Quality Assurance Test Out Dates
If you intend to take a living, breathing animal to the Fair, you must complete Quality Assurance (QA) by June 1.
One option for those age 12 and over is to take a QA test. If a youth over age 15 passes the test, their Quality Assurance requirement is met for the remainder of their 4-H/FFA career. For any youth age 12-14, passing the test meets their QA requirement until the year they turn 15. These tests do require knowledge of Quality Assurance principles and the ability to correctly apply them in given situations.
The Extension Office will be offering QA test out on the following dates:
President’s Day, Monday, February 17
Tuesday, March 18
Monday, April 14
To sign up, visit: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e4NdSovq0VdBNIO
Dates for Quality Assurance trainings will be announced as soon as venue availibility is confirmed.
Volunteer Background Check
Any 4-H Volunteer who was notified that they were due to have their background check completed must have it done by February 15. Please turn in your receipt to the Extension Office so we know you have completed this requirement and can reimburse you.
Ashland County 4-H Open House
Ashland County 4-H will be hosting an Open House on Thursday, February 27 6:00-7:00 pm in Mozelle Hall on the Fairgrounds. The Open House is geared toward new members, but is open to anyone who would like to learn about the opportunities 4-H has to offer!
Come talk with 4-H Volunteers about livestock, pet, STEM, shooting sports and other projects. Information on projects, clubs, 4-H Camp and more.
LIVE animals will be there to greet you!
Market Lamb Pool Deadline to Order is March 1
Interested in taking a market lamb to the Fair? Consider the market lamb pool to purchase your animal! Information and order form on our website HERE
Then click on the Sheep heading.
TIME TO ENROLL IN 4-H!
Volunteers must be enrolled in 4Honline by February 15.
Youth must be enrolled in 4Honline AND enrolled in their projects by APRIL 15
PLEASE ADD ALL PROJECTS YOU EVEN THINK YOU MIGHT TAKE THIS YEAR WHEN YOU ENROLL. There is no penalty for not following through with a project you enrolled in. If you have a question regarding the correct project to enroll in, please contact the Extension office.
Enroll today at https://oh.4honline.com/#/user/sign-in
Carteens: Community Service Opportunity
Mandatory Annual Volunteer Training Dates
Swine Day
Forestry Camp
Apply by clicking this link. http://go.osu.edu/ForestryWLCamp25
Download/Print from 4HApp
While you can not download or print files(other than screenshot, then print) from our 4HNow App, you can download or print a file from our website, ashland.osu.edu or if it is in our newsletter, go to the newsletter blog website, u.osu.edu/ashlandcounty4h
4-H Committee Challenges 4-H Clubs to Raise Funds for New Civic Center
As you are aware, the Ashland County Fair Board is seeking donations to build a new Civic Center which will replace Mozelle Hall, the Hobby Building and the restroom building.
The 4-H program utilizes many buildings on the fair grounds free of charge- especially Mozelle Hall which is used for many meetings, events, clinics, QA, judging and booth displays during the fair. The 4-H Committee has pledged $25k towards this project with an estimated price tag of approximately $7 million dollars. In addition to the $25k they have set aside a $5k match and are challenging all the Ashland 4-H Clubs together to raise a total of $5k to meet their challenge. This could raise the amount of the donation from the Ashland Co 4-H Program to $35k total! Some clubs/ committees have already made a donation and those are being tracked and will count towards the total needed to unlock the
match funds.
As your clubs begin to meet, please have a discussion about making a financial contribution to this very worthwhile project that directly will impact the Ashland County 4-H Program! If you have questions, additional information is available on the fairgrounds webpage , or you may contact Cathy Rice at the Sr Fair office 419-289-0466. Any donations need to be sent directly to: Ashland County Fair, 2042 Claremont Ave., Ashland, OH 44805.
To count towards the match, please have your funds in to the Fairgrounds by February 28.
Ashland 4-H/FFA Google Calendar
NOTE: IMPORTANT DATES HAVE RECENTLY BEEN ADDED!
The Ashland County 4-H Calendar which lists important deadlines, meetings, clinics and more is now on Google! The 4-H calendar can be assessed through our 4HNow app. From the app, you can add 4-H calendar events right to your phone/device’s calendar! You may also access the 4-H Calendar at https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/1?cid=ODc0ZWVmYTE5YThhNDc5ODA0M2JhNjAzYmRkZDE3YTJmNjkwZjc3NjY5MTJkMmQyMGU1MTI0YWQzZmRlYjRhZEBncm91cC5jYWxlbmRhci5nb29nbGUuY29t
Please note DATE CHANGES from previous years for some of the Deadlines!
Important Updates for 2025:
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ALL 4-H Volunteers need to be enrolled in 4Honline as a volunteer by FEBRUARY 15. This ensures our volunteers are enrolled with consents and standards of behavior signed before meeting with 4-H youth.
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Anyone looking to become a new 4-H Volunteer must fill out an application and enroll in 4Honline by February 15. See farther down in this Newsletter for link to the application.
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April 15 is the deadline to enroll in 4-H and be eligible to show at the fair. PLEASE ADD ALL PROJECTS YOU EVEN THINK YOU MIGHT TAKE THIS YEAR WHEN YOU ENROLL. There is no penalty for not following through with a project you enrolled in. If you have a question regarding the correct project to enroll in, please contact the Extension office.
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***NEW*** APRIL 15 is the deadline to add projects to your 4-H enrollment.
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Please ensure your FAMILY EMAIL IN 4HONLINE is one that you use regularly as this is our main mode of direct communication with you.
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Please ensure that emails from Regmax/4honline do not go to your spam folder. This is an important mode of communication from the Extension Office regarding your 4-H enrollment and animal identification.
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Due to OSU Publications now charging the County offices shipping fees, most 4-H Project books will now cost $9.00 (resource books and a few other specialty books are more).
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Project book orders will be placed on the FIRST FRIDAY of every month (January-August) to reduce shipping costs. Our office currently has a good supply of animal project books with a much more limited supply of still project books on hand. If you need to order a book other than our designated order date, cost will be the amount of the book plus any shipping charges.
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For Clubs may placing a bulk project book order, an order form is located on our website HERE
ODA Livestock Exhibition Rules
To continue our outreach around ODA’s new Livestock Exhibition rules that were put in place May 2024, the Division of Animal Health has put together a special Fairs and Exhibitions Edition Newsletter. It covers a lot of great topics and has all of our references, rules and regulations, and FAQ documents in one place. The newsletter includes 5 of the major FAQ questions, RFID tags and wand reader information, Ringworm disease information, and who to contact if you have questions or want ODA to speak at an event (4H groups, extension agents, fairboard, etc).
Fairs and Exhibitions FAQ and Hot Topics Edition – will take you straight to the newsletter on our website.
Please visit their website for the complete newsletter, this is just the first page
LEGO Robotics Kits Available for Sale!
The Extension Office has several LEGO WeDo 1.0 robotics kits for sale. These have been retired from our school programming.
Cost is $50 for per kit and includes 8 instruction books on how to build numerous different models. All kits have been verified to contain all the pieces. WeDo 1.0 software can be downloaded from the Lego Education website and tutorials are available online. Contact the Extension Office at 419-281-4282 if you are interested in purchasing.
Volunteers
If you would like to become a NEW 4-H Volunteer, you can find the application and information to apply on our website at https://ashland.osu.edu/program-areas/4-h-youth-development/become-volunteer
New 4-H Volunteer applications are also due by February 15.
ALL volunteers will need to reenroll in 4Honline as a 4-H Volunteer by FEBRUARY 15. This ensures all volunteers enroll and sign the consents/code of conduct before working with youth.
Scholarships Available!
Ashland County Dairy Committee Scholarship
Ashland County 4-H Committee Scholarship Opportunity
The Ashland County 4-H Committtee is pleased to offer Ashland County 4-H youth an opportunity to win a college scholarship!
Applicants must be a high school senior that is a current, active Ashland County 4-H member that has been enrolled and completed projects for the last 3 consecutive years.
Applications are available on our 4Hnow App or on our website at https://ashland.osu.edu/program-areas/4-h-youth-development/older-youth-opportunities
Top Shots Scholarship
Winter break is the perfect time to apply for Ohio State Fair scholarships! There’s more than $42,000 in scholarships available!
Requirements are:
– High school junior or senior, or undergraduate student
– Ohio State Fair participation
– County fair participation
– Academic excellence
– Community involvement
Sound like someone you know? Encourage them to apply https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSfFS4sUDYEFUS…/viewform
Submit News to the County Extension Office
If you have some news you would like to share with the Ashland County Extension Office please use the link below to share that with us. We will review the information and include it in our 4-H Newsletter, Facebook page, website or other avenue as appropriate.
Ashland County Extension Office 4-H information submission
Newsletter Website: U.OSU.EDU/ASHLANDCOUNTY4-H
Find us on Facebook at: Ohio State- Ashland County 4-H Facebook page
Visit on the web at: https://ashland.osu.edu/