EVART, Michigan — Alison Smith stared at the nearly empty dairy barn at the Osceola County Fairgrounds. Once bustling with teens and preteens showing off their beloved animals, the place was now eerily quiet as an invisible virus once again disrupted a beloved summer ritual.
Smith, a 16-year-old from the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area, had spent a lot of time over the past year preparing two heifers, Evergreen and Perfect, to compete at the show. But like hundreds of shows across the country, there was a recent bird flu outbreaknow spreading among mammals, has forced significant changes—or even complete cancellations—of the livestock competitions that are a hallmark of summer fairs.
“We normally have a million cows here,” Smith said. “And just a lot of people talking and having fun and meeting each other in the dairy barn.”
States have tightened restrictions on dairy cows after a bird flu outbreak spread to millions of poultry farms across the country and almost 200 dairy herds in 13 US states since March. More than a dozen farm workers were also infected this year, but they all showed relatively mild symptoms.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk to humans from the bird flu virus remains low.
The virus has further strained businesses already battered by the pandemic, leading to millions of dollars in losses and worker layoffs. Michigan’s largest egg producer, Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch, laid off nearly 400 workers after an outbreak of bird flu on its farms.
It also disrupts age-old family traditions, such as Smith’s, who has been exhibiting heifers, cows, pigs and lactating bulls at fairs for a decade.
“Unfortunately, this is the second year I have been unable to perform due to COVID in 2020. And then this year the bird flu,” Smith said.
When Jacob Stieg, the Osceola 4-H coordinator, sent an email outlining the state’s restrictions on showing dairy cattle at fairs, Smith’s response was, “Oh, my gosh. This is another year I can’t show.”
“It’s actually kind of sad. I miss it a lot and all the memories we made in that barn,” Smith added, gesturing toward the now-empty barn that housed her cow, Extraordinaire, last year. She won the Supreme Grand Champion award a year ago at the fair, held just under three hours northwest of Detroit.
“I tried to think of the positives,” she said. “I couldn’t really find any.”
Michigan is one of the hardest hit states, with two farm workers infected and 27 herds affected.
The state has ordered strict testing and public health measures, including a ban on showing dairy cows and cows in the last two months of their pregnancy until Michigan dairy cows have had no new cases of bird flu for 60 consecutive days. All other cows must test negative within seven days before being shown.
The restrictions didn’t lead to an outright ban on dairy cattle shows at state fairs, but some states opted to cancel the competitions, said Kendra Van Order, a dairy science teacher with Michigan State University Extension at 4-H.
In other states, changes have been made at fairs to reduce the chance of the flu spreading among livestock or to people.
In some states, including Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, dairy cows are still allowed at fairs, but only if they can provide proof that they have tested negative for the flu in the week before arrival.
The “Miracle of Birth Center” At the Minnesota State Fair, cows in labor and newborn calves were banned from the popular exhibit as a precaution against bird flu. The Iowa State Fair canceled two attractions, a milking parlor and an “I Milked a Cow” experience where people could interact with nursing cows.
In July, the CDC suggested Trade show exhibitors and organizers are taking measures to protect livestock and people, including limiting the time animals spend at trade shows and avoiding direct contact with animals when possible. This came shortly after guidelines from the United States Department of Agriculture emphasis on testing and biosecurity measures.
Van Order, who coordinates fairs through her role at Michigan State, grew up showing cattle and sheep at local, state and national shows. Caring for livestock requires daily dedication, “whether it’s snowing, raining or sick,” she said.
Owning and showing livestock “teaches young people to care about other things than themselves,” Van Order said. “There’s a lot that goes into it. And just that drive to be competitive and do something you really enjoy doing, and maybe not have that opportunity, can be very heartbreaking.”
But part of life, Van Order said, is dealing with disappointment. Working with fairs across the state, she and her team developed a list of alternative activities that local fairs could offer in place of traditional shows. They included quiz bowls, photo contests and recorded showmanship.
While the alternative activities have helped bring competitors together, it’s “not the same,” Smith noted. Youth can participate in 4-H activities until they’re 19, and with only a few years left before they become too old, Smith hopes 2025 will be different.
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen next year. I assume they have a better idea of what to do with the dairy, and hopefully they’ll let us come back, but it’ll probably be next year,” she said. “So, like COVID, I don’t know what next year is going to bring.”
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Cappelletti reported from Lansing, Michigan.