Fairs

June 7 – Market Goat, Market Lamb, Dairy Feeder Steer Tag-in

Required Tag-in for Market Lambs, Market Goats, Dairy Feeder Steers will be Saturday, June 7 from 7—9:00 am at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Watch for road signs to indicate lineup locations.

Time: 7-9 am

All Market Goats & Market Lambs must have a Scrapie Tag in the ear by the June 7 tag-in. The Scrapie Tag should be put in by the breeder or where you purchased your animals.

Blue Breed Verification Cards Required for Dairy Feeder Steers – due June 1 – must be signed by dairy farmer where purchased in Ohio and include the ODA Producer number. Cards are available from the OSU Extension Office, your advisor or printed here:  Dairy Feeder Breed Verification Blue Card 2025

Dehorning and castration must be done prior to tag-in. The Fair Vet – Dr Luke Morrow will be checking animals during tag-in but WILL NOT be castrating or dehorning animals at tag-in. If this is not done to the Vet’s satisfaction, the animal will not be tagged.

Breeding Animal Leases Due June 1

If you are enrolled in a breeding animal or dairy project, you are being mailed a letter with the following information.  If you do not own the breeding animal you are planning to show, then a lease must be completed and returned the OSU Extension Office by June 1, 2025.

Read the rules here: Ohio Youth Livestock Exhibition Rules 4.17.23

If you need to complete a lease, all leases are due to OSU Extension by June 1:

Just to clarify, leases are not needed for market animals as ALL market animals must be fully owned by the exhibitor or household. This leasing information is only for members that do not own their breeding animals.

Save the Date- Market Turkey, Chickens and Duck

All market poultry for Washington County have been ordered and arrival dates have been set.  Please note that the following dates are the week we expect the birds to arrive.  The birds will be shipped and available for pick up at Heritage Cooperative located at 219 Third Street Marietta.  Members will be notified once birds ship with an approximate time for pick up, however this time needs to remain flexible as shipping times and days may vary.  Members should be ready to receive birds and bring something to transport them home in.  Pens at home should be cleaned and disinfected and ready for new arrivals.  It is also good practice to call the feed store to order feed before you receive the birds.  This allows the store to be sure they have feed in stock for you when you arrive.  The following are the days that birds will ship.  Market turkey- May 20, market chicken- July 8, and market duck- July 8.  If you have questions or need additional information, please contact our office at 740-376-7431.

Washington County Fair Pumpkin Growing Contest – SEEDS AVAILABLE

2025 WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIR PUMPKIN GROWING CONTEST

From Destiny Lisk – Director in Charge

Rules:

  1. Open to all youth who are residents of Washington County or are members of an FFA Chapter, 4-H Club or school program in Washington County.
  2. Entry may be made in one or both classes by age division:-Largest Pumpkin – by weight-Best Decorated –by scar drawing

    -Age Divisions: 2-5 years 6-10 years 11-19 years

  3. Judging will be held at 8:00 pm on Friday evening in the Home Arts Building.
  4. Seeds are furnished by Tim Glover. Only the variety of seed distributed can be used in this contest.   Contact the Extension Office at 740-376-7431 for the seed packets.
  5. All entries must be brought to the fairgrounds on Thursday or Friday from 2:00pm—7:00 pm in the Home Arts Building.
  6. Limit one (1) pumpkin per class and a different pumpkin in each open class.
  7. Open class entries are the responsibility of the exhibitor.

AWARDS WILL BE GIVEN

Livestock Housing Agreements – Due April 1

Do you house your 4-H or FFA Livestock at another location that is different from your home address?

Here is the form: Livestock Housing Agreement

This form applies to all livestock projects (market or breeding) in which the animal(s) is housed away from the exhibitor’s home. Housing away from home is defined as “any amount of time where an animal(s) is taken care of away from the exhibitor’s home location with the exception of shows/exhibitions.”

If the animal is shown in another exhibition, the exhibitor must not show a breeding project as a market project
or visa versa.

Any exhibitor found to be housing their animal away from home without a completed form will loose the right to
show and sell any project at the Waterford, Washington County, and Barlow Fairs for the duration of the project
year.

Form is due to the Extension Office, 1115 Gilman Ave., Marietta by April 1st of
the project year. One form each year per project.

ODA Proclamation of Non-Commercial Poultry Movement

On March 17, 2025, Director Baldridge signed a proclamation to prohibit the movement of all live birds from non-commercial premises from certain Ohio Counties until May 15th, 2025. Live birds prohibited from moving includes:poultry, wild game birds, fancy poultry, and exotic species. This also includes no movements to auctions,flea markets, swap meets, livestock markets,meet ups, and sale barns.

PDF Proclamation: Fact Sheet – Proclamation

 

Additional Post from Washington County 4-H on March 17, 2025

We have had lots of questions about poultry projects for our Washington County Fairs and are monitoring the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza situation. With the enrollment deadline coming soon on April 1st and poultry orders due by April 15, it is recommended that 4-H members enroll in an additional project to make sure you have a backup project. This can either be an animal or special interest project. Having a backup project will keep you in good standing as a member with project you can complete.

Be assured that our local fair boards are staying up to date on the issue. Here is an article recently posted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture that may interest you.

Poultry Shows at County Fairs (from ODA)
There are currently no ODA restrictions for holding poultry shows for the 2025 County Fair Season. ODA will continue to monitor the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza situation, both nationally and in Ohio. We recommend fair boards, 4-H agents, and OSU Extension Educators continue to work with ODA and their official veterinarian on biosecurity protocols.

The ODA website has the most up-to-date information on detections in Ohio as well as biosecurity resources. https://agri.ohio.gov/divisions/animal-health/hpai/01-poultry

Interested in Taking a Dairy Breeding Project?

The Washington County Holstein Club would like to offer the opportunity of a dairy breeding project for 4-H members who are interested. The member would work with one of the local dairies through a lease partnership. The member would show the animal during the Washington County Holstein Club show at the Washington County Fair. If any member would be interest in taking a dairy project, please contact Alexis Lane, Club President at 740-885-8349.

Members must enroll in the dairy project (calf, heifer, cow) by April 1, 2025 and have the dairy lease turned into to OSU Extension by June 1.

County Fairboard Fundraiser

Join the Washington County Fairboard for their annual Fundraiser Dinner on Saturday, February 22. Buy your tickets at the door! Doors open at 5:30 pm at the Jr Fair Building.

The fairboard is also requesting help with the event:

  • serving food
  • help with kids activities
  • general help
  • cleanup

Please contact Morgan 740-440-1201 or Lisa 740-516-6877

County Fair 1099’s

Attention county fair market exhibitors –

The Washington County Fairboard would like to let kids receiving 1099s know that they were printed on the incorrect forms and the Fairboard is working to correct the forms and will send them out when they are received and printed.  The forms sent were 1099 NECs and should have been 1099 Misc. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.