The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets today announced $5 million is being awarded to county and youth fairs across the state, including the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds, as the 2018 fair season officially gets underway in New York this weekend.

For the Chautauqua County Fair, the projects include new electrical services to four barns and the livestock show arena. New floors will be installed for the rabbit/poultry barn and a new small animal show arena will be constructed. Old wooden bleachers will be replaced in the livestock show arena with new aluminum bleachers for safer seating.

More than three dozen local fair improvement projects have been awarded in the first two rounds of the program have been completed or are getting underway.

Funding is being provided through Round 3 of the Agricultural Fairgrounds Infrastructure Improvement Program will be divided equally among the State’s 52 eligible local fairs, with each receiving an award of $96,153 to offset the cost of improvements and renovation projects that support New York’s agricultural industry. A total of $15 million has been dedicated to revitalizing county fairs since 2016.

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “I thank Governor Cuomo and the Legislature for their commitment to reinvigorating our local fairs and ensuring their core mission remains the promotion of agriculture. With each fair receiving nearly $100,000 again this year, we can make meaningful improvements that will attract new visitors and ensure our county fairs remain a community tradition. I look forward to visiting our fairs this summer and seeing the progress across the state.”