Success StoryMercer County Fair



Mercer County Fair

Author: Linda McClanahan

Planning Unit: Garrard County CES

Major Program: Economic Development

Plan of Work: Agriculture and Horticulture

Outcome: Long-Term Outcome

In light of COVID-19, Mercer County Cooperative Extension Agents and staff teamed up with Mercer County Fair & Horse Show Board and Mercer County FFA to develop a plan that would allow Mercer County to continue with its long standing, rich tradition of the county fair.  Mercer County 4-H and ANR agents worked diligently with Mercer County FFA advisors to develop a set of guidelines which would allow the livestock shows to happen safely for exhibitors and staff alike.  Then they worked with the Mercer County Health Department and Mercer County Judge Executive to get the plan approved.  One of the key pieces of this plan was requiring pre-registration of all entries (livestock and floral hall).  Pre-registration was handled through an online entry company which allowed shows to run more efficiently, keep staff/volunteers/exhibitors safe and increase transparency of recordkeeping.  In addition, this system allowed results to be published faster and allowed needed reports to be completed faster. The Mercer County Fair & Horse Show collaboration is a major part of economic development efforts completed by the Mercer County Extension Office and is an important economic driver for our community. This was one of the few county fairs conducted and even with necessary restrictions numbers of exhibitors and entries from most of the shows matched or exceeded previous years.






Stories by Linda McClanahan


Livestock Shows

about 5 years ago by Linda McClanahan

Livestock are a major part of the agricultural economy in Mercer County. As such, livestock shows in... Read More


Improving Beef Profitability

about 5 years ago by Linda McClanahan

The Mercer County Agriculture Advisory Council continues to place a high priority on beef programmin... Read More


Stories by Garrard County CES


Envirothon Recycles Nature-Based Knowledge

about 5 years ago by Eric Comley

Michael Clarke, in an interview about the state of our knowledge regarding nature, described a new p... Read More


2018 Leadership Bootcamp

about 5 years ago by Eric Comley

Kentucky 4-H aims to engage youth through hands-on leadership experiences where they can build leade... Read More