Quality Assurance In Person Training

All members showing a living, breathing animal must complete Quality Assurance before June 1, 2025

Wednesday March 26th- 7:00 Mozelle Hall

Wednesday April 16th- 7:00 Mozelle Hall

Thursday April 24th- 7:00 Mozelle Hall

Monday April 28th-7:00 Mozelle Hall

If you are unable to attend in person, the ONLY online Quality Assurance training that will be accepted is YQCA. There is a cost to complete this online training.

If you choose the online training, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO SEND YOUR COMPLETION CERTIFICATE TO THE ASHLAND COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE BY JUNE 1.

FCS Fused Glass Workshop

The Extension Office is switching to a new phone system on Monday, March 10. Please be patient as we make the transition and test the phone lines and voicemail.

Equistep for Horse Members

The 2025 version of Equistep is now live! Equistep is required to be completed each year by any youth taking a horse project. Deadline to complete Equistep is MAY 1.

Once completed, you will receive an email confirmation that you have completed Equistep. THIS EQUISTEP CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION WILL NEED TO BE UPLOADED INTO YOUR HORSE(S) 4HONLINE PROFILE.

REMEMBER TO SELECT ASHLAND COUNTY AND CLICK THE SUBMIT BUTTON AT THE END OF THE COURSE!! This is what triggers the completion certificate to be sent.

Click here to complete this Equistep safety training.

Make Up Date for 4-H Volunteer Training

For any 4-H Volunteer or 4-H Volunteer applicant that did not attend either of the annual mandatory volunteer trainings, the make up (and final) training will be on Wednesday, March 12 at 6:30 PM in the Sr. Fair Office on the Fairgrounds.

Great Clinic Opportunities !

Time to order your Turkey for the Fair!

It is time to place your order for turkeys if you wish to exhibit them at this year’s Ashland County Fair.

Any market turkeys shown at the Ashland County Fair MUST be purchased through the Poultry Committee and the online order form. Yhe minimum number to be ordered is 5 market turkey hens for an individual and a minimum of 8 market turkey hens per family but as in previous years, orders may be placed for any number over those minimums.

Market turkey toms and breed turkeys may be ordered in any numbers through this order or members may purchase breed turkeys or market turkey toms on their own. Orders must be submitted by Thursday, March 13th, 2025. Turkeys ordered through the committee will be purchased at Eagle Nest Hatchery.

NEW THIS YEAR: All turkeys not purchased through committee or from a NPIP (National Poultry Improvement Plan) hatchery THIS YEAR, must be pullorum tested prior to the fair.

CLICK HERE to order your turkey.

ENTER an essay contest for a chance to WIN your turkey!

NEW THIS YEAR! Fancy Poultry Order

If you would like to take a fancy poultry project (non market) to the fair, this is an opportunity to have the Ashland 4-H/FFA Poultry Committee order the poultry for you.

There are many options to choose from! More information is found on our website HERE.

CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE ORDERING

Enter an essay contest to WIN your Fancy/Breed Poultry!

CLICK HERE for more information about a chance to win your breeding poultry project

Sheep/Swine Give-a-way Essay Contest

Enter for a chance to WIN your market lamb or market swine project animal!

Ohio 4-H Leadership Camp

Are you interested in growing as a leader alongside your peers? Consider attending Ohio 4-H State Leadership Camp (held June 1-5 at 4-H Camp Ohio)! This camp is a premiere leadership development opportunity that offers participants engaging sessions in topics such as motivation, communication, teamwork, and more! While at camp, participants are actively learning AND teaching their peers! This opportunity is open to Ohio 4-H members ages 14-18 – contact your county 4-H professional for more information on cost, scholarships, and registration or visit go.osu.edu/leadershipcamp for additional information! County commitment forms are due March 15 and must be submitted by county 4-H staff.

Ohio Spark Expo

Ohio 4-H Spark EXPO Ohio 4-H Spark EXPO is back! From June 11-14, 2025, students who have completed 8th or 9th grade by the end of the 2024-2025 school year are invited to explore exciting career pathways, engage in hands-on learning experiences, and discover new passions at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. This immersive experience connects youth with industry professionals, faculty, and peers to spark their interests and inspire future career goals.

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn, grow, and explore! Learn more: go.osu.edu/4hsparkexpo

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:
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.

TIME TO ENROLL IN 4-H!
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: We are still looking for a couple more teen volunteers! No Experience Necessary!

Swine Day 2025

Grab your tickets today for the 2025 Junior Swine Day to be held on Saturday, March 29, at Marysville High School. This one-day event is geared towards helping show pig families gain knowledge and connections, as well as achieve the next level of success in the show ring.

All youth ages 5+ and their parents who are involved in the show pig industry are invited to join the Ohio Pork Council for a day full of learning! Participants will spend the day attending sessions where they will hear from experts about animal nutrition, showmanship, animal health, biosecurity and so much more. Additionally, attendees will receive Quality Assurance Training that meets the requirement to show at Ashland County Fair.

Tickets available HERE.

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

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:

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.
***NEW*** APRIL 15 is the deadline to add projects to your 4-H enrollment.
Please ensure your FAMILY EMAIL IN 4HONLINE is one that you use regularly as this is our main mode of direct communication with you.
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.
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).
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.
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

Scholarships Available!

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/