...contest, which pays the winner $2,000. But money is not what drives most growers, said fair marketing director Dean Phipps. Nor is it putting food on the table: The oversized cabbages' huge, tough heads are about as tasty as chewing sandpaper...

...their shoes and clothing. The virus, which has decimated Britain's livestock industry, is extremely contagious. Dean Phipps, marketing director for the state fair in Palmer, north of Anchorage, said the precautions are based on recommendations...