UPDATE Thursday, July 9, 2009 -- 8:55 p.m.

This year's Lodi Agricultural Fair isn't like others in the past in the wake of the H1N1 virus. If you head out to this year's fair you may not notice anything different. But for hogs and hog farmers, things definitely have changed.

"There's Zac! How you doing?" When he isn't tending to his pigs, you'll probably find Tom Rake catching up with friends. " This is a social event coming to the fair."

But that socialization poses a huge risk. The spread of the H1N1 virus. Rake says, "We disinfect our boots, we change clothes...we know our animals are healthy but the next people we don't."

To help slow the spread of the H1N1 virus Acting Fair President, Terry Quam, and the fair board did something they hadn't done in a while. Made this year's show a terminal one. In other words, come Sunday, most of these pigs won't be alive. Quam says, " We took it from a show where they could take their animals home and market it anytime on their own to a show where they will be marketed on Sunday afternoon."

The rule change wasn't made to protect us from contracting the H1N1 virus from the hogs it was made to protect the hogs from contracting the H1N1 virus from us. " They could possibly go home and infect the hog herd some where out in the country, " says Quam.

Quam says he doesn't think the odds of the virus spreading from human to hog are high. But he'd rather be safe than sorry. To decrease the odds even further, officials made sure there were more sanitation stations on the fair grounds. They hope the precautions will put people's minds at ease and let them focus on the important things. Like catching up with old friends.

Following the outbreak of the H1N1 virus the American Hog Industry and the USDA recommended that all shows be terminal.
______________________________________________
Posted Thursday, July 9, 2009 -- 6:40 p.m.

This year's Lodi Agricultural Fair will be a terminal one. That means once the fair is over the animals won't go home with their owners. Instead they'll go straight to market.

Organizers say they changed the rules to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus. But they aren't worried about pigs giving the virus to humans. It's actually the complete opposite. They're worried about us giving the virus to pigs.

According to hog farmers this is a good change. By not taking the pigs home they lower risk of the H1N1 virus spreading to other animals in their herd.