Though avian influenza has forced the state of Iowa to ban all live bird events at county fairs and the Iowa State fair, there still can be some exhibitions.

County Youth Coordinator Mindy Kephart with the Marion County Extension Office says they’ve come up with a creative way to allow all 4-H participants impacted by the ban to still partake in a “non-poultry” poultry exhibit. She says they had some 60 kids who identified poultry as their 4-H project, so it was important to get them involved in the fair in some way.
Some of the events at the exhibit will include explanations of what the 4-H’ers worked on throughout the year, general knowledge questions about specific birds, and a poster contest.