Junior Fair

Club Contest – Stock the Trailer during the Fairfield County Fair!

by

The Fairfield County Junior Leaders are asking for your help with a Fairfield County Fair canned food drive!! Farm Credit Mid-America is challenging County Fairs all across the State to help fill local food pantries with their STOCK THE TRAILER, FILL THE PANTRY food drive.  By participating in this event you will allow youth to compete for monetary prizes awarded by Farm Credit for those fairs bringing in the most pounds of canned food donated.  Our goal is to collect 10,000 pounds of canned goods during the Fairfield County Fair. Clubs can drop off their items in the 4-H Display Barn and label with their club name. Junior Leaders will weigh food throughout the week to see which clubs, chapters or scout troops have the most. The top 5 groups by weight will receive a cash prize.

Items of Most Need Right Now: Canned Meat, Pasta Dishes, Fruit, Vegetables, and Soups. All food collected will be donated to Food Pantries across Fairfield County via the Fairfield County Hunger Collation. The collation includes 30-50 pantries from Pickerington to Sugar Grove and Lithopolis to Bremen.

 

Community Members can donate too: The Junior Leaders will be collecting your donations every day during the fair, there will be containers by the General Parking Area, Ed Sands Building, and the 4-H Display Barn. The contest ends on the last day of the Fairfield County Fair, October 11! Don’t want to shop?… send a monetary donation to the attention of the Fairfield County Junior Leaders 4-H Club c/o OSU Extension 831 College Avenue, Suite D, Lancaster, OH 43130.  We will send our Junior Leaders out to shop for you.   Your support helps our YOUTH  give back!!

Buyer Poster Contest – Thank our Livestock Sale Buyers!

by

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. Exhibitors may enter a poster as an individual or as a club/chapter. Posters will be displayed during the week in the Feeder Creek Show Arena. Cash prizes will be awarded! Cloverbud members are also welcome to participate!

All posters must be dropped off during fair move-in/fair week by Wednesday, October 8th at NOON to the Junior Fair Office during office hours.

Fairfield County 4-H Endowment Board plans Pancake Breakfast for all!

by

On Sunday, October 5, 2025 there will be a pancake breakfast at the Fairfield County Fair, from 8-10 AM. Pancakes will be flipping in front of the Ricketts Hall on the north side of the fairgrounds, next to the Ed Sands Building. There will be sausages, fruit and drinks provided as well. Everyone is welcome! Breakfast is free, but donations are welcome and suggested to benefit the 4-H Endowment Fund.

The 4-H Endowment Fund was created to fund a permanent educator position in Fairfield County so that our children will always have access to the 4-H programs offered through Ohio 4H.

Join us at the pancake breakfast for a flipping good time!

Sweet Treat Items Needed for Livestock Sale Buyer’s Tent

by

Returning this year the Livestock Sale Committee will host a refreshment table for livestock buyers at the livestock auctions on Thursday evening October 9th and Friday, October 10th during the fair. A Junior Fair volunteer 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.

Items needed: Pre-bagged cookies/brownies (3 per bag) and please note if there are nuts; bagged trail mix/nuts in snack size baggies.

Drug Use Notification Forms – due at NOON, Friday, October 3rd for Market Beef/BEEF FEEDERS/DAIRY MARKET STEERS/Dairy Beef Feeders/Lactating Dairy Cows & Dairy Goats/Market Hogs/Market Goats/Market Lambs

by

Animals must be drug free by weigh-in day of fair. Each member must complete a Drug Use Notification Form (DUNF) (http://go.osu.edu/fairfielddunf) form online for each animal they plan to exhibit prior to weigh-in at the fair. If the forms are not correctly completed, exhibitors will not be permitted to show. The link to the form will open on Monday, September 29th (as forms should be completed more than 5 days before fair weigh-in).

  • Animals requiring a DUNF indicating the animal is free from any/all drugs in its system on fair weigh-in/move-in day are:
    • Market Beef
    • Beef Feeder
    • Dairy Market Steer
    • Dairy Beef Feeder
    • Dairy Cow (lactating)
    • MQP Hog
    • Market Barrow
    • Market Gilt
    • Market Goat
    • MQP Goat
    • Dairy Goat (lactating)
    • Market Chickens (1 form per pen of 3 chickens)
    • Market Turkey
    • Market Duck
    • MQP Lamb
    • Market Lamb
    • Market Rabbit (1 form per pen of 2 rabbits)
  • Forms should be completed no sooner than 5 days prior to animal weigh-in to be sure that their animal is drug free during fair.
  • Forms submitted prior to that timeframe will be deleted and exhibitors will be asked to resubmit the DUNF form closer to their animal’s weigh-in. All animals being brought to the fair requiring DUNF forms will need to submit their forms by 12:00 p.m., Friday, October 3rd, 2025.
  • The only EXCEPTION to the Friday deadline will be Market Poultry and Market Rabbits who will complete DUNF Forms AFTER they receive tags/leg bands so they have identification information to enter into the DUNF Form. One form per pen of animals should be completed for Poultry and Rabbits. Deadline for poultry and rabbit exhibitors is MIDNIGHT on Saturday, October 4th.
  • Animals tagged with an EID 840 (15 digit tag) should include the last 6 digits in the identification field of the form.
  • Scrapie Tag numbers DO NOT need to be entered for market goats and market sheep – please use the last 6 digits of your EID 840 tag.
  • There should be ONE form submitted for each animal. Exception: Each pen of rabbits and each pen of market chickens will need a form per pen.
  • Turkeys exhibitors will put N/A in the identification field.
  • Market Chicken exhibitors will put all 3 leg band numbers in the same identification field for their pen of chickens.
  • Market Rabbit exhibitors will put both tag numbers for their pair of rabbits in the identification field for their pen of rabbits.

Cakes/Pies/Candies/Pastries Exhibitors – Schedule your judging appointment for fair!

by

4-H members with cake/pie/candy/pastry projects projects should have received an email from Stacy Hicks on September 16th to schedule their appointment for judging on Monday, October 6th at the Fairfield County Junior Fair. Appointments will be scheduled from 3:00-6:00 p.m. with awards at 7:00 p.m. Cakes/Pies/Candies/Pastries Judging will take place in the 4-H Display Barn (south side of the fairgrounds).

Additional information and requirements regarding judging can be found in the 2025 Cake/Pie/Candy Fair Guidelines.

If you cannot find the email with the scheduling link, please contact Stacy at 740-653-5419. Appointments should be scheduled by Wednesday, October 1st so that we can prepare for fair.

Companion Animal Exhibitors – Schedule your judging appointment for fair!

by

Fair is almost here! Companion Animals will be judged by appointment only again in 2025. Judging will be Sunday, October 5, 2025, beginning at 10:00 a.m. and will be held in the #50 Show Arena. Please see below for specific times depending on project:

  • 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pet Rabbits
  • 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Cavy
  • 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Amphibians, Birds, Reptiles
  • 1:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Cats
  • 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Rodents & Ferrets

PetPALS Projects will be judged immediately following the member’s companion project appointment.  Additional information and requirements regarding judging can be found on the 2025 Jr. Fair Companion Animal Rules.

If you cannot find the email with the scheduling link that was sent to exhibitors on September 18th, please contact Stacy at 740-653-5419.

Do you want to participate in a fun activity with your Companion Animal right after judging?  Then consider participating in the Costume Contest.  Dress yourself and your pet up in your favorite costume, have your picture taken. Fair goers will vote on their favorite costume.

We are excited to see all that you have completed and learned in your 4-H project.

Cloverbud Day at the Fair (October 5th)

by

Cloverbud Day at the Fair: Sunday, October 5, 2025, 1:00 p.m. in the Round Cattle Barn

  • Show-N-Tell
    • This is an opportunity for club members to talk about their year in 4-H.
    • Members are encouraged to bring a project or item from the 4-H year to show and talk about.
    • All participants will receive a ribbon.
    • If you are interested in attending Show-N-Tell, advisors should email a number of participants to Aubry Fowler by October 1st.
  • Cloverbud Graduation
    • We will be recognizing Cloverbud members who are ‘graduating’ from the Cloverbud program and will be traditional 4-H members in 2026.
    • Members should have received an invitation email and survey to fill out if this applies to them.  If you feel we have missed someone, please email hicks.686@osu.edu.
  • Stuffed Animal Show
    • Encourage your members to bring their favorite stuffed animal. Each child will get to enter the ring, share a fun fact about their animal, and have a mini experience of what it’s like to show at the fair.
    • All participants will receive a ribbon.

If you have any questions, contact the Extension Office at 740-653-5419.

Remember to Turn in your School Excuse Note for fair!!

by

Dear Junior Fair Families,

Just a reminder that the Extension Office sends school excuse letters to the School District you listed on your Fair Entry Form. These will be sent by October 1st to school administrators. The school letters to superintendents and principles ask for their cooperation in excusing those members exhibiting livestock projects at the Fairfield County Fair. It is your responsibility, to turn in a note from a parent/guardian to your school office. Youth should also notify the school prior to the dates of fair to get permission and any missed assignments.

All schools that the extension office had contact information for will be sent “Fairfield County Junior Fair Request for School Excuse” emails on 9/22-9/25. If your school has changed since fair entry time or you need an additional letter for other reasons (college classes, virtual classes, etc), please contact Stacy Hicks at 740-653-5419. See you at the Fairfield County Fair!