Dear Swine Exhibitor,
As we begin to look to the Richland County Fair, we feel it is important to notify all swine exhibitors about the changes to the upcoming fair. Due to the concern of PEDv, we have decided to make the swine show terminal. What this means is that no pigs that come to the fair will leave on an exhibitors trailer, they will only be put on a trailer designated by the Richland County Fair to go to four lockers or Equity for slaughter. ALL PIGS BROUGHT TO THE FAIR WILL HAVE TO GO DIRECTLY TO SLAUGHTER FROM THE FAIR ON SUNDAY ON A FAIR DESIGNATED TRAILER.
Due to the number of junior exhibitors, the Richland Locker only has room for each junior to send ONE pig to their facility. If your pig goes through the sale and the buyer wants the animal, that will be the one pig to go to Richland Center. If your pig does not go through the sale or the buyer does not want it, the junior exhibitor can choose to send one of their pigs to Richland Center or to send their pig(s) to another location. The other three locations are Gays Mills (Kickapoo Locker), Straka (Plain), and the Meat Market (Baraboo). These lockers are not taking appointments for exhibitors privately; the arrangements for appointments for the fair hogs will be made through the Richland County Fair.
The exhibitor is responsible for the cost of the slaughtering of all the pigs that they bring to the show unless the pig is kept by the buyer, and then it will be the buyer’s responsibility. The lockers are not buying any pigs from exhibitor either, so please begin planning accordingly for your animals before the fair. For example, if you are planning on bringing two pigs to the fair and your family is going to keep the meat from one of them and you are planning on putting the other in the Meat Animal Sale, have a back up buyer for the meat of your animal going in the sale in case the buyer does not take the animal, or you will be responsible for the cost of processing. Also, if you are only bringing one hog to the fair, plan to have a buyer or use the animal yourself if the buyer in the Meat Animal Sale does not want the meat. If you have buyers lined up to take the meat of the animals, then they will be responsible for the processing costs. If you do not want to keep the meat from your pig and would rather sell it, the option of sending it to Equity will also be made available. (Please note if your pig is going to Equity you must have County of Origin Labelings forms for it.)
On the day of weigh-in, you will be given forms to fill out the information of which locker you want each hog to go to and the name of the person who will be responsible for the processing (the person buying the meat). The Equity option will also be given on this form if you would prefer to send swine there. These will need to be turned in at the end on the show on Friday so we are able to make a spreadsheet of all hogs RFID numbers and destinations for the lockers. If you do not turn these cards in on Friday after the show, we will automatically send the pig to Equity.
If you have any questions regarding the procedures for the terminal show or locker arrangements, please contact the Fair Coordinator, Ingrid, at 647-6859 or rcfair@co.richland.wi.us .
Thank you,
The Richland County Fair Committee