Junior Leaders – Next meeting: September 9, 2019

The Junior Leaders are a countywide group that provides older youth opportunities to explore leadership skills beyond the local club level. For 4-H youth ages 13 and up – feel free to join at any time during the year! They are always open to new members joining this group! Upcoming meetings include September 9th and October 28th from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Ag Center. They will be receiving an email with details. Please contact the office to sign up to be on the Junior Leader email list.

 

Livestock Sale – Buyer Refreshment Table – Items Needed!

Each year the Livestock Sale Committee has a refreshment table for livestock buyers at the livestock auctions on Thursday evening October 10th and Friday, October 11th, 2019 during the fair. A 4-H Club organizes this table and other 4-H Clubs and FFA groups donate all the food. Contact Leslie at cooksey.25@osu.edu or 740-653-5419 if your club can help on either sale day in addition to donating various food items (i.e. cookies, chips, lemonade, coffee, etc).

Livestock Buyer Thank-you Poster Contest

Show your appreciation for the livestock buyers by making a poster thanking them for their support by participating in the poster contest sponsored by the Fairfield County Junior Fair Board. You may enter a poster as an individual or as a club. Posters are due to Junior Fair Office in the Show Arena between 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 5th, 2019. Posters will also be accepted on Sunday, October 6th, 2019 during open office hours in the Junior Fair Office. Posters will be displayed during the week in the Feeder Creek Show Arena. Cash prizes will be awarded!

Endowment Awareness & Donation Breakfast – Sunday, October 6th, 2019

The 2019 Endowment Donation Breakfast will be held at the Ed Sands/Farm Bureau Building on Sunday, October 6th, 2019 from 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. (or until sold out). Come have some fun, enjoy breakfast and make a donation to the Fairfield County Endowment Fund. Money donated covers the cost of the breakfast and helps provide training and personal development opportunities for 4-H members today so they can be strong leaders tomorrow.

Companion Animal Judging Reminders

Youth competing in this non-livestock competition need to bring their project book to judging! Refer to the Junior Fair Book or Members Handbook/Project Guidelines for details. Cat and Ferret Exhibitors – All required vaccinations must be given by a licensed, accredited veterinarian and must be current through October 6th, 2019 for county judging. Rabbit Hopping, the Costume Contest and the Cloverbud Stuffed Animal Show will continue this year. There is no advance registration for these fun classes, just sign up the day of the show.

4-H Display Barn – Booth Information, Theme, Volunteers Needed!

The 4-H Display Barn will house all still projects! Clubs will have a booth in this building and all projects will go in your booth. Gardening/Crops entries should be brought to the 4-H Display Barn during setup times and will be displayed together in a central location in the AGmazing AgriCenter (Ed Sands Building). Please check with the 4-H Display Barn staff present at setup to complete an exhibit card.

If your club is not requesting a booth, there will be a special area in the 4-H Display Barn for your member’s projects to be displayed. A reminder that in order for a member to receive a premium for their project, it MUST BE DISPLAYED the entire week of the fair!

We do not have a 4-H theme for 2019. Clubs should decorate their booth using the theme of their choice. Please note, no straw is permitted in the displays including bales). The use of feathers of any kind are prohibited for any type of display at the Fairfield County Fair. To view a booth score rubric, see the Club Advisors Resources on our website!

To request a booth, one advisor from your club should fill out the 2019 BOOTH REQUEST and VOLUNTEER SHEET that was emailed to them earlier this month. It needs to be submitted by Friday, September 6th. Please list how many projects your club has and specify
the size of the items. There will be a formula used to give clubs a fair/equal amount of space for each project.

Continuing in 2019: With the update of panels for booths that are not against the wall, these booths will be on 4 foot increments (4×4 ft, 4×8 ft, 4×12 ft, etc.). The outside wall booth sizes will be the same as before.

Display Barn Setup is 1:00 – 7:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, October 4th and 5th (NO SUNDAY SETUP!).

Display Barn Tear Down is Sunday, October 13th, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. No booths or projects may be removed prior to this time!

Display Barn Guards: To help cut down on vandalism or theft in the barns, all clubs with booths in the 4-H Display Barn are REQUIRED to sign up for at least one – 2 hour period to guard and keep an eye on displays in the 4-H Display Barn. During your club shift(s), we ask that you have at least two people per club – one adult and one person age 16 or older. They can be parents, advisors, or older 4-H members. The guards watch the area and answer visitors’ questions. Please contact your club advisor or call the Extension Office to sign-up for a shift. If you know the names of those who will be representing your club during those days and times, please also include their names. Please share all the days and times you are able to help. (Note: You will not be placed in every time you list—that will just assist in the process of acquiring
volunteers!)

Friend of the Junior Fair Award – due Friday, September 6th, 2019

The Junior Fair Board is again sponsoring the Friend of the Junior Fair Award. Agricultural students, 4-H members and community members in Fairfield County are encouraged to nominate a person or business in the community that has a strong influence in agriculture and has contributed to the lives of Junior Fair members and the Fairfield County Junior Fair. Nominees will be invited to the Junior Fair Panorama at the Fairfield County Fair on Sunday, October 6th, 2019 beginning at 7:00 p.m. The award will be presented that evening.
Applications are due Friday, September 6th and can be obtained online or at the OSU Extension Office or from a Junior Fair Board member. Nominate a deserving person or business you know today!

Summerfest Winners – Please send your THANK YOU NOTES! :o)

We need to make sure our sponsors receive thanks and appreciation for supporting Fairfield County’s youth! This would include all youth receiving the Bertha Wilson Camp Scholarship, all youth receiving awards at Summerfest, as well as Junior Fair Exhibitors who will be receiving awards at fair. Please make members who received awards this summer and at the fair write thank you notes to the sponsors of their awards – even if it’s just a rosette or ribbon.

Several people took lots of time making sure an address label of the particular sponsor was placed on the back of each award or attached a thank you notecard to a trophy. For Summerfest Winners – your donor is labeled on your thank you note AND your award “group” card.

Please be aware that we have had sponsors stop donating for fair awards because they did not receive a thank you note. If a member is not sure of their sponsor for an award received at Summerfest or at the fair, check out the Awards Portion of the Junior Fair Book as it gives the name of the sponsor. If you aren’t able to find an address, please contact the OSU Extension Office and we can help you find it! Also encourage youth to include information about their project, award received, etc. as the sponsors enjoy reading this information! Sponsors also love pictures if members have any of their project they would like to share!

Fair Booth Information and Reminder

The 4-H Display Barn will house all still projects! Clubs will have a booth in this building and all projects will go in your booth. Gardening/Crops entries should be brought to the 4-H Display Barn during setup times and will be displayed together in a central location in the AGmazing AgriCenter (Ed Sands Building). Please check with the 4-H Display Barn staff present at setup to complete an exhibit card.

If your club is not requesting a booth, there will be a special area in the 4-H Display Barn for your member’s projects to be displayed. A reminder that in order for a member to receive a premium for their project, it MUST BE DISPLAYED the entire week of the fair!

We do not have a 4-H theme for 2019. Clubs should decorate their booth using the theme of their choice. Please note, no straw is permitted in the displays including bales). The use of feathers of any kind are prohibited for any type of display at the Fairfield County Fair. To view a booth score rubric, see the Club Advisors Resources on our website!

To request a booth, one advisor from your club should fill out the 2019 BOOTH REQUEST and VOLUNTEER SHEET from the August newsletter and turn in by Friday, September 6th. Please list how many projects your club has and specify the size of the items. There is a formula used to give clubs a fair/equal amount of space for each project.

Continuing in 2019: With the update of panels for booths that are not against the wall, these booths will be on 4 foot increments (4×4 ft, 4×8 ft, 4×12 ft, etc.). The outside wall booth sizes will be the same as before.
Display Barn Setup is 1:00 – 7:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, October 4th and 5th (NO SUNDAY SETUP!).
Display Barn Tear Down is Sunday, October 13th, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. No booths or projects may be removed prior to this time!

Display Barn Guards: To help cut down on vandalism or theft in the barns, all clubs with booths in the 4-H Display Barn are REQUIRED to sign up for at least one – 2 hour period to guard and keep an eye on displays in the 4-H Display Barn. During your club shift(s), we ask that you have at least two people per club – one adult and one person age 16 or older. They can be parents, advisors, or older 4-H members. The guards watch the area and answer visitors’ questions.

Fill out the sign-up form with the days and times your club would like to take a shift. If you know the names of those who will be representing your club during those days and times, please also include their names. Please list all the days and times you are able to help. (Note: You will not be placed in every time you list—that will just assist in the process of acquiring volunteers!) Return this form to the OSU Extension Office.

 

Marketing, the Conclusion to Every Great Youth Meat Animal Project!

The Kraft’s from Bay Food Market and Bay Packing have been long time supporters of Jr. Fair project sales. Hear what Karen has to say about which projects she chooses to bid on.

Meat animal projects are raised in an effort to not only teach responsibility, but also earn money that can someday be put towards more education, or perhaps establishing a business. That’s the reason a teaching component on marketing is included with every meat animal project. It’s always enjoyable to exhibit blue ribbon animals, but the project is never complete until it’s been marketed successfully.

Recently, on a segment for the WLRY radio show The Farm Page, Karen Kraft Crutcher from Bay Food Market and Bay Packing was asked by show host Connie Smith, as a buyer who supports several county fairs, how she decided what projects to bid on at County Fair sales. You will find her response enlightening, and one that should be shared with all of our meat animal project youth as they prepare for marketing their project at the Fair in October.

Find that 2 minute conversation linked here in an M4a file or here in a wav file .