By Staff
BERRIEN SPRINGS – The deadline for exhibitors to register large animals for the 63rd annual Berrien County Youth Fair is June 1. This year's fair is Aug. 11-16 with "The Experience of a Lifetime" as the theme. Large animals include beef breeding, dairy, sheep, goats, swine, llamas/alpacas, and equine.
Berrien County Youth Fair Exhibitor Handbooks and entry forms, which include all of the guidelines for being an exhibitor, are now available. They may be picked up at the Fair Office in Berrien Springs, all Berrien County Public Libraries, the Berrien County 4-H office and the following Berrien County businesses:
Baroda City Mills, Brunke Small Engine, and H.F.S. in Baroda
Buchanan Feed Mill and Country Heritage Credit Union in Buchanan
Berrien County Farm Bureau in Berrien Springs
Red &White Feed and Family Farm &Home in Benton Harbor
Tractor Supply Company and Rural King in Niles
Watervliet Fruit Exchange in Watervliet
Siefert's Farm Supply in Three Oaks
Bridgman Feed Store in Bridgman
Entry forms for equine and llama/alpaca are customized forms. Horse and llama 4-H clubs have a supply of books and appropriate entry forms for their members. Exhibitors who are not members of 4-H will need to pick up their equine or llama/alpaca forms at the Fair Office in Berrien Springs.
No entries will be accepted after the deadline. Entry forms can be turned in anytime from now until the appropriate deadline date.
Animal identification rules from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) include:
DAIRY &BEEF: Must have official MDA electronic identification tag on entry form, which is an RFID tag which has been put in the left ear – Tag Hotline (866) 870-5136
GOATS: Must have official USDA Scrapie identification tag – Tag Hotline (866) 873-2824 OR Registered breed tattoo accompanied by breed registration papers
SHEEP: Must have official USDA Scrapie tag – Tag Hotline (866) 873-2824
The USDA tag number must be on the entry form when it is turned in to the Fair Office by the June 1st deadline, so youth need to order their tags as soon as possible.
In addition to the USDA required ear tag, individuals registering market animals will also need to come to the Fair Office and pick up the BCYF ear tags for those animals. BCYF ear tags must be in the animals' ear by July 1st or the entry will be disqualified.
Other registration deadlines include:
July 1: Small animals (rabbits, poultry, cats, dogs, pocket pets)
Aug. 1: Still exhibits (crafts, home economics, flowers, horticulture, variety classes)
The Fair Office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Special drop boxes are outside the office doors. Registrations can be mailed to the Fair Office, P.O. Box 7, Berrien Springs, MI 49103; hand delivered during office hours; or placed in the drop box any time. Registrations will be accepted from now up to the appropriate deadline date. Early registration is encouraged so deadlines are not missed. Contact the Fair Office at (269) 473-4251 by phone or at bcyf@bcyf.org by e-mail with questions. Fair dates are Aug. 11-16, 2008.