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The Tioga County Fair is something many people look forward to each year as a way of bringing the community together to enjoy a week filled with a variety of activities for everyone. This year, the fair is held from August 8th-13th. On Monday, August 8, the 4-H & FFA Poultry Show took place at the Whitneyville Fairgrounds.

The competition consisted of four showmanship divisions: Youth, Junior, Intermediate, and Senior. The first and second place winners in each category advanced to the final round, where Morgan Roy was awarded Grand Champion, and Sam Weir was awarded Reserve Grand Champion.

Some qualities the judges consider are: cleanliness of the bird, quality, personality of the person showing the bird (confidence), knowledge of poultry (how they’re judged, qualifications of the breed, flaws), and how to handle a bird. He continued by questioning them on their chicken’s breed, the chicken’s purpose (pet/meat/eggs/all of the above), and the person’s knowledge of parasites/poultry diseases.

Michelle Sepiol showed us some rare breeds of chickens, and explained why it is important to preserve them. Judge Romig, who has been a judge for fifteen years, spoke about his favorite part of the fair. “I enjoy working with the young people,” said Romig. “They’re the potential exhibiters of the future.”

For a complete list of events, please visit the fair’s website here.