Extension Agents' Role with Fair Boards

From time to time, we as mid managers are questioned about an Extension Agent's role and responsibility with the County Fair Board and/or Junior Livestock Show Board. Recently, I received an inquiry concerning an agent serving on the Fair Board or even as President of the Fair Board. To address this inquiry, I drafted to following response which may benefit you in the event you receive a similar inquiry.

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service asks its County Extension Agents to not serve on County Fair Boards or Jr. Livestock Show Boards for two primary reasons:

1. Our mission as an agency is to provide high quality and relevant educational programs which address the needs of the local citizens. So, our County Extension Agents' role in a county is to provide education and advise to 4-H members, 4-H families, agriculture producers, consumers, homeowners, etc. With this in mind and during a county fair, our agents should be helping and advising 4-H youth and families with their livestock projects and other projects. There are a lot of youth involved in a county fair. So, the agents' time should be focused on helping 4-H youth and families before and during the fair and not on the procedural processes and functions in planning, conducting and managing a county fair.
2. As you know, the agenda items and decisions for a Fair Board can be controversial at times and can cause disagreements across a county and between groups such as communities; 4-H and FFA; etc. In the educational role of an agent, he or she must remain non-biased and impartial and has the responsibility to work with all people. Serving on a Fair Board can undermine an agent’s effectiveness across a county. Also, when an agent serves as an officer or elected member of a Fair Board, the line between the agent’s official duties and volunteer duties can become blurred. A perceived conflict of interest involving the agent and/or the agency, and additional issues of personal and organization liability can be the result. Therefore, we ask that an agent not serve in this role. We do allow our agents to serve as an advisor to the board and we would hope that the board would have the Ag Science teachers serve as advisers to the board as well.
   

Hopefully, this will be of some benefit to you if needed.

The content of this article was provided by Dale A. Fritz, Ph.D., District Extension Administrator-Texas AgriLife Extension Service.