Livestock and Equine Skillathons at the Hartford Fair

Junior fair exhibitors! Please remember that there are livestock skillathon contests throughout the week at the fair. All junior fair exhibitors are encouraged to participate. You do not need to show a specific species to participate in that species skillathon; they are open to all! The skillathon competitions are a great way to show your knowledge! See the full schedule of skillathon competitions below or click HERE.

SPECIAL NOTE: Please make note that the Dairy Feeder Skillathon will take place ahead of the Hartford Fair. Dairy Feeder exhibitors received an email earlier with details.

 

Farm Chore Olympics

Calling all 4-H Clubs and FFA Chapters! Our Annual Farm Chore Olympics will take place on Friday, August 8, 2025 in the Lower Horse Arena. Team registrations are due to the Junior Fair Board Office by Wednesday, August 6th. Registration form and team rules can be found HERE. Put your team together soon!

REMINDER: Open House at aMAYSing Meats

OPEN HOUSE

Where: aMAYSing Meats: 80 E Coshocton St, Johnstown, Ohio 43031

When: July 22, 2025 – 6:00-7:30pm

Who: any 4H or FFA member

What:

  • come tour the facility
  • see animal carcasses
  • learn about the steps to processing animals

This event is open to the public, it is NOT necessary to tell aMAYSing meats you will be attending.

Help Needed for Sheep Barn Clean-Up

Help is needed to get the sheep barn cleaned and ready for fair! Volunteers are asked to join the Sheep Improvement Committee on Thursday, July 24, 2025 at 6:00pm in the Sheep Barn. Many hands make light work! Please bring rakes and shovels. Pizza will be provided!

LAST CHANCE: 2025 LATE Hartford Fair Entries DUE

Time is running out to make Hartford Fair entries! The absolute final day that you can submit entries is FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2025. There is a $10 late fee to make entries at this point. Please follow the Hartford Fair Entry Instructions when making your entries.

Please note:

  • The Hartford Fair Entry Portal can be found by visiting: http://hartfordfair.fairentry.com
  • Please be sure to review the Hartford Fair Premium Book to ensure you know which Classes and Lots you will be making entries for before you start that process.
  • All 4-H families must use their 4-HOnline Credentials (email and password) to log into FairEntry. If a member creates a new account in FairEntry, they will be unable to make entries in Junior Fair Departments as those departments require them to be enrolled in the appropriate 4-H project in order to make entries.
  • All FFA members making entries in livestock departments will submit their own entries. Those entering projects in the FFA Building will do so through their advisor.
  • Please make sure that you add all entries to each exhibitor in your family before you submit the entries and continue to the payment portal.
  • REMINDER: All youth planning to participate in Showmanship MUST make an entry for their Showmanship class. Even if a member isn’t sure about whether they want to do Showmanship or not, they should go ahead and make an entry for it.

Hartford Fair Dairy Feeder Skillathon Date Change!

Attention Hartford Fair Dairy Feeder Exhibitors!

We’re thrilled to announce something brand new for the 2025 Hartford Fair: The Dairy Feeder Skillathon is moving before the fair. This new and exciting chapter will roll out a smoother, more focused format.

Mark your calendars! The Skillathon, complete with Book Judging, and Interviews, will take place: Sunday, July 27th | 1–3 p.m. | Ramsey 4-H Building at the Hartford Fairgrounds. This streamlined schedule means you’ll be free to enjoy more of the fair—with awards being presented during the Dairy Feeder Show on Wednesday, August 6th!

Be sure to reserve your time slot via Sign-Up Genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050F49AEAD2EA6F58-57378108-2025

When you sign up, you’ll select a time and then your age category. If you don’t want to complete the full skillathon, you can also choose to schedule only a project interview or book judging. You have options!

For questions, please contact Kim Miller at: nkmlmiller4@gmail.com.

Hartford Fair Entry Reminders

Please review the following information to ensure you have your fair entries complete and are ready for the Hartford Fair!

  • Late entries are still being accepted (with a late fee) until midnight on Friday, July 18, 2025. You can make late entries by logging into FairEntry and starting a new invoice/registration and proceeding through the same process as before.
  • ALL exhibitors planning to participate in showmanship classes MUST make entries for the showmanship classes in which they plan to participate.
  • Please review your entries to ensure they are correct. Since you can log in at any point to view your entries, please remember that verification letters are no longer mailed out to exhibitors. It is your responsibility to check your entries to ensure they are complete and accurate.
  • Please check your mailing address to ensure it is correct. Exhibitors who are enrolled in 4-H had their information synced over from 4-HOnline in April so their address is the same as that in 4-HOnline. If your address is incorrect or you have changed address, please reach out to Adrienne at anderson.1410@osu.edu to get it updated. Please note: Once the 4-HOnline profiles were synced over into FairEntry, if you update your address in 4-HOnline, the system does NOT automatically update it in FairEntry; we need to manually update it in the system. We want to ensure that all profiles are up-to-date to ensure exhibitors receive their sale checks.

REMINDER: 2025 July Poultry Banding & Rabbit Tattooing

The July Rabbit Tattooing and Poultry Banding will take place on Saturday, July 12, 2025 from 10:00am to 2:00pm in the Beef Barn. The fee is $1/entry.

Members with the following projects are required to have their rabbits tattooed and poultry banded on this day:

  • Meat Chickens
  • Meat Ducks
  • Market Rabbits
  • Junior Breeding Rabbits – please bring your completed Rabbit Registration Form. Bringing the form completed will help speed up the process.

 

2025 Stock the Trailer Challenge!

We’d like to challenge our 4-H Clubs and FFA Chapters that will be participating in the Hartford Fair to help our Junior Fair Board in collecting non-perishable food items, along with money, to support the Food Pantry Network of Licking County! Every single dollar, or food item, will directly benefit people inside of our fair district! We are challenging each club/chapter to collect $100 or 50 lbs of food!

Start collecting NOW, and then drop off food items to the designated trailer (in front of Grubb Arena), or money can be dropped off to the Junior Fair Board Office during the fair.

Bonus: If the Hartford Junior Fair Board collects more than the other fairs in our region, our fair will receive $5,000! HELP US WIN! We’ve placed third the past two years – but with your help, we can do better!

2025 July Poultry Banding & Rabbit Tattooing

The July Rabbit Tattooing and Poultry Banding will take place on Saturday, July 12, 2025 from 10:00am to 2:00pm in the Beef Barn. The fee is $1/entry.

Members with the following projects are required to have their rabbits tattooed and poultry banded on this day:

  • Meat Chickens
  • Meat Ducks
  • Market Rabbits
  • Junior Breeding Rabbits – please bring your completed Rabbit Registration Form. Bringing the form completed will help speed up the process.