Animal Project Information

Thursday, February 5th, 5:30 PM, Jackson OSU Extension Office
- QA TEST OUT for teens 15+ ONLY
Wednesday, March 5th, 6:00-8:00 PM, ParksEdge Event Center, Sponsored by Jackson-Vinton Farm Bureau (Limited to 75 Youth Only)
Saturday, April 5th, 9:00 AM - 11:00 PM, Jackson County OSU Extension Office
Thursday, May 15th, 6:00-7:30 PM, Jackson County OSU Extension Office *$20.00 Fee*

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Quality Assurance Test Out:

4-H teens ages 15+ have the opportunity to test out of QA for 3 years. Must achieve a 70% to pass. Test out is only offered once a year, in-person only. Pre-registration is required. If the test is failed, the member is required to attend an in-person QA session.

Thursday, February 5th at 5:30 PM at the Jackson County OSU Extension Office.

What will be on the Quality Assurance Test?

This year the test will primarily be over the Good Production Practices 7, 8, and 9 but other Good Production Practices will be included. We recommend that members study their 4-H Project Resource Book, focusing on the Quality Assurance section of the book.

You can also use the following references to study:

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Out of County QA Training Opportunities:

4-H members can complete QA training in any county. Many state events, such as the Ohio Beef Expo or Ohio 4-H Conference, also offer QA trainings. Some counties offer regional clinics, or speciality clinics for specific species. Some counties even offer Zoom training workshops. These are open to all 4-H members. If attending, you MUST indicate that you are from Jackson County and should communicate ahead of time with that county's 4-H Educator or whoever is taking attendance and/or facilitating the training.

Check out opportunties in counties surrounding Jackson: Gallia, Lawrence, Meigs, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton Counties.

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Youth Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) Online Training

Youth Quality Care of Animals online training costs $12 and is available at https://yqcaprogram.org/

If a member chooses to complete their QA training using the YQCA site or at another county training, certification of the completed training must be submitted to the Jackson County Extension Office no later than June 1st.

Tagging & Weigh-Ins (2025)

Market Beef & Dairy Steer Weigh-In: Market Steer, Market Heifer, and Dairy Steer Weigh-in will be Saturday, January 11th, 2025 at the Jackson County Fairgrounds from 9:00-11:00 AM.

PLEASE READ THESE IMPORTANT NOTES:

Please pre-register your beef project before January 3rd at go.osu.edu/JanWeighIn
If we need to cancel due to bad weather, the weigh-in will be rescheduled for January 18th from 11am-1 pm.
There is a $5 pen fee per animal.
County Bred forms must be filled out and turned in at the weigh-in. County Bred forms can be found above.
Carcass Class forms must be filled out and turned in at the weigh-in. Carcass Class forms can be found on the Beef page under "Carcass Class Information & Rules"
Market beef animals must be born after December 1st, 2023.
All steers must be castrated by 8 months of age per ODA guidelines.
Market Heifers will follow the same rules as market steers. Market heifers must not be pregnant and any embryo flushing is NOT allowed.
All cattle must have a halter with a lead strap on before exiting the trailer or they will not be weighed.

Spring Weigh-In: Market Goats, Market Lambs, Market Hogs, Market Beef Feeder Calves, & Dairy Market Feeder Calves weigh-in will be Saturday, May 3rd, 2025 at the Jackson County Fairgrounds from 9:00-11:00 AM.

PLEASE READ THESE IMPORTANT NOTES:

There is a $5 pen fee per animal.
County Bred forms must be filled out and turned in at the weigh-in. County Bred forms can be picked up at the Extension Office ahead of time. Must be duplicate form.
Please see the rulebook for required birthdates and possession dates.

Market Rabbit Tattooing: Market Rabbit Tattooing will be Saturday, June 28th, 2025 at the Southview Elementary School from 7:00 AM - 11:00 AM.

Rabbit Exhibitor Fees:

$5 for 2-3 rabbits.
$10 for 4-6 rabbits.

Poultry Pullorum Testing: Pullorum Testing for breeding poultry will be held Saturday, July 5th at the Jackson County Fairgrounds from 9:00 -11:00 AM.

Exhibition Poultry ONLY (Not for Market Poultry)

FairEntry

FairEntry Animal Registrations Due June 15th!

Click Here to Log In to FairEntry

Please find links to the instruction sheets to register your market and breeding animals for the fair. Completing your FairEntry Registration early will help us in preparing for the 2024 Fair!
You can login to FairEntry using your 4-H Online family profile.
Need Help?
- Visit the 4-H Online & FairEntry Help Page
- FairEntry Animal Registration Instructions
- Still have questions? Contact the Extension Office at 740-286-5044.

Drug Use Notification Forms (DUNFs)

REQUIRED for ALL Market Animals (including market rabbits, dairy feeders, & beef feeders) exhibited at the Jackson County Junior Fair.

Please submit the 2025 DUNF for the 2025 Jackson County Fair by July 12th, 2025. DUNF Forms will be available after July 1st.

Click here to fill out the 2025 DUNF

Skillathon Contest (2025)

Sunday, July 6th from 12:00 - 4:00 PM, 4-H Building at Fairgrounds

All Jackson County 4-H Youth (regardless of project enrollment) are encouraged to participate in the NEW Jackson County Livestock Skillathon Contest!

This new and improved contest is a fun way to test your knowledge of animals. No registration required. Just show up between the hours of 12:00-4:00 PM and test!

Winners will be given their prizes at the 2025 Jackson County Junior Fair awards ceremony. Winners will be announced ahead of the Fair.

Awards include Beef, Dairy, Dogs, Goats, Horses, Poultry, Rabbits, Sheep, & Swine.

Skillathon FAQs

What is Skillathon?

•Skillathon is a fun test of your knowledge using interactive stations but is not a written test like you would take in school. Stations are more intentional, and youth are encouraged to describe and demonstrate what they have learned.

Do I need to bring my project book?

•Nope! Project books are not checked at Skillathon anymore. Instead, project books will begin being checked at the 2024 Livestock Project Book Interviews.

Do I need to bring my animals?

•Nope! All animals can stay home.

Why should I participate?

•Generous folks sponsored AWESOME prizes to give to winners. If no one wins, who do we give prizes to? It just might be you!

Carcass Contest

Why a Market Animal Carcass Class?

The Jackson County Junior Fair Market Animal Carcass Class is intended to be an educational experience for young producers in the animal agriculture industry. The carcass class is recognized as one of the most valuable learning experiences in beef production that exhibitors can take part in, and participation is highly encouraged.

The live judging is an educational session on live carcass evaluation designed to teach youth about meat judging and selection. Additionally, this exclusive experience introduces youth to top performers in the industry – professors, professionals, packing management, facilities, and more. Evaluation will be completed by The Ohio State University Meats Evaluation Team and their collegiate Advisor.

The agricultural industry is shifting in Southern and Southeastern Ohio with the introduction of a Meat Science program at the University of Rio Grande, and expanding workforce development preparation goals by Ohio 4-H. By introducing a Junior Fair Market Animal Carcass Class, the local 4-H and FFA programs can support youth in “learning by doing,” and completing hands-on project work with a potential for continuing education.

Market Animals eligible to exhibit in the carcass contest are: Market Steers, Market Hogs, Market Lambs, and Market Goats. Entry forms must be filled out and submitted at the animal's respective tag-in.

Download PDF Copy of Entry Forms:

OHIO STATE FAIR:

4-H youth interested in exhibiting livestock at the Ohio State Fair should visit: https://www.ohiostatefair.com/p/get-involved/livestock/livestock-competitions.

All entries are due ONLINE by June 21st, 2025.

Possession Dates may vary. Equine & Dog show operate on a different schedule, so please check additional dates.

Once updated, information for the following events can be found at:

Livestock schedule can be found at: https://ohiostatefair.com/agriculture-livestock/livestock-schedule/
Department rules, entry info, etc. : https://ohiostatefair.com/agriculture-livestock/livestock/
Skillathon information will be found at: https://ohio4h.org/animalsciences/ohio-4-h-skillathons
Livestock Judging Contest information will be found at: https://ohio4h.org/events/ohio-state-fair-4-h-livestock-judging-contest
Ohio State Fair Dog Show information: https://ohio4h.org/animalsciences/dog/dog-ohio-state-fair
Ohio State Fair Horse Show information: https://ohio4h.org/events/ohio-state-fair-junior-horse-show

SPECIES SPECIFIC PAGES

All Livestock Possession Dates, Weight & Tagging Requirements, etc. can be found in the:

Resources & Forms:

Quality Assurance (2025)

Tagging & Weigh-Ins (2025)

FairEntry

Drug Use Notification Forms (DUNFs)

Skillathon Contest (2025)

Sunday, July 6th from 12:00 - 4:00 PM, 4-H Building at Fairgrounds

Carcass Contest

OHIO STATE FAIR:

Jackson County Office

Hours of Operation