Residents gear up for county fair
Big event for Malheur County runs through Saturday

By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 10:22 AM PDT

Margie Yasuda gets ready to grill her meat during the Oregon Beef Grill-off competition Tuesday at the Malheur County Fair.

ONTARIO — The Malheur County Fair did not officially open until late Tuesday afternoon, but the fairgrounds were full of activity well before then as people brought in their exhibits, set up displays, the carnival was set up and vendors prepared to sell food.

In short, the 100th edition of the Malheur County Fair was off to a good start Tuesday.

4-H and FFA members from the different areas of the county and their parents unloaded their animals or prepared stalls and for some of the beef and dairy animals the first stop was the wash racks to begin cleaning them and to get them cooled off.

Judging was already going on inside the Red Barn on crops, food, textiles, quilts, art and other open-class exhibits, except flowers. Some horse judging was underway Tuesday too.

One first-time event for the fair was the Oregon Beef Grill-off competition, which brought Robin Wagner and Cherie Miller, both of Salem and representing the Oregon State Fair, to the Malheur County Fair to oversee the event. The winner will compete later this summer at the state fair. There is also chicken grill-offs too, which they also oversee.

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They oversee competitions in just about every county fair, and 12 of them are beef.

“It’s a wonderful time,” Miller said of the fair. “You see a sense of the small communities.”

The event also promotes the sponsor, Painted Hills Natural Beef. 

“They are on site as well,” Miller said.

At least four teams are needed to hold the competition, with a maximum of six teams of two to six members allowed. The grilled meat is judged on taste, texture and appearance. The score on taste can be doubled. First prize is a pellet-fired grill.

Miller was told about the competition by a friend, and after working on it for one year, she does not want to quit.

 Malheur County did have six teams this time, including Team Yasuda, lead by Margie Yasuda, and Team Kamo.

Yasuda said she and a friend read about the competition and talked the men on Team Kamo into forming a team. There was also a rib-eye steak dinner on the line, too.

Gerry Suyematsu and Randy Hyde, team Kamo members, said what interested them in the competition is that Painted Hills Natural Beef was providing the meat.

“We love Painted Hills Beef,” Suyematsu said, adding he buys the steaks and jerky.