RULES &
REGULATIONS of the MIGHTY HOWARD COUNTY FAIR
GENERAL RULES
NOTE: Fair
Management reserves final and absolute right to interpret these Rules and
Regulations and to settle and determine arbitrarily all matters regarding
exhibiting or selling at the
1. The term ”Board” as found in these rules & regulations refers
to the Board of Directors of the Howard County Agricultural Society.
2. Violation of any of these Rules and Regulations, and the Show Ring
Code of Ethics, of the Fair, shall result in disciplinary action by a
committee, acting for and appointed by the Board.
3. The Howard County Agricultural Society reserves to its Board the
final and absolute right to interpret these rules and regulations and
arbitrarily settle and determine all matters, questions, and differences in
regard thereto, or otherwise arising out of, connected with, or incidental to
the fair.
4. All rules in this premium book will be adhered to and no
exceptions made.
5. In the event of conflict between the general and special rules,
the latter will govern.
6. The Society will use diligence to insure the safety of stock or
articles after their arrival and placement, but in no case will the Society be
responsible for any theft, accident or loss of property that might occur.
7. The Board of Directors will be in session at the Fair office each
day of the Fair for the transaction of any necessary business. Meeting times
will be posted in the Fair Office.
8. The promiscuous distribution of handbills or other advertising
matter is prohibited, and no tacking or posting of advertising, bills, cards,
etc., will be permitted on any buildings or elsewhere. The only posting of
advertising materials allowed will be the promotion of official Fair sponsors,
and such advertising of official Fair sponsors will be under the control of the
Fair Secretary or Manager.
10. No animal shall be allowed to run at large on the grounds. All animals, including pets, must be on a
leash, confined to a cage or otherwise restrained. While every precaution will be taken for safe
keeping of the same the Fair Board will in no case be responsible for loss or
damage that may occur.
11. No person can serve on an awarding committee or advisory committee
in any department, in which the person may directly, or indirectly, be
interested in the result, as owner, agent or otherwise. The Board shall govern
appointment of persons serving on such committees, as well as appointment of
department superintendents.
12. No alcoholic beverages allowed on the fairgrounds, with the
exception of the licensed beverage area as governed by the Society. Consumption of alcoholic beverage allowed in the licensed
beverage area only. Any persons found to have in possession, and/or consuming
alcoholic beverages outside of the licensed beverage area will have beverages
confiscated, and could face criminal charges if the situation is determined to
warrant the filing of criminal charges.
13. Absolutely no alcoholic beverages allowed in the youth areas of
the fairgrounds and no alcohol may be consumed during any competitions, shows
or other judging involving youth. Violation of
this rule will result in the disqualification of the family from all activities
and competitions of the Fair, forfeiture of all premiums, awards and other
prizes earned by the family and the filing of criminal charges on the offending
persons.
JUDGING & JUDGES
1. Judges are required to read carefully the general rules and
special rules under the heading of the department in which they are to serve,
previous to entering upon their duties, and to specifically note and mark those
bearing on the classes to be judged by them. Judges are required to meet with
department superintendent and Fair office prior to the show to finalize show schedule
and rules.
2. Judges must not award prizes to an unworthy animal or exhibit. It
is the intention of the Fair Board that no premium or distinction of any kind
shall be given to an exhibit that is not deserving. This rule must be strictly
adhered to whether there is competition or not.
3. Where there are fewer entries in the class than the number of
premiums offered, judges may in their discretion, award a prize or prizes of
such grade as the exhibit deserves.
4. Judges must report to the Superintendent of the department any
exhibitor, who in any way, whether in person or by agents interfere with them
during the judging, or showing any disrespect to them. Whereupon the
Superintendent shall, at his discretion, demand a proper apology or exclude him
from further competition, and the Board may withhold from such exhibitor any
premiums earned, and expel them from further exhibiting at the Fair.
5. In the case of
all junior departments, absolutely no parental participation in the judging is
allowed. The exhibitor is responsible for the actions of his/her parents,
guardians, and other family members and friends that intercede in the judging
of that exhibitor.
6. The judge and person acting as clerk to the judge must take
special pains after making an award to see that the same is properly entered in
the award class.
7. The decision of
every judge shall be final in all cases, except where error, fraud,
misrepresentation, or collusion, discovered at time of award is obvious. In
such case, the Superintendent may render a decision.
ENTRIES
1. All entries must be filed with the department superintendent and
in its proper place at the time listed.
2. All entries must be made on forms provided by the Fair.
3. Should any individual enter an animal or article in a name other
than the bona fide owner or attempt to perpetrate a fraud by misrepresenting
any fact, the entry thus made shall not be allowed to compete for any premiums.
In case as to the age of any animal, the superintendent shall appoint an expert
whose decision will be final.
4. Exhibits, which may have been erroneously entered, may, at the
digression of the Fair Secretary and the Superintendent of the department, be
transferred to their proper class previous to judging. In case such classes
have been judged they shall not be re-judged.
5. No animal can be entered or exhibited as a purebred unless the
same has been recorded in the recognized books of record for their respective
breeds, and exhibitors must produce certificates of registry at the request of
the Superintendent in charge any time during the Fair.
6. Stall and pens will not be reserved unless the required fee
accompanies application. All stall or pen rates will be doubled when occupied
by animals not exhibited.
7. All premiums and awards earned by an Exhibitor will be forfeited
if the Exhibitor’s entries, or any part of the entries, are removed before the
designated checkout time. This also applies to any entries left after
designated checkout time.
8. The Society, its superintendents and office personnel are not
responsible for articles left at the Fair.
9. Fair Office and department superintendents make stall assignments.
Any changes made in stall assignments without permission of Fair Office and
Superintendent will result in forfeiture of all awards and premiums earned by
the exhibitor(s) involved. In case of involvement by non-exhibitors, those
exhibitor(s) who benefit from the situation will be penalized.
PREMIUMS & AWARDS
1. Full premiums in the open classes will be mailed to exhibitor as
soon after the Fair as possible.
2. Premiums earned by 4-H and FFA exhibitors will be sent to their
respective clubs for distribution by the club treasurer.
3. The standard colors of awards will be used: Champion - Royal
Purple; First - Blue; Second - Red; Third - White.
4. Should circumstances beyond the control of the Society prevent the
usual income and thus diminish the funds so far as to fall short of funds to
pay premiums in full they will be paid pro rata.
5. Special prizes will not be accepted for classes that do not
conform to the regular classifications of the department in which they are
offered unless for urgent reasons satisfactory to the Board and the
Superintendent of the department in which they are offered.
6. Specials are limited to money prizes or articles of intrinsic
value. Cups, medals, or other articles offered as special must be in the hands
of the Secretary on opening day of the Fair or awards will not be made. The
Board, in no way, will guarantee the delivery of such prizes offered.
7. No animals will be awarded a prize unless promptly brought into
the show ring when class is called.
8. All entries will compete for listed premiums in the Class or Class
LOT they are entered in. Should any Classes or Class Lots be combined for any
reason, premiums will be paid for the Class or Class LOT the entries are competing
in. Premiums will not be combined between Classes or Class Lots.
9. The Society will have absolute jurisdiction over all awards,
premiums and trophies presented to exhibitors. Any special awards, other than
those presented by the Society, must first be approved by the Society.
PROTESTS
1. All protests must be made in writing and accompanied by a deposit
of $30 in the livestock department and $20 in all other departments, which will
be forfeited if protest is not sustained.
2. Such protest must state plainly the cause of the complaint or
appeal, and must be filed with the Secretary within 12 hours after cause of
protest.
3. The Board will consider no complaint or appeal based upon the
statement that the judge or judges are incompetent.
4. Where the protest is to be made against the competition of an
animal or article in any class, notice of the same should be filed with the
Superintendent of the department before the class is passed upon, that the
judges may be instructed to place a reserve award, that premiums may be
properly distributed in the event of the protest being sustained.
5. The person(s), exhibitor, or agent of the same, who the protest
decision is rendered against, shall pay all costs incurred in resolving the
protest, including fees paid to persons hired by the Board to test, investigate
and evaluate the animal or article that has been protested.
CONCESSIONS AND COMMERCIAL EXHIBITORS
1. All desiring to obtain leases for the sale of articles or for
exhibitions must pay the price of such permits in advance. Contracts issued by
the Fair office must be returned by the deadline date with payment in full for
space fee, both as specified on the contract or the contract will be voided and
the space will be leased to another exhibitor.
2. Set up hours for commercial exhibits and concessions will be
Monday from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. of
Fair week.
3. Space assigned and not occupied before Noon Wednesday, the first
day of the Fair will be forfeited.
4. Commercial exhibit spaces must be occupied by the lessee by Noon
on Wednesday of the Fair and remain in place until 7:30 p.m. on Sunday of the
Fair. Inside display hours will be Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 1:00
p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Saturday from Noon to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday from Noon to
7:30 p.m. Outside concessions and exhibitors may open earlier and remain open
later if so desired.
5. Any lessee of space leaving before designated time looses right to
return to the Fair, unless expressed permission has been secured from the Fair
Office. Lessee also forfeits any deposits made to Fair for the space.
6. No parking of vehicles, unless a part of the concession, will be
allowed around the exhibit and central building complex. Vehicles may enter the
area to load/unload goods or exhibits only. No vehicles are allowed in
this area from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., unless expressed permission is
received from the fair office.
7. All special electrical and water hookups will be charged to
exhibitor and collected for at time of hookup.
8. All concessions must furnish the Fair proof of product liability
insurance for products sold. Those who do not have insurance must apply through
the Fair office for proper insurance coverage, at a rate set by the Board of
Directors of the Fair. Concessionaires will not be allowed to lease space
without proper insurance and proof of such.
9. Charge for camping, electrical needs and water needs must be made
with the Fair office.
10. All campers must park in the campground of the fairgrounds, and
pay fees for camping as set by the Fair Office.
11. All food concessionaires
shall cause to be posted in a conspicuous manner, at the front or entrance of
place of business, a sign showing the price charged for meals, lunches, drinks
or other articles of food offered for sale.
12. Exhibitors may advertise and distribute from their assigned
concession space only.
13. No part of a commercial exhibit, inside or outside, may be in any
way attached to any buildings and other property of the Fair. All exhibits must
be free standing.
14.
15. Any commercial concession wanting to sell its product in the
grandstand during the shows must first receive permission from the Fair office
and pay any fees deemed appropriate by the office. All persons selling for
vendors during the grandstand shows must pay the normal admission price to the
shows.
16. A contracted concession or commercial exhibitor cannot sub-lease
exhibit space to another party.
17. All commercial and food concessions must pay local and state sales
tax on their food and goods sold, and must provide to the Fair the Federal ID
number, Iowa State Sales Tax number and/or personal Social Security number of
the owner or agent of the concession. Temporary
18. The Society will carefully guard against extortion in any form
being practiced on the patrons of the Fair. A violation of the rule will cause
forfeiture of contracts, money paid, and the expulsion from the grounds.
SUPERINTENDENTS
1. Each Superintendent shall have full charge of his, or her,
department. They shall have the authority to select assistants and helpers
unless otherwise provided, subject to the approval of the Board.
2. It shall be the duty and responsibility of Superintendents of
departments, in cooperation with the Fair Board, to make and enforce such rules
and interpretations as may be needed to insure proper functioning of
departments. This shall cover eligibility and handling of entries, and all matters
of procedures and conduct on part of exhibitors, in their relationship with the
Fair, other exhibitors, and judging officials. Decisions shall be made that
will carry out the policy of the Fair, to serve all interests in a dignified
and beneficial manner with absolute fairness to all.
LIVESTOCK
1. All animals presented for exhibition at the Fair shall be subject
to daily inspection during the Fair. Should any animal be found to be affected
with any contagious, infectious or communicable disease, it shall be
immediately removed.
2. An animal will be disqualified from exhibition if the animal’s
conformation (body shape) has been altered in any way to change the appearance
of the animal; also included are diuretics before and after weighing or
falsifying the age.
3. Any exhibitor with animals requiring medical attention for any
reason will go through the following steps:
a. Notify Superintendent of the department.
b. Superintendent will contact the Fair veterinarian to inspect the
animal in question.
c. Upon diagnosis a licensed veterinarian will determine if treatment
is necessary. If treatment is necessary the owner’s veterinarian will be
notified to treat animal unless owner requests Fair veterinarian to treat the
animal.
d. Animals requiring treatment will be removed from the Fair, if
deemed necessary. If an animal is requested to be removed from the Fair by the
Superintendent, it must be done so immediately.
4. All animals shown from the same family or from the same farming
unit shall be considered as one exhibitor (no competition). No champion will be
named and only standard ribbons and premium money will be awarded in the case
of no competition.
5. Livestock must remain in place until posted release time of the
Fair. Anyone removing livestock before release time without consent of
Superintendent will lose all premiums awarded.
6. All animals must be raised in their natural environment. No
artificial means shall be allowed.
7. When only one
entry is exhibited in a class, the quality of the individual entry determines
the award. A class does not necessarily
have to have a blue or red award if the projects do not merit the placing.
8. All entries will
compete for listed premiums in the class or class
9. Purebred calves
may be registered in the name of the member or jointly as father and son or
daughter.
10. Paper bedding is
NOT allowed. Bedding is to be straw,
wood chips or the like.
11. All awards and
premiums earned by exhibitor will be withheld if stalls are not cleaned at
close of Fair.
12. All swine,
market beef and market lambs must be ear tagged (late ear tags will not be
accepted).
13. Aisles in all
barns must be kept open at all times. Grooming chutes are allowed only in
designated areas. Animals are to be groomed in their own stall/pen, or if more
room is needed, outside of barn in area set aside for grooming by the
Superintendent of the department. Designated areas for grooming chutes will be
posted.
14. Any exhibitor
who in any way, whether in person or by agents, interferes with the judging
procedure shall forfeit or cause forfeiture of all awards and premiums he/she would
have gotten for that department.
15. The decision of
every judge shall be final in all cases, except where error, fraud,
misrepresentation, or collusion, discovered at time of award is obvious. In such case, Superintendent may render a
decision.
16. Fair Management
reserves final and absolute right to interpret these Rules and Regulations and
to settle and determine arbitrarily all matters regarding exhibiting or selling
at the
17. Refer to “PENALTIES” in regards to penalties and sanctions for
violation of any of the rules listed in this area.
PENALTIES
1. All premiums and awards earned by an exhibitor will be forfeited
if the exhibitor’s entries, or any part of the entries, are removed before the
designated checkout time. This also applies to any entries left after
designated checkout time.
2. Any lessee of commercial exhibit space leaving before designated
time looses right to return to the Fair, unless expressed permission has been
secured from the Fair Office. Lessee also forfeits any deposits made to Fair
for the space.
3. Any person(s) consuming alcohol in the youth areas of the
fairgrounds, and/or during any competitions, shows or other judging involving
youth will result in the disqualification of the family from all activities and
competitions of the Fair, forfeiture of all premiums, awards and other prizes
earned by the family and the filing of criminal charges on the offending
persons.
4. In regards to violations in livestock departments the following
penalties shall be placed upon the exhibitor:
a. Any violation shall result in immediate disqualification of the
animal(s) from the department that the violation occurred in and forfeiture of
all premiums and awards earned, and disqualification from the ribbon auction.
Violations for this penalty shall include, but not limited to:
i. Intervention of judging by family and/or friends
ii. Changing stall assignments without consent of the department
superintendent and/or Fair office.
iii. Failure to care, feed and water animal(s).
iv. The grooming of animals by parties other than the exhibitor and
his/her family.
v. Failure to comply with direction of, or intervention with the
duties of, the department superintendent.
vi. The animal(s) have been found to be entered in, or shown at,
another 4-H and/or FFA achievement show or fair.
vii. Other violations as determined by the superintendent and/or Fair
office.
viii. Should the exhibitor violate another rule the following year that
the exhibitor has been disqualified due to any of the previously mentioned
rules, the exhibitor shall be in “serious violation” of the rules and section
“b.” shall apply.
b. If a serious violation of the rules is found, the following shall
be sanctioned upon the exhibitor, and the exhibitor’s family if they are deemed
involved with the violation;
i. The exhibitor and family shall be barred from exhibiting in all
livestock departments at the
ii. The exhibitor and family shall be barred from exhibiting in the
livestock department that the violation occurred at the
iii. The exhibitor, and the exhibitor’s family, shall be placed on
probation for the remainder of their years eligible to exhibit. Any further
violation of the rules and regulations of the Fair shall permanently bar the
exhibitor, and the exhibitor’s family they are deemed involved with the
violation, from exhibiting at the
iv. In the case of a serious violation of these rules, the name of the
exhibitor and family, and the particulars of the violation(s) shall be
forwarded to the International Association of Fairs and Expositions to be
placed in a file that could prevent exhibition at livestock shows in the
v. Serious violations shall include, but not limited to;
1. Altering the conformation of an animal by artificial means.
2. Administering illegal drugs, or drugs that are not prescribed by a
licensed veterinarian.
3. Falsifying records in regards to ownership, age, or any facts
thereto.
4. Misrepresenting an exhibit, such as switching an animal(s) after
they have been officially weighed in or otherwise entered.
5. Other violations as determined by the superintendent and/or Fair
office.
POLICY
STATEMENT IN REFERENCE TO DISABLED PERSONS
It is the desire of the Howard
County Agricultural Society to comply with Chapter 104A of the Iowa Code and
the Americans for Disability Act reference to public attendance at functions
held on the
The
policy is passed and adopted on this 5th day of February 2002.
Attested
by:
Howard COUNTY 4-H AND FFA
JUNIOR LIVESTOCK ACHIEVEMENT SHOW
ADVISORY COUNCIL: Mike Adams, Lynette Anderson, Charlie Baier,
Marge Dohlman, Walt Gabelmann, Lee Gooder, Jim Green, Travis Grover, Dick Ollendieck, Les Opat,
CRESCO VETERINARY CLINIC - Official Fair Veterinarians
F REGULATIONS AND REQUIREMENTSE
1.
These
following rules, the General Rules and Regulations of the Fair listed elsewhere
in this premium book, and the Iowa Youth Code of Ethics shall be adhered to al
all times. All exhibitors are to refer
to all the rules prior to entering and showing at the Fair.
2.
All
exhibitors in livestock and related classes of these departments must be a bonafide 4-H or FFA member of