Virtual Farm Trip to Ohio Sheep Farm – Live Stream on May 6th

DATE: Wednesday, May 6, 2020
TIME: 1:30 p.m. Eastern

There are about 3,400 sheep farms in Ohio raising around 119,000 sheep. Connect with Farmer Kristin on May 6 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern for a LIVE virtual tour of her Ohio sheep farm. Kristin will take students to her pasture and barn, and introduce them to her sheep, a sheep dog, and some baby lambs who are very eager to meet everybody!

This Virtual Farm Trip will be live-streamed via the Virtual Farm Trips Facebook Page and at VirtualFarmTrips.com/OhioSheepTour so that students of all ages may join from their homes.

The Ohio Sheep and Wool Program is pleased be be a partial sponsor of a LIVE Virtual Sheep Farm Tour, which will be held on May 6, 2020.. Please go to this website to register for the LIVE Virtual Sheep Farm tour.  This Virtual tour will be an educational piece that classrooms can use to learn more about the sheep, lamb and wool industry.   If you have young people please pass this link onto their teachers so that they can get their classrooms registered and their students can get on and learn more about the sheep industry.

https://mailchi.mp/ce85b67c9ebc/live-sheep-farm-tour-for-all-ages-may-6

 

Enjoy!

Contribute your thoughts to a Central Ohio study on sports/play!

Contribute your thoughts to a Central Ohio study on sports/play!

Young people ages 8-18 have your voice heard! Take this survey to share how you play and stay active. Our short survey will ask about different types of sports and activities and your responses are completely anonymous.

The State of Play Central Ohio Project, an effort facilitated by The Aspen Institute and focused on improving the quality and quantity of youth sport. The local work is supported by The Columbus Foundation in partnership with others including LiFEsports, the City of Columbus, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, etc.  Learn more about the State of Play Central Ohio at https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/central-ohio.

 

 

Attention Livestock Exhibitors: Quality Assurance Updates as of 4/23/2020

At this time, Quality Assurance CANNOT be taught by club/chapter advisors to Fairfield County 4-H/FFA youth virtually. This has not been approved.

As of 4/21/2020, the Fairfield County Senior Fair Board approved postponing the June 30th Quality Assurance deadline for Fairfield County due to COVID-19 and 4-H in-person events, meetings, and programs being cancelled or postponed through July 6th. A Fairfield County QA deadline will be determined at a later time once we can resume in-person events in the 4-H program.

Anyone planning to enter/exhibit into the Ohio State Fair needs to read this post: 2020 Ohio State Fair Information for Fairfield County 4-H & FFA youth. This link includes Quality Assurance options for state fair exhibitors.

For everyone else – we have time! When in-person 4-H club meetings and events can resume, trained advisors will be able to teach this at your club meeting. We will also reschedule the countywide dates that were previously scheduled for May at the fairgrounds.

If you’d like to take care of your Quality Assurance now, you may do this online through YQCA  (Youth for the Quality Care of Animals). This is the ONLY approved ONLINE Quality Assurance Program for youth in Ohio. For 2020 ONLY, this web-based course has been approved by ODA for 8-18 year olds.

  • Go to: https://yqca.learningrow.lo.
    • Fairfield County 4-H Members should select “sign in with 4-HOnline”. It will prompt you to select a state and then enter your 4-HOnline account information. After successfully logging in, you will be given a list of active family members. Select the family member and start the account creation process.
    • Fairfield County FFA Members (who are not in 4-H) should select FFA & Independent Sign-In.
  • You will need to select the web-based training ($12.00 per member, annually).
  • For a complete list of directions visit: Getting Your YQCA Online Certification
  • When you are finished, please send name(s) and certificate number(s) to Leslie Cooksey at cooksey.25@osu.edu.

Attention STATE FAIR livestock exhibitors – PLEASE READ!

For those 4-H and FFA members who wish to enter into the Junior Shows at the Ohio State Fair, please read!

This message was pulled from the Ohio State Fair website on 4/22/2020:

As you may have heard, Ohio 4-H has cancelled all in-person 4-H activities through July 6. At this time, the Ohio State Fair is still making preparations for its junior livestock show to proceed as planned. All 4-H members may enter their livestock project at the Ohio State Fair as long as they are enrolled in the project at the county level, regardless of whether or not they actually showed the animal; this is the typical process for county fairs that occur after the Ohio State Fair. All county 4-H educators will still be able to verify whether or not a 4-H member has enrolled in that project while teleworking. Entry information for the Ohio State Fair’s livestock competitions will be updated online in mid-May. The deadline to enter is June 20.

4-H and FFA members must make entries online at https://ohiostatefair.com/livestock/

No late entries will be accepted. Additionally, you may review the link above to confirm rules and possession dates for the Ohio State Fair.

Attention Swine Exhibitors:

  • 4-H youth who wish to take a GILT in the Junior Swine Show MUST be enrolled in the Breeding Swine Project. There is no Market Gilt Show at the Ohio State Fair. This project must be submitted by your May 1st enrollment deadline via 4-HOnline.
  • New for 2020: Youth who are taking hogs to the Ohio State Fair must have a parent/guardian certified in Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) by June 20th. One parent can complete this certification for all children in the family (household). The certification is good for 3 years and is required by the packer at the state fair. The certification number is required when making swine entries on June 20th (you will be asked to enter that information). For more information on how to complete this requirement, please contact Leslie Cooksey at cooksey.25@osu.edu.

Quality Assurance Options for Ohio State Fair Exhibitors: If your Fairfield County 4-H Club/FFA Chapter did not host Quality Assurance Training at the club level prior to March 12th – here are your Quality Assurance options you can do to meet the QA requirement for the Ohio State Fair. The 45 day rule in which QA must be completed before the start of the exhibition has been waived in 2020 by ODA. I highly suggested QA is completed by the Ohio State Fair deadline (June 20) and will certainly need to be completed when we verify Ohio State Fair livestock entries in early July. Additionally, the Ohio State Fair is Ractopamine (i.e. Paylean) free for market hogs. You will have to select that you understand this when making your Ohio State Fair entry and you will have to provide a signed affidavit at weigh-in at state fair.

  • Option 1: Complete online with YQCA (Youth for the Quality Care of Animals). This is the ONLY approved ONLINE Quality Assurance Program for youth in Ohio. For 2020 ONLY, this web-based course has been approved by ODA for 8-18 year olds.
    • Go to: https://yqca.learningrow.lo.
      • Fairfield County 4-H Members should select “sign in with 4-HOnline”. It will prompt you to select a state and then enter your 4-HOnline account information. After successfully logging in, you will be given a list of active family members. Select the family member and start the account creation process.
      • Fairfield County FFA Members (who are not in 4-H) should select FFA & Independent Sign-In.
    • You will need to select the web-based training ($12.00 per member, annually).
    • For a complete list of directions visit: Getting Your YQCA Online Certification
    • When you are finished, please send name(s) and certificate number(s) to Leslie Cooksey at cooksey.25@osu.edu.
  • Option 2: For those FFA and 4-H Members who plan to enter livestock into the Ohio State Fair and do not want to complete YQCA, please email Leslie Cooksey at cooksey.25@osu.edu to indicate that you need to participate in Quality Assurance for the Ohio State Fair. She will be setting up another virtual option before June 20th. Advisors cannot teach QA through Zoom at this time.

New Virtual Mailbox for families to submit forms to OSU Extension (Due May 1st: Dog Permission, Horse EquiSTEP, Horse Permission, Home Grown Market Wether, Home Grown Market Rabbit, MQP Barrow, MQP Lamb)

  • We have created a NEW online mailbox to submit forms to us that are due in May, June and July. We are encouraging families to submit forms on their own rather than giving them to your club advisor to submit on your behalf.  If possible, it would be extremely helpful for you to name the files before uploading – “Last Name, First Name, Form Name 2020.”  For example: Clover, Chris, MQP Barrow 2020.
  • Signatures on forms – scanned copies and digital signatures (if you know how to do that!) are acceptable.
  • Forms will need to be downloaded on the computer prior to completing the information. You will need to save each form before uploading the online mailboxes. Failure to do so may result in submitting a blank form. 
  • Choose the member mailbox below to submit your forms as soon as you have them completed.
  • Member Mailbox

Support 4-H while Shopping Online with Amazon!

Amazon Smile


Help the Fairfield County 4-H Advisory Committee raise money while shopping at no additional cost to you!
1. Start at Smile.Amazon.com
2. Sign in with your current Amazon account or create a new one
3. Search for “Fairfield County OH 4-H Advisory Committee” as the charitable organization you want to support under choose a charity (located under the search bar)
4. Shop Amazon as you normally would and 0.5% of your eligible purchase is donated to the county 4-H program!
5. Once you select your charity, it will be saved so just start at smile.amazon.com each time you shop!

Support the Fairfield Co. Jr. Fair Board while Shopping with Kroger!

Kroger Community Rewards

Help the Fairfield County Junior Fair Board raise money while shopping at no additional cost to you!
1. Start at Kroger.com
2. Sign in with your current Kroger account or create a new one. Note: You must have a registered Kroger Rewards card in order to participate in the Community Rewards program
3. Click the Community Rewards tab and search for “Fairfield Co 4H Advisory Committee”, then click Enroll
4. Once you select your charity, it will be saved and you will support 4-H each time you shop!
5. The 4-H Advisory Committee will allocate these funds to the JFB upon receipt

Applications Accepted for 2020 Barrow and Lamb MQP until May 1 – SUBMIT electronically through Virtual Mailbox!

Entries – or perhaps, more appropriately applications for entry – for the 2020 Fairfield County Jr. Fair Barrow and Lamb MQP programs are now being accepted by the OSU Extension office. To be considered for a spot in either the 2020 Barrow or Lamb MQP contests, an application along with an essay not to exceed 300 words must be postmarked, or be received by OSU Extension by May 1st, 2020 and can be submitted online to our 4-H Member Mailbox. Click here to access this link: http://go.osu.edu/memmailbox

Barrows will be harvested and processed at Bay Packing in Fairfield County. In order to accommodate such a large harvest and process the pork in a timely fashion, participants or those who have purchased the freezer pork from the participants, must agree to pick up their fresh, frozen pork prior to the Fair at a time yet to be announced. Cured product, such as bacon or ham, will be available for pick-up at a time yet to be determined after the Fair.

Lambs will also be harvested at Bay Packing. Likewise with the freezer pork, in order to be able to accommodate such a large harvest and process the lamb in a timely fashion, participants or those who have purchased the freezer lamb from the participants must agree to pick up their fresh frozen lamb prior to the Fair at a time yet to be announced.

The application process being required is intended to allow the Barrow and Lamb MQP Show Committees the opportunity to clearly communicate in a timely fashion to participants where they rank on the participant list. The subjective and age appropriate evaluation of the essays by several ‘judges’ will serve as the basis for that ranking that will be completed and announced by May 15 or as soon as possible.

Both Fairfield County’s Barrow and Lamb MQP programs will operate under the following guidelines:

  1. Applications for the 2020 Barrow and/or Lamb MQP programs must be postmarked, emailed or received in the OSU Extension office by the end of business on May 1, 2020. The blank applications are available in the Member Handbook or may be downloaded here: Barrow MQP : Lamb MQP
  2. Along with the application, on a separate paper an essay, not to exceed 300 words, must be included for each contest that is entered. The title of the essay is to be, “Why I want to participate in a livestock project that’s focused on producing high quality pork/lamb that meets the consumer’s demand.”
  3. The essays will be scored and ranked by an independent panel of judges. Only the author’s age, not their name, will be revealed to the judges. Applicants will receive notice by May 15 or as soon as possible of their ranking on the participants list.
  4. If a participant must withdraw from the program, he/she must agree to notify the OSU Extension office immediately in order that participants that ranked below them may be moved up on the list.
  5. MQP barrows must be in the exhibitor’s possession by July 15, and tagged by the club/chapter advisor between July 20 and 31. The live MQP barrows must be delivered to the Fairgrounds for the conclusion on Sunday, September 27th, between 1 and 2 p.m.
  6. MQP lambs must be brought to the Fairgrounds for tagging and weighing on July 11, and the live MQP lambs must be delivered to the Fairgrounds for the conclusion on Sunday, October 4th, between 12:30 and 1 p.m.
  7. Freezer pork and freezer lamb cutting/processing sheets must be submitted when the animals are delivered to the Fairgrounds. These sheets will made available to exhibitors in September.
  8. Immediately following delivery on their respective dates and following the live evaluations, the Show Committees will transport the animals to Bay Packing for harvest on the following morning.
  9. Carcass data for both contests will be collected at Bay’s and the scoring of the contests will be conducted under the direction of OSU Swine Specialist Dr. Steve Moeller or his designee.
  10. The fresh frozen freezer pork and lamb must be picked up at a time yet to be determined prior to the Fair. Smoked/cured pork product will be available after the Fair.
  11. A concluding educational program where the placings will be announced will be scheduled at a time and place yet to be determined prior to the Fair.

Exhibitors are also reminded that MQP barrows must be in compliance with the new rules regarding the ban of ractopamine for all 2020 Fairfield County swine shows. Find details regarding the Fairfield County Senior Fairboard action to hold ractopamine-free swine shows in 2020 linked here.

We are privileged to have a local packing house such as Bay Packing who is willing and able to help facilitate the Fairfield County Barrow and Lamb MQP programs by harvesting and processing at least 30 barrows and 25 lambs. We also appreciate the effort of faculty and students in the OSU Animal Science Department who are willing to help score and facilitate this unique program.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the OSU Extension office, Barrow MQP Show Superintendent Bryan Black, or Lamb MQP Show Superintendent Kris Doyle.

Poultry Member Resources

We understand that poultry members are in need of resources considering there is no Ohio 4-H Poultry Resource Book available (and we do not know when one will be available). Therefore, we want to be sure to share the following resouces:

Ohio 4-H Poultry Resources: https://ohio4h.org/poultryresources

Backyard Poultry Production (previously recorded Zoom) by Ag & Natural Resources Extension Educator, Dr. Tim McDermott (Franklin County).

 

Updates to Fairfield County Swine Show Rules – Ractopamine (i.e. Paylean) Free Show

At last evening’s ‘virtual’ Sr. Fair Board meeting (4/21/2020), two changes were made to the Fairfield County swine show rules. Find the updates here: u.osu.edu/nopaylean

All 4-H and FFA members and advisors need to take the time to review the information on the website listed above.

SPECIAL NOTE: During their regular April 21, 2020 Board meeting that was held via video conference, the Fairfield County Sr. Fairboard rescinded two actions from their original motions passed in January regarding their 2020 swine shows. Those two rescinded actions are:

  • The OPEN class swine show is NO LONGER a ractopamine-free show.
  • For the JUNIOR show, the BREEDER is NO LONGER required to sign an affidavit indicating the pig was ractopamine-free at the time the Junior exhibitor acquired it.

The 2020 Junior Fair swine show remains ractopamine-free and the balance of this site reflects the current rules for Junior exhibitors as adopted and later amended.