The Malheur County Fair and Rodeo began in 1909 as the Ontario Corn Festival. It was organized by the Malheur County Agricultural Association to promote corn production.The Malheur County Fair has now become one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier county fairs, with an annual gate count of approximately 20,000. The fair celebrates a diverse array of agricultural and homemaking accomplishments, and showcases the region’s cultural product. State apportionment and fairgrounds admission provide the largest revenue shares in the annual budget, while other revenue come from several sources of funding.