(FFA = Future Farmers of America)
Apparently this is becoming a problem at the State Fairs in several states.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/568/4054859.html<snip>
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. - Something ugly has cropped up at state fairs across the nation: cheating. So the Minnesota State Fair's resident watchdog on livestock-show cheating is watching more closely than ever.
Besides the prestige of winning the grand-champion ribbon, an exhibitor can reap thousands of dollars by selling a champion animal after a fair. At so-called auctions of champions, top animals typically go for far more than they would on the open market.
"The first 25 years I was here, we didn't have problems. The last five years we've had three major incidences," said Pooch, one of the fair's assistant managers. "I just don't think this is going to go away."
Pooch's network of tipsters is probably his best weapon. Already this summer, it detected two exhibitors in Iowa and Minnesota who broke fair rules by shuttling the same steer back and forth to compete.
Both 4-H and the National FFA Organization require members to own and care for their animals in the months leading up to competition. Brad Rugg, a 4-H official, said his organization has begun an ethics course for young exhibitors. Fair exhibitors also sign a no-cheating pledge. "Unfortunately, this is going to be an issue whenever you pick a winner in life," he said.
<end snip>
After all, the pResident cheated to win, why shouldn't the kids cheat with their livestock?