2020

2020 Junior Fair Broiler Letter & Order Form

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This year exhibitors only have the option of showing broilers from the traditional broiler pool.  All exhibitors will need to purchase their broilers through this pool in order to exhibit at the 2020 Knox County Junior Fair.

Please read the following information carefully and respond by FRIDAY, MAY 1 by 5 p.m. with the enclosed order form.  Orders received after this date will not be filled and the exhibitor will not be eligible to enter the broiler class.

Chicks may be ordered in any lot size.  The fair exhibit must be three pool birds per exhibitor.  The cost per chick will be $2.00.  Pick up for these chicks will be THURSDAY, JUNE 4 from 1 – 6 p.m. at the Knox County Senior Fair Board Office.  If the hours or location are not convenient for you, please make arrangements for someone else to pick up your chicks.  Chicks will be all cockerels for this pool.

Please do not send cash through the mail.  We ask that you mail your order form and check made out to the following address……….

Knox County Agricultural Society

19545 Ankneytown Road

Fredericktown, OH 43019

Be prepared by having a carrying container with some material in the bottom so the chicks do not slide around.  You should also have your housing location prepared with feed, water and a heat source ready to receive the birds.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call Samantha at 740-751-9545.

Letter and Order Form: 2020 Broiler Pool Letter

4-H Open Chat Sessions on Zoom

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Jana, Samantha and I put our heads together this week and thought it might be beneficial to offer three zoom sessions this week for you.  This is an opportunity for you to join us and ask any questions you might have or receive some clarification.  We have been trying very hard to keep you apprised of this ever changing situation but you might have questions that we haven’t addressed yet.  Or, if there are things that you need from us, we would like to know that as well.  We have some general information to go over with you but it is going to be pretty informal.

I have attached a sheet that has the three dates and times listed.  All three are going to be the same so it is not necessary to join all three.  We just wanted to give various days and times as options, hoping that at least one of them would work for you.  The link to join us by Zoom is listed under the specific day you would like to join.  If you don’t have a video option, there is an opportunity to just call in.  That is also listed on the sheet if you need that option.

Look forward to seeing/talking with each of you next week.

Flyer: 4-H Open Chat Sessions

Knox County 4-H Updates for March 26, 2020

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Well today marks a week that we have been working from home and trying to balance work and home life.  It has proved to have a few challenges but I am sure all of you are feeling those as well.  But like we had stated early on, this does not change our focus that we are here to help you and give your our support any way we can.  You are still able to call us and Sarah Chain, our newest Office Associate, will be answering the phone and directing messages to either Jana or I during our normal business hours of Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  We have our computers at home and can be reached by email.

I know there are STILL so many unanswered questions.  Jana and I received an update this week that we are having to cancel, postpone or switch things to a virtual status until May 15 now.  That also means that as volunteers you can not have face to face club meetings/horse ride-outs until that point.  We are so very sorry for this!  And unfortunately, as with everything lately, that could change again.  So many things are out of our control.  This is a mandate from the Ohio State University Extension Administrative Cabinet.  Just remember we are all in this together and all counties in Ohio are having to abide by the same mandates.

Virtual Update:  Jana, Samantha, and I decided that it might be helpful if all of you had an opportunity to talk to us virtually and ask any questions that might still not be answered for you or if you need help with trying to navigate from this point forward.  We are going to set up three Zoom sessions next week: Monday March 30 at 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 31 at 10 a.m., and Wednesday, April 1 at 6 p.m.  You will all be sent the log-in information for those sessions on Friday afternoon.

From our State 4-H Leader, Kirk Bloir: The move to virtual meetings seems to be working for many of our families, but we recognize it doesn’t work for everyone due to accessibility issues in parts of the state. We are continuing to explore options and will share more in the next few weeks. In the meantime, there are tip sheets for club leaders with options and ideas for holding virtual club meetings at go.osu.edu/4hadvisorinfo; we will continue adding information to this site.

4-H Project Books:  We will not be able to do project book distribution next week due to the “Stay at Home” order from Governor DeWine.  The State 4-H Office will be sharing plans with us at the beginning of next week and how we will be able to proceed.  We do ask that you continue to prepare your book orders.  You can submit it by mailing the form, emailing it to us, or sticking it in the mailbox at the bottom of our steps at our office.  We will ask at this point that if we can move forward with this, that no individual book orders will be taken, only club orders.

4-H Enrollment: Jana and I have decided to stick to the latest Knox County 4-H Enrollment deadline of Monday, April 27 at Midnight.  Please encourage members to be working on their 4-HOnline profiles and getting that complete (we still have ~400 inactive members from last year that have not completed profiles for 2020).  If they need help, have them reach out to me and I can guide them through that process.  Also, that means we will accept new members until April 27 as well.  Club paperwork will not be due until April 27.

Quality Assurance:  Quality Assurance is still going to be a requirement for junior exhibition in 2020 per the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA).  Knox County has extended the training deadline to complete this from June 1 to July 1.  So here is our plan:

  • The two Quality Assurance sessions for April have been cancelled.
  • The two Quality Assurance sessions for May have now been cancelled.
  • We are planning on scheduling sessions in June.  Those dates will be announced at a later time.
  • Quality Assurance test-out will continued to be offered during all sessions that are face-to-face (June).
  • Other options are being explored at the state level.  I am serving on a committee that will be looking at other virtual options to help us through this unprecedented time.  We will be meeting sometime next week to develop a plan.  I will keep you posted.
  • For 2020 ONLY, ODA has allowed livestock exhibitors (ages 8-19) to utilize the YQCA online training modules to fulfill the requirements of Quality Assurance.
    • There is a cost ($12) to each exhibitor that would like to utilize this option in order to complete their certification. It is payable online by credit card after the member has successfully completed the training and test.
    • In order to gain access, please email Andrea at rees.139@osu.edu for her to send the instructions on how to log on and complete this process.
    • After completion, another email to Andrea will be required with the certification number in order for her to mark your Quality Assurance as complete for 2020.
    • This will only count for 2020 and there is no multi-year test-out option.

Hog Tags:  Obviously, with the April QA sessions being cancelled, the opportunity to purchase hog tags at that time has gone away.  Here is the plan to still get your hog tags and meet the appropriate deadlines:

  • Please email Andrea (rees.139@osu.edu) with the swine exhibitor’s name and how many hog tags that exhibitor will need by April 10.  If you have multiple exhibitors that you will be ordering for, please list each name separately and put the number of tags requested by each one.
  • The order will then be processed, tags will be placed in a baggie with the needed paperwork attached.
  • You will be able to come to the Knox County Fairgrounds on Thursday, April 16 or Monday, April 20 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to pick your order up as a drive-thru system.  You will pull up, state the last name of the order(s) being picked up, and they will be handed to you while you are still in your car.  Exact money will be required ($5 per pig) by cash or check (made payable to Knox County Agricultural Society).
  • Paperwork and pictures will be due by Friday, June 5 to the OSU Extension Office at 5 p.m. or bring to the Knox County Senior Fair Board office between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 6.
  • If you would like to upload your pictures to 4-HOnline you can do that in your profile.  A step-by-step explanation of this process will be forth coming.

Broiler Orders:  Samantha and I talked at length yesterday and felt that it is in the best interest of everyone if we keep the established dates for Broiler Pool orders.  All members who have and will still be enrolling with the Market Chicken project will get an email directly with the order form and where to send that by the May deadline.

As always, please check our blog, Facebook, and website for continual updates.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us with questions and concerns.

Update: COVID 19 Update March 26

2020 State 4-H Event Youth Assistant (4HEYA)

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OVERVIEW: The Ohio 4-H Event Youth Assistants (4HEYA) are a statewide group of 4-H teens that assist with Ohio State Fair events. In this process, members have an opportunity to enhance their leadership skills and be involved in the State 4-H program. They develop knowledge, skills, attitudes, and aspirations needed for future success. 4HEYAs work in partnership with the Ohio 4-H Teen Leadership Council, but the experiences as a whole are different.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?: 4-H members who are 13-18 years old as of January 1, 2020 and have previously completed at least one year of 4-H

COMMITMENT: 

  • Term: June 1, 2020-August 31, 2020 (Applicants are still eligible to apply to be a member of TLC for the 2020-2021 term. Find more information about TLC here.)
  • Working Events: Members are required to work at least 3 events at the Ohio State Fair. They will have the opportunity to sign up for their particular events in June.
  • Number of Meetings/Events: In addition to working events, members are required to attend one of the training options (either July 8 or July 14, 2020), both are held at the Ohio State Fairgrounds.
    • Please note, individuals MUST attend one of the training options. This is not negotiable. If you know you are unable to attend a training option before applying, it is best to wait another year before applying to serve in this capacity.

LOCATION: All meetings and events are held at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ohio. There are some Ohio State Fair events that are “off-site,” but members will be notified of the location prior to signing up for an event.

FOR MORE INFORMATION & THE APPLICATION: https://ohio4h.org/families/just-teens/4heya 

Knox County Junior Fair Updates – March 19, 2020

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As some of you may have already noticed, there have been some adjustments made to the Knox County Junior Fair deadlines and events.  These adjustments were made based on disruptions we are all experiencing in our world today.  Samantha has updated the market and breeding animal checklists and has marked all the changes in yellow.  This should be easy for you to follow.  And we have also updated the Livestock Requirement Summary to reflect the changes.  I have posted the links for those documents below and they can also be found under the Junior Fair tab on this blog.  lighted the changes to match what Samantha has already put together.  I will be updating the blog and our website to reflect these changes.

Please keep in mind that with possession dates being adjusted, this has not changed the fair dates.  Your animals still need to meet already established weight ranges.

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance is still going to be a requirement for junior exhibition in 2020 per the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA).  Knox County has extended the training deadline to complete this from June 1 to July 1.  So here is our plan:

  • The two Quality Assurance sessions for April have been cancelled.
  • We will (hopefully) be able to still hold our two sessions scheduled in May: May 7 at Mount Vernon High School and May 14 at Danville High School.
  • We are planning on scheduling one or two sessions in June.  Those dates will be announced at a later time.
  • Quality Assurance test-out will continued to be offered during all sessions that are face-to-face (May and June).
  • For 2020 ONLY, ODA has allowed livestock exhibitors (ages 8-19) to utilize the YQCA online training modules to fulfill the requirements of Quality Assurance.
    • There is a cost ($12) to each exhibitor that would like to utilize this option in order to complete their certification. It is payable online by credit card after the member has successfully completed the training and test.
    • In order to gain access, please email Andrea at rees.139@osu.edu for her to send the instructions on how to log on and complete this process.
    • After completion, another email to Andrea will be required with the certification number in order for her to mark your Quality Assurance as complete for 2020.
    • This will only count for 2020 and there is no multi-year test-out option.

Hog Tags

Obviously, with the April QA sessions being cancelled, the opportunity to purchase hog tags at that time has gone away.  Here is the plan to still get your hog tags and meet the appropriate deadlines:

  • Please email Andrea (rees.139@osu.edu) with the swine exhibitor’s name and how many hog tags that exhibitor will need by April 10.  If you have multiple exhibitors that you will be ordering for, please list each name separately and put the number of tags requested by each one.
  • The order will then be processed, tags will be placed in a baggie with the needed paperwork attached.
  • You will be able to come to the Knox County Fairgrounds on Thursday, April 16 or Monday, April 20 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to pick your order up as a drive-thru system.  You will pull up, state the last name of the order(s) being picked up, and they will be handed to you while you are still in your car.  Exact money will be required ($5 per pig) by cash or check (made payable to Knox County Agricultural Society).
  • Paperwork and pictures will be due by Friday, June 5 to the OSU Extension Office at 5 p.m. or bring to the Knox County Senior Fair Board office between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 6.
  • If you would like to upload your pictures to 4-HOnline you can do that in your profile.  A step-by-step explanation of this process will be forth coming.

FairEntry

Not too many changes with the FairEntry process this year.  Just a few date adjustments.  FairEntry will still open on June 1, but will not close until June 27 now.  The Junior Fair Entry Final Check will now be on Monday, June 29 from 1 to 6 p.m.

Samantha and I hope that this answers many of the questions that you have.  If you need more clarification or have further questions we are here for you.

General Knox County 4-H Updates – March 19, 2020

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Well today starts the first day, that our office is officially closed and all staff is now required to work from home until further notice.  This does not change our focus that we are here to help you and give your our support any way we can.  You are still able to call us and Sarah Chain, our newest Office Associate, will be answering the phone and directing messages to either Jana or I during our normal business hours of Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  We have our computers at home and can be reached by email.

I know there are still so many unanswered questions.  Jana and I have been working with the necessary individuals to try and get you answers.  We know the biggest one is project books.  We sat down yesterday and came up with a plan that we submitted to the state that had no human interaction that we felt would be a feasible for clubs to order books and get them picked up.  The good and the bad…….the state liked the plan but will not let us implement it until MAYBE March 31.  That is the date the state will look at the status of our society and let us know if we can implement that plan as soon as April 1.  So we are keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to move forward with our plan at that time.  So in the meantime, please go ahead and prepare your club book order and submit it by mailing the form, emailing it to us, or sticking it in the mailbox at the bottom of our steps at our office.  We will ask at this point that if we can move forward with this, that no individual book orders will be taken, only club orders.

This is just another friendly reminder that we are extending the Knox County 4-H Enrollment deadline until Monday, April 27 at Midnight.  Please encourage members to be working on their 4-HOnline profiles and getting that complete.  If they need help, have them reach out to me and I can guide them through that.  Also, that means we will accept new members until April 27 as well.  Club paperwork will not be due until April 27.

Some decisions were made last night in terms of the Knox County Junior Fair.  Those details will be forth coming today hopefully addressing any questions that may surround Quality Assurance and Hog Tags.  Please stay tuned with that information.

As always, please check our blog, Facebook, and website for continual updates.

Update: COVID 19 Update March 19

Knox County OSU Extension Office Update

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As of Wednesday, March 18 at 5 p.m., our office is CLOSED until further notice. While our office is closed, our staff will continue to work diligently to serve Knox County. Staff members can be reached at 740-397-0401 or by their email (listed below).

4-H Questions

Agriculture Questions

General Office

Snap-Ed