Once again Stanislaus County Fair officials have decided to cancel poultry shows due to concerns about the spread of disease.

The decision comes after California State Veterinarian recommended to cancel poultry shows across the state. Recognizing that the Stanislaus County Fair is in the middle of the poultry industry and do not want to put them at risk, Fair officials decided to cancel the show for the second year in a row.

In 2019, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and USDA recommended all fairs evaluate their poultry shows due to Virulent Newcastle Disease that seemed to be impacting a narrow population of poultry, making some poultry gatherings higher risk than others. CDFA issued a document from the California State Veterinarian titled “Guidance Document: Risk Evaluation for Poultry Exhibition Managers” to provide poultry shows and exhibitions criteria to help evaluate the risk.

“In the best interests of our community and the poultry industry, we have decided to cancel our poultry show for 2020,” said Matt Cranford, chief executive officer for the Stanislaus County Fair. “We understand the impact this decision will have on the youth in our livestock program and wish we had other alternatives.  We were excited to bring back poultry but will have to wait for 2021 for the opportunity.”

The 2020 Stanislaus County Fair opens July 10 for a 10-day run. For more information about the award-winning Stanislaus County Fair, visit www.stancofair.com.