New for 2020, members planning to enter a market swine project at the Ohio State Fair will be required to have a parent/guardian Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) certified in order to meet packer requirements. PQA must be completed prior to the June 20th entry deadline and the PQA certification number will be required on the entry form. Certification numbers will be verified and falsified numbers will result in penalty.
There are several options for parents/guardians to be PQA certified. Adults can attend an in-person PQA session or sign up for an online certification. To request an online certification please contact share.8@osu.edu. The adult PQA certification is good for 3 years. If a parent/guardian has more than one youth in the family, the same PQA number can be used for all of the youth.
PQA is different than the Ohio Youth QA that is normally required for exhibition. Youth are still required to complete YQA at least 45 days prior to their first exhibition in order to be eligible to show.