Rabbits

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

by

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.

County Skillathon Awards to be added for 2022 – Sponsors needed!

by

Fairfield County Skillathons will return this year and we are excited to incentive and recognize those youth who do exceptionally well in their respective species. Skillathons will continue in 2022 as a required portion of project completion for livestock projects and exhibition at the Fairfield County Junior Fair.

Skillathons will be offered for all beef, dairy, goat, poultry, rabbit (except Pet Rabbits), sheep, swine, dog, horse, alpaca/llama projects. Skillathons may include (but are not limited to) animal
anatomy/body parts, breeding and reproduction, feeds and nutrition, current events, diseases and animal health, equipment ID, feed ID, Quality Assurance, breeds, marketing, meats, and recordkeeping.

Youth must complete at least one Skillathon, but may participate in more than one species. If youth wishes to participate in the Premier Exhibitor contest s/he must complete the county Skillathon for that species. Additional information will be shared in the 2022 Junior Fair Rules Book. Ohio State Fair Skillathons may be used to fulfill the county requirement, unless youth is participating in
Premier Exhibitor.

Save the Dates:

  • Aug. 27, 2022 – Fairfield County Skillathon for Dogs
  • Sept. 10, 2022 – Fairfield County Skillathon for Beef, Dairy Cattle, Dairy Feeders, Meat Goat, Sheep, Swine
  • Sept. 25, 2022 – Fairfield County Skillathon for Rabbit, Poultry, Horse, Alpaca/Llama, Pygmy & Dairy Goat

We will continue to recognize the Top 20% of exhibitors in each species.

Additional awards will be added in 2022 for the 1st Place Junior and Top Senior in each species. Awards for each 1st Place Junior and Senior will include a personalized tumbler and $25 gift card. Sponsors are needed as follows:

  • 1st Place Junior Dairy Cattle Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Lynette Mattox
  • 1st Place Senior Dairy Cattle Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Lori King
  • 1st Place Junior Dairy Beef Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by the Hamilton Family
  • 1st Place Senior Dairy Beef Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Huber Contracting
  • 1st Place Junior Beef Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by the Cooksey Family
  • 1st Place Senior Beef Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by the Caryn Filson Family
  • 1st Place Junior Swine Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by the Cooksey Family
  • 1st Place Senior Swine Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Ryan and Amber Hoisington
  • 1st Place Junior Sheep Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by L-S Club Lambs
  • 1st Place Senior Sheep Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Grant Martin
  • 1st Place Junior Horse Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Tina Kern
  • 1st Place Senior Horse Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Tina Kern
  • 1st Place Junior Meat/Market Goat Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Krile Communications
  • 1st Place Senior Meat/Market Goat Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Krile Communications
  • 1st Place Junior Dairy Goat Skillathon – $50 Sponsor
  • 1st Place Senior Dairy Goat Skillathon – $50 Sponsor
  • 1st Place Junior Pygmy Goat Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by the Hamilton Family
  • 1st Place Senior Pygmy Goat Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Krile Communications
  • 1st Place Junior Poultry Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Keefer Contractors
  • 1st Place Senior Poultry Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Keefer Contractors
  • 1st Place Junior Rabbit Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Amy Sahr
  • 1st Place Senior Rabbit Skillathon – $50 Sponsored by Krile Communications
  • 1st Place Junior Alpaca/Llama Skillathon – $50 Sponsor
  • 1st Place Senior Alpaca/Llama Skillathon – $50 Sponsor
  • 1st Place Junior Dog Skillathon – $50 Sponsor
  • 1st Place Senior Dog Skillathon – $50 Sponsor

If you are interested in sponsoring any of these NEW awards for 2022, please contact Junior Fair Awards Coordinator, Carrie Stoneburner at fairfieldcountyjrfairawards@gmail.com. Carrie can also be reached by phone at 740-503-7141 (please leave a message if she is unable to take your call).

Below is a sample mock up of what the tumblers may look like for different species.

Attention Livestock Exhibitors: Quality Assurance Updates

by

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 2022:

  • Youth planning to exhibit at the Ohio State Fair must have their Quality Assurance completed by June 1st, 2022.
  • Youth planning to exhibit at the Fairfield County Fair must have their Quality Assurance completed by June 30, 2022

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 2022:

  • 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 (which took place on March 14th and March 28th). 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 7th from 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. and 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.
  • 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 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. 3
    • 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.

Ohio 4-H Animal Science Youth Events, Dates, and Resources

by

Attached is a calendar with the dates of State 4-H and Ohio State Fair youth livestock/animal science events: 2022 State 4-H Animal Sciences Calendar.  Also, below, are links to pages where you can find resources by animal project area. 😊

Other good information on livestock can be found on the extension team pages:

Take Home Forms – Market Livestock

by

Take Home Forms: Market Hogs, Market Beef, Market Lambs, Market Goats, Dairy Feeders, and Market Rabbits will have the option to take home animals. Forms must be completed and 2 copies per specie turned in at that specie’s weigh-in (see form for details). There is no reversal on the decision to take home once the forms are turned in.

Please read the info below (also available at u.osu.edu/livestocksale) regarding Take Homes and the 2021 Livestock Sale:

During their regular monthly meeting on March 16, 2021, the Fairfield County Sr. Fair Board passed a motion declaring the 2021 Jr. Fair Livestock Sale will be “partial terminal.” Specifically, that motion reads:

The 2021 Fairfield County Fair Junior Fair will have a partial terminal sale/show for all species. The only exception to this is the 8 champions that must be slaughtered and inspected at a designated packer according to ODA (grand/reserve market beef, grand/reserve market hog, grand/reserve market lamb, grand/reserve market goat). Take homes will be allowed for all species with the exception of those 8 declared grand/reserve champions. Take homes must be declared before the animal leaves the scale during check-in (no exceptions). Take home animals will lose their sale slot and will not be eligible for a premium and packer bid. Exhibitors who do not take home must qualify for their sale slot (as individual or group) at the discretion of the species show committee.

As a result, points for exhibitors of market animals to consider include:

  1. Since there is no packer bid available, all market turkeys, market chickens and market ducks will go back home at the conclusion of the Fair as in past years. No Exhibitor Intent to Take Market Animal Home affidavit is required for those poultry animals. Buyers of the Grand and Reserve Champion turkeys, chickens and ducks have the privilege of ‘keeping’ their purchases. Similar to 2016 and prior, beyond the champions it will be the responsibility of the exhibitor to decide whether to process their birds and give them to their sale buyer or market them privately.
  2. Exhibitors of all other market animals that have an opportunity to earn a sale slot must declare before they leave the scales during weigh-in at the beginning of the Fair if they will choose to take home a market animal by submitting the Exhibitor Intent to Take Market Animal Home affidavit.
  3. Per Ohio Department of Agriculture rules, the ‘live’ Champion and Reserve Champion market beef, market hogs, market lambs and market goats must go to slaughter and may not go home with the exhibitor regardless their choice during weigh-in prior to fair.
  4. Unless named Grand Champion or Reserve Grand Champion market beef, market hog, market lamb, market goat, market duck, market turkey, market chicken or dairy feeder calf during their respective Junior market show, animals designated by their exhibitor to go home after the fair will forfeit the opportunity to accept buyer add-on dollars or earn a livestock sale slot with that animal.
  5. Animals not designated by the exhibitor during weigh-in to go home will compete for an individual or group livestock sale slot as they have in the past.
  6. Buyers will once again have the opportunity to ‘keep’ animals they purchase in 2021.

To further clarify the details of implementing a partial-terminal livestock sale in 2021, review the answers to the FAQs linked here.

The Exhibitor Intent to Take Market Animal Home affidavit linked here is to be used to designate a youth is choosing to take home a market animal.