Last month, Ohio Farm Bureau and other agriculture groups sent a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine asking for guidance so that county, independent and Ohio State fairs have adequate time to plan and prepare for the 2021 season. Those guidelines were laid out on Thursday.

“Based upon what we are seeing now it is our anticipation that we will be able to have full county fairs this year,“ DeWine said. “It certainly is possible that by the time we get to the second month of fairs or even possibly the first week of fairs we may be off of the health orders. The guidelines we are putting are based on if the fairs would start today and they could change in the future.”

The governor’s revised orders for fairs include compliance with the statewide mask order and social distancing, as well as guidelines for animal exhibitions. Additionally, there will be a 25% maximum for indoor grandstand capacity and a 30% maximum for outdoor grandstand capacity.

“We appreciate Governor DeWine’s response to our request for guidelines for our state, county and independent fairs to move forward with the planning process for the 2021 season,” said Adam Sharp, executive vice president of Ohio Farm Bureau. “These fairs bring great pride to Ohio communities, and the 4-H and FFA exhibitors at our fairs proudly represent what Ohio agriculture is all about. Putting these guidelines in place will help to keep fair attendees safe and we look forward to a successful, and much needed, fair season across Ohio.”

Note: The photo used with this story was taken in 2019.