JONES COUNTY, Iowa — Since the start of the bird flu outbreak in March of 2022, there have been 54 cases in poultry and 13 in dairy, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Amid the recent uptick in cases, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced the state will require dairy exhibition cows to be tested for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza before shows.
The decision will inevitably impact operations at county fairs across the state, culminating in the Iowa State Fair.
Still, the Great Jones County Fair is ready for the challenge. The event takes place in about 20 days, and according to the fair's office manager Abby Jaeger, excitement is growing.
“We’re selling tickets. Our marketing’s picking up, the grounds are starting to be beautified…all it takes to put on what we call the five best days of summer here in northeast Iowa," she said.
For people planning to show animals at a county fair, it takes a lot of work leading up to the event.
"4H and FFA kids all across Iowa put in hours and hours of time and energy," Jaeger said. "No matter what the species is, it takes a lot of preparation."
Now, these kids have an extra step to get their dairy cows in shape for show. They'll need to follow new rules that include testing animals and using veterinarians with specific certifications to check for bird flu.
“That kind of puts those dairy exhibitors at the forefront of our minds, just making sure that they can have the same fair that they’ve always had," Jaeger said.
It's going to be a process, to say the least.
“There’s going to be testing involved, quarantining involved, just making sure we’re producing a safe environment for all animals," Jaeger said.
That includes coordinating veterinarians.
“We have to find the right state-accredited vet. We do have a fair vet so making sure those people are well to work together...," Jaeger said.
It’s a challenge she says the fair is ready to take on.
“Tough circumstances make tough kids, so let’s get it started and in the right direction and they’ll be better because of it,” Jaeger said.
Still, Jaeger says preparation goes beyond this year's fair. They have to be ready for a potential long haul and plan for an uncertain future.
“We’re going to have to come up with a long-term plan for this just because we don’t know the end date," she said. "We didn’t know COVID was going to last for three years. We don’t know an end date on this."
Iowa State Fair CEO Jeremy Parsons sent Local 5 a statement on the agriculture department's announcement, writing, "Because agriculture and showcasing livestock are an important part of the Iowa State Fair experience, we take seriously all guidance issued by the Iowa Department of Agriculture (IDALS) and the state veterinarian. We are in the process of communicating these guidelines to our dairy cattle exhibitors and discussing how this impacts our dairy related educational programming.”
According to a state fair media contact, 325 dairy exhibitors participated in last year's fair.
This doesn't mean all county fairs will be impacted. According to Dallas County Fair Board's president, a lot of smaller county fairs don't do dairy cattle exhibitions.
Find the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announcement and list of rules here.