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County fair time means food, fun and 4H. But don't be surprised to find this year's prized livestock not looking their best.
"In both the sheep and goat department, numbers are down this year," Harvey County Fair sheep and goat superintendent Lisa Stockerbrand says. "Part of it is due to the heat, and part of it is due to the higher feed costs because of the droughts and stuff."
So some kids have fewer animals to show, and at fairs across the Midwest many of the animals are underweight.
"The animals are working so much harder to breathe and keep their body temeratures down, that they'll actually lose weight," veterinarian Shane Tonn says.
Dr. Tonn says dehydration also reduces body weight.
Stockerbrand adds that sheep tend to lose their appetites in extreme heat. Meanwhile the drought has made grazing difficult.
"The pastures are just gone," Stockerbrand says. "There's nothing left hardly in any of the patures. Everything is just burned up."
The extreme summer weather continues to take a toll. Nevertheless, the county fairs go on as Kansans, both two and four-legged, persevere.
Click here for a schedule of county fairs across Kansas this summer.