animals being entered," Cooksey said.

Cooksey said the junior fair organizers knew this would disappoint many people and they decided to go ahead and create some poultry competitions that could reward the kids' work in this area of farming.

"One of the things we are going to have is a poultry knowledge judging event, something like our skillathons," Cooksey said. "We will be setting up four of five stations with judges who will test the kids' knowledge of poultry and raising poultry."

Another competition will be for developing cages for poultry and creating the best static displays explaining poultry and the industry.

"It is a little disappointing, especially for the kids," Cooksey said. "But I think everyone will be interested in seeing what they can do with their knowledge tests and displays."

Cooksey said they expected state agriculture officials to make a decision about whether feathers will be allowed at next year's fair shortly after the beginning of next year. But any decision would be based on what is best for the poultry market statewide.

"That will give all of the fairs a chance to work out alternatives for the kids who wanted to raise and sell poultry," Cooksey said.

cburnett@lancastereaglegazette

740-681-4346

Twitter: @CarlBurnettJr