Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance should be completed for Ohio State Fair exhibitors by June 1st

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Fairfield County 4-H and FFA youth planning to exhibit at the Ohio State Fair must have their Quality Assurance completed by June 1st, 2023 to meet the 45 days prior to the Ohio State Fair exhibition (as required by the Ohio Department of Agriculture). Youth who do not meet this requirement, will have any entries denied.

If youth still need to complete Quality Assurance to meet this requirement and your club/chapter is not planning to host their own QA Clinic by June 1st, we recommend you complete QA through the Youth for the Quality Care of Animals online modules or attend the countywide makeup QA Trainings on May 6th or May 21st.

  • In-Person Countywide Make-Up Clinics: To be held on Saturday May 6th from 9:00-10:30 a.m. or Sunday, May 21st from 12:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. in the Ed Sands Building at the Fairgrounds. An RSVP is required. Please click here to register for a countywide QA makeup clinic.
  • Online: Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA). This is the ONLY approved ONLINE Quality Assurance Program for youth in Ohio. For 2023, this web-based course has been approved by ODA for 8-18 year olds.
    • Go to  https://yqcaprogram.org/ for the training and quiz.
    • Instructions for using the new website can be found at: 2022 YQCA Website Instructions
    • Exhibitors must complete by June 30, 2023 or they will not be able to show at the Fairfield County Fair.
    • You will need to select the web-based training ($12.00 per member, annually).
    • When you are finished, please send name(s) and certificate number(s) to Leslie Cooksey at cooksey.25@osu.edu.

Attention Livestock Exhibitors: Quality Assurance Requirements

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Quality Assurance is an annual requirement of the Ohio Department of Agriculture for youth taking livestock projects to county and state fair. In Fairfield County, Quality Assurance Training is required for all members who will be exhibiting a livestock project at the Fairfield County Fair or Junior Exhibitor at the Ohio State Fair. Beef (Breeding & Market); Dairy Breeding & Dairy Feeders; Goats (Dairy, Meat, Market & Pygmy); Poultry (Breeding & Market); Sheep (Breeding & Market); Swine; Rabbits (Breeding & Market), and Alpacas/Llamas.

Deadlines for 2023:

  • Youth planning to exhibit at the Ohio State Fair must have their Quality Assurance completed by June 1st, 2023.
  • Youth planning to exhibit at the Fairfield County Fair must have their Quality Assurance completed by June 30, 2023

At this time, Quality Assurance CANNOT be taught by club/chapter advisors to Fairfield County 4-H/FFA youth virtually (i.e. Zoom, Google Hangouts, Google Classrooms, Facebook Live, etc.).

Here are the acceptable options to complete Quality Assurance in 2023:

  • In-Person 4-H Club/FFA Chapter Clinic taught by a 4-H/FFA Advisor who has completed the Quality Assurance Assistant Instructor Training this year. Advisors who attended this training will notify their members of their club/chapter QA Clinic date and will be responsible for getting all QA paperwork submitted to the Extension Office by the appropriate deadlines.
  • In-Person Countywide Make-Up Clinics: To be held on Saturday, May 6th from 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. and Sunday, May 21st from 12:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. in the Ed Sands Building at the Fairgrounds. An RSVP is required. Please click here to register for a countywide QA makeup clinic.
  • In-Person Beef Quality Assurance: Members who complete an in-person BQA taught by a certified BQA instructor must submit documentation to Leslie Cooksey at cooksey.25@osu.edu.
  • In-Person Pork Quality Assurance: Members who complete an in-person PQA taught by a certified PQA advisor must submit documentation to Leslie Cooksey at cooksey.25@osu.edu. Youth MUST be age 14 or older (current age) to complete in-person PQA. Youth will receive a PQA certification number from the National Pork Board upon completion.
  • Online: Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA). This is the ONLY approved ONLINE Quality Assurance Program for youth in Ohio. For 2023, this web-based course has been approved by ODA for 8-18 year olds.
    • Go to  https://yqcaprogram.org/ for the training and quiz.
    • Exhibitors must complete by June 30, 2023 or they will not be able to show at the Fairfield County Fair.
    • You will need to select the web-based training ($12.00 per member, annually). Members should complete the age appropriate training with age as of January 1st.
    • When you are finished, please send a copy of your completion certificate which includes your name and certificate number to Leslie Cooksey at cooksey.25@osu.edu.
    • Instructions: YQCA_HelpDoc_GettingYourWBTCertification

Countywide (make-up) Youth Quality Assurance Trainings: May 6th and May 21st (RSVP required)

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The FIRST of two make-up countywide Quality Assurance Clinics will be held Saturday, May 6th at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds (Ed Sands/Farm Bureau Building) from 9:00-10:30 a.m. Advanced registration is required. RSVP by completing the survey at this link. Please arrive on time so we can get the training started promptly at 9:00 a.m.

Quality Assurance Training is required for all members who will be exhibiting a livestock project at the Fairfield County Fair or Junior Exhibitor at the Ohio State Fair. This includes the following projects: Beef (Breeding & Market); Dairy Breeding & Dairy Feeders; Goats (Dairy, Meat, Market & Pygmy); Poultry (Breeding & Market); Sheep (Breeding & Market); Swine; Rabbits (Breeding & Market), and Alpacas/Llamas.
Members are required to attend one Quality Assurance Clinic taught by a certified instructor. Members should sign in at the beginning of the clinic and complete a questionnaire at the end of the clinic. Please return the questionnaire to an adult instructor at the clinic.

The SECOND QA Clinic will be Sunday, May 21st from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m., in the Ed Sands/Farm Bureau Building. Advanced registration is required. RSVP by completing the survey at this link.

Attention STATE FAIR livestock/dog/horse exhibitors – PLEASE READ!

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Those who plan to exhibit at the 2023 Ohio State Fair will need to complete their Quality Assurance by June 1st, 2023 (this is a recommended deadline set by the Fairfield County Senior and Junior Fair Boards to meet ODA requirements). Members must also be enrolled at the county level by April 15th in the project(s) they intend to exhibit at the Ohio State Fair. Our office will be asked to verify both QA  completion and that members are enrolled in the correct projects (breeding projects, for example) on all Ohio State Fair junior livestock entries.

Ohio State Fair dates are July 26 – August 6, 2023. Entries will be due by 12:59 p.m. June 21st (online).

4-H and FFA members must make OSF entries online at https://www.ohiostatefair.com/p/get-involved/livestock

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

Last Chance: QA Instructor Training for Advisors is April 26th

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2023 Fairfield County Quality Assurance: Instructor Training for 4-H and FFA Advisors, Superintendents, and Show Committee Members

Quality Assurance is an annual Ohio Department of Agriculture (see 901-19-07 of Ohio Administrative Code) requirement for 4-H and FFA youth to exhibit at the Fairfield County Junior Fair who are enrolled in beef (breeding and market), goats (dairy, meat, market, & pygmy),rabbits (market and breeding – this does not include pet rabbits), sheep (breeding and market), dairy cattle (breeding and feeders),poultry (breeding and market), hogs, and alpacas/llamas. Fairfield County youth must attend a qualified Quality Assurance Clinic by June 30th of the current year to be eligible to show at the 2023 Fairfield County Junior Fair. Youth who wish to show in a Junior Livestock Show at the Ohio State Fair should have QA completed by June 1st, 2023.

We will continue the same process of allowing 4-H club volunteers/FFA chapter advisors to teach QA at the club/chapter level IN-PERSON. We are looking for interested “Assistant Instructors” to be trained (and “certified”) to educate exhibitors on the required Good Production Practices (GPP’s) to be covered in 2023. As a certified Assistant Instructor, you will be able to teach Quality Assurance at the club/chapter level for 2023 after completing this training. We will also be looking for trained individuals to help with our countywide make-up dates on Saturday, May 6th (9:00 – 10:30 a.m.) or Sunday, May 21st (12:00 – 1:30 p.m.) at the fairgrounds.

All 4-H Advisors, FFA Advisors, and Show Committee Members are invited to attend the QA Instructor Training. Please share with your fellow advisors to be sure they know about this information.

The final QA instructor trainings will be: Wednesday, April 26th at 6:30 p.m. at the Ag Center/Extension Office.

Please RSVP to Leslie Cooksey at cooksey.25@osu.edu or call the Extension Office at 740-653-5419.

 At the training, you will:

  1. Learn the 10 Good Production Practices of Quality Assurance Education and which GPP’s need to be covered for 2023.
  2. Learn the documentation process planned for 2023. This will be structured for smaller groups and more at the club/chapter level.
  3. Receive training materials to cover this year’s required GPP’s for 2023. As an instructor, you will teach market exhibitors about all 10 GPP’s but go in detail on 3 of them. Activities will be provided to you to work through with market exhibitors for the 3 required GPP’s.
  4. Learn more about how record keeping and the accountability of your instruction to clubs and chapters needs to be documented and returned to the OSU Extension Office to ensure market exhibitors will then be eligible to show market livestock at the 2023 Fairfield County Fair. As a reminder, the deadline to complete Quality Assurance for Fairfield County Junior Fair Exhibitors is June 30th of the current year.
  5. Learn about any changes in Ohio Department of Agricultural Fair Exhibition Rules that affect Junior Fair Livestock Exhibitors so that you can share these with all livestock participants in your club/chapter.

If questions, Leslie (cooksey.25@osu.edu) know!

We are looking forward to continuing this process in 2023.

Quality Assurance should be completed for Ohio State Fair exhibitors by June 1st

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Fairfield County 4-H and FFA youth planning to exhibit at the Ohio State Fair must have their Quality Assurance completed by June 1st, 2022. Youth who do not meet this requirement, will have any entries denied.

If youth still need to complete Quality Assurance to meet this requirement and your club/chapter is not planning to host their own QA Clinic by June 1st, we recommend you complete QA through the Youth for the Quality Care of Animals online modules or attend the countywide makeup QA Training May 22nd at NOON.

  • In-Person Countywide Make-Up Clinic: To be held on Sunday, May 22nd from 12:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. in the Ed Sands Building at the Fairgrounds. An RSVP is required. Please click here to register for a countywide QA makeup clinic.
  • Online: Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA). This is the ONLY approved ONLINE Quality Assurance Program for youth in Ohio. For 2022, this web-based course has been approved by ODA for 8-18 year olds.
    • Go to  https://yqcaprogram.org/ for the training and quiz.
    • Instructions for using the new website can be found at: 2022 YQCA Website Instructions
    • Exhibitors must complete by June 30, 2022 or they will not be able to show at the Fairfield County Fair.
    • You will need to select the web-based training ($12.00 per member, annually).
    • When you are finished, please send name(s) and certificate number(s) to Leslie Cooksey at cooksey.25@osu.edu.

Attention STATE FAIR livestock/dog/horse exhibitors – PLEASE READ!

by

Those who plan to exhibit at the 2022 Ohio State Fair will need to complete their Quality Assurance by June 1st, 2022 (this is a recommended deadline set by the Fairfield County Senior and Junior Fair Boards to meet ODA requirements). Members must also be enrolled at the county level by April 15th in the project(s) they intend to exhibit at the Ohio State Fair. Our office will be asked to verify both QA  completion and that members are enrolled in the correct projects (breeding projects, for example) on all Ohio State Fair junior livestock entries.

Ohio State Fair dates are July 27 – August 7, 2022. Entries will be due by 1:00 p.m. June 21st (online). Here is the link to the Ohio State Fair livestock website.

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

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

Countywide (make-up) Youth Quality Assurance Trainings: May 7th and May 22nd (RSVP required)

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The FIRST of two make-up countywide Quality Assurance Clinics will be held Saturday, May 7th at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds (Ed Sands/Farm Bureau Building) from 9:00-10:30 a.m. Advanced registration is required. RSVP by completing the survey at this link. Please arrive on time so we can get the training started promptly at 9:00 a.m.

Quality Assurance Training is required for all members who will be exhibiting a livestock project at the Fairfield County Fair or Junior Exhibitor at the Ohio State Fair. This includes the following projects: Beef (Breeding & Market); Dairy Breeding & Dairy Feeders; Goats (Dairy, Meat, Market & Pygmy); Poultry (Breeding & Market); Sheep (Breeding & Market); Swine; Rabbits (Breeding & Market), and Alpacas/Llamas.
Members are required to attend one Quality Assurance Clinic taught by a certified instructor. Members should sign in at the beginning of the clinic and complete a questionnaire at the end of the clinic. Please return the questionnaire to an adult instructor at the clinic.

The SECOND QA Clinic will be Sunday, May 22nd from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m., in the Ed Sands/Farm Bureau Building. Advanced registration is required. RSVP by completing the survey at this link.