Jefferson County 4-H

The fairbook and fair entry forms are available at https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/jefferson/4-Hfairbook/. All livestock entries are due by Friday, June 14th.

NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED!!!!

Please make sure to let us know of any questions!

The 2024 Jefferson County Fair Dates are: July 10th-14th, 2024.

Theme: “Just Another Day in Fairadise”

Each youth that turns in fair entry form (static or livestock) by June 14th will receive 1 free t-shirt. Livestock exhibitors will wear these shirts to show in. You must have your entries in by June 14th to guarantee your shirt size and availability. Those that would like to order extra fair shirts can fill out the order form by June 14th. Extra shirts will be $15.

It’s time to get enrolled in 4-H for the 2024 4-H year! To enroll, visit: https://v2.4honline.com/. For returning families, please do not create a new account; rather use your log-in credentials for 4honline used in previous years. Instructions can be found here: https://4h.unl.edu/enroll/returning-member. Enrollment instructions for new families can be found here: https://4h.unl.edu/enroll/returning-member

4-H enrollment is required for Clover Kids (ages 5-7) online at https://v2.4honline.com/. Youth should select at least one Clover Kid project to complete enrollment. Selection of multiple projects online is not required to exhibit multiple projects at the county fair. Check with our local 4-H club leaders for information about what is offered for Clover Kids during their club time.

We have a YouTube channel for all of our Jefferson County 4-H videos from events and projects that you can check out anytime! Our channel is named Jefferson County Nebraska 4-H Youth Development and can be found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMY3WfF8GnGUrEBvVKEsgeA/. Make sure to check it out and subscribe to our channel!

What to bring:

Menu - menu for a full meal. May be any meal of the day, but not just party refreshments or snack. Use proper form for writing menu. Consider variety, color and nutrition when planning menu. Here is a publication about writing the menu.

Food – one food item from the menu. Baked items work best.

Place setting for one person - table cover (placemat or table cloth), tableware, napkin, glassware and dishes

as needed for the meal. You must set your own place setting with no assistance.

Centerpiece - appropriate for the meal planned.

Recipe - must have recipe of the food item brought for the judge to sample

Judging:

Participants will interview with the judge. The following points will be considered.

• Knowledge of nutrition – know the food pyramid and what food groups the foods you are serving belong in.
• Meal preparation – how will you prepare your meal? Which foods do you prepare first, second, etc. It is a good idea to have actually prepared the entire meal before the contest.
• Menu - suitable for the occasion, pleasing combination of flavors, textures and color
  
• Place setting - appropriate for the occasion, table properly set
  
• Creativity
  
• Quality of food prepared
  
• Contestant – neatly groomed, appropriately dressed, speaks up and answers questions

All 4-H/FFA youth showing livestock (beef, dairy, sheep, goats, swine, poultry, rabbits) must compete the YQCA course each year. Youth will need to complete the web-based training at yqcaprogram.org. Contact the office with any questions and we can send you the instructions for how to get all of these steps done. Training must be completed by July 1st in order to show your animals at the fair!

All dogs and cats need to turn in vaccination certification to be eligible to show at the fair. These forms can be found at:

• Dog
• Cat

All forms need to be turned in by July 1st.

Horse Advancement Level Testing

Winter months are a great time to work on Horse Advancement Levels. Information and study materials are found in the Horse Project Member Manual and Advancement Level Manual at the Extension Office. We also have the Nebraska 4-H Horse Show & Judging Guide available.

Website: https://4h.unl.edu/horse/advancement

State Fair:

Market Animals, Breeding Animals AND Feeder Calves MUST have DNA on file at Extension Office, be nominated, paid for, and submitted via www.showstockmgr.com by the exhibitor or family on or before the June 14th deadline. Entry deadline for animals is for Aug. 10 by 8 pm CST

NEW in 2024: Age requirement: State Fair: Must be 8 or older on Jan. 1 of current year.

Ak-Sar-Ben:

Market Animals, Breeding Animals, AND Feeder Calves MUST have DNA on file at Extension Office before the June 14 deadline. Entry deadline for animals - TBA

Age requirement: Must be 9 years of age on Jan. 1 of current year.

FFA members should visit with your chapter advisor or State Fair FFA website for ID questions.

Beef Average Daily Gain Contest - Beef exhibitors of market steers or heifers can choose to participate (voluntary and not required to show in the county fair beef show) in this contest and must meet the following requirements:

• 1st weigh in will be Sunday, March 10th from 1 - 2:30 pm at Fairbury Livestock. (No exceptions will be made and this is the only weigh in for participants)
  
• 2nd weigh in will be during check-in at the Jefferson County Fair on Thursday, July 11th.
  
• Contest will work accordingly as Highest ADG between both weigh ins will be the winner with corresponding results down the line.
  
• In the event of a tie, the most combined weight gained will win.

Combined Market Beef Challenge - this contest will consist of the culmination of 3 different requirements for participants of both market steers and heifers:

• Must participate in the ADG contest
• Must participate in the carcass contest
• Must participate in the market beef show
• ADG point scores will be figured highest to lowest and the number of total participants will figure total points. (Example: 15 participants the winner of ADG awarded 15 points, last place 1 point)
• Carcass contest points will be calculated in the same manner as ADG. Highest points to the winner and down the line.
• Market beef show points awarded off placing in class only, no points given off market division or final drives
• Purple - 5 points
• Blue - 3 points
• Red & White - 1 point
• Example of CMBC with 15 participants (Market Steer A ranks 4th in ADG - 12 points, ranks 7th in carcass contest - 9 points and receives purple in live class - 5 points
• Ending score for market steer A is 26
• In the event of a tie, market animal with higher weight gain (lbs) total will win

Top Dog has started practicing for the 2024 season. Please email Penny at penny.holtmeier@unl.edu if you are interested in being included in the group text/messenger or just wanting additional information. Please spread the word.

The program consists of three levels that require 4-H members to plan and report a broad range of age-appropriate and project-related accomplishments. For each level, the Livestock Achievement Program provides a list of accomplishments from which 4-H members choose their goals.

• Juniors, ages 8-9, must submit pictures, posters, presentations, and other learning activities to receive the distinction of Junior Member of Excellence.

• Intermediates, ages 10-13, must complete 100 points worth of activities to receive the distinction of Intermediate Member of Excellence.

• Seniors, ages 14-18, must complete 150 points worth of activities to receive the distinction of Senior Member of Excellence.
  

At the beginning of the 4-H year, youth must apply to participate in the program. Upon acceptance into the program, participants plan what to accomplish. At the end of the 4-H year, they report on their completed accomplishments. Additionally, participants must complete their annual 4-H Online enrollment process, YQCA requirements, and project record books in order to receive a Member of Excellence distinction.

More information at: https://4h.unl.edu/livestock-achievement

Join Nebraska 4-H as we go on-site to learn more about science, agriculture, technology, and more! Virtual Field Trips offer facility tours, educational experiences, and additional resources for teachers. Virtual Field Trips are perfect for youth in 7th-12th grades. Each session will be recorded and made available for on-demand viewing. Youth do not need to be 4-H members to participate.

There are also numerous field trips that have been archived to view at your convenience. Check them out. See the link below to view of all the tours available.

https://4h.unl.edu/virtual-field-trips

We are looking for ideas for workshops in 2024. We would like to hear ideas of what you would be willing to attend. We would also like to hear from you regarding what times would work best for most people, after school, 1⁄2 days when school is out, etc. Please contact the Extension Office 402-729-3487 and let us know what YOU are interested in.

Just as a reminder, check out our Facebook page! The page name is "Jefferson County Extension & 4-H Youth Development". Along with our newsletter, we will be using this page to update our members about upcoming events, activities, and deadlines. We also hope to use this page to provide information about community outreach opportunities, scholarships, and research that is important to our followers. The staff will do our best to keep this updated and inform you all of what is going on at the office, Jefferson County, and in Nebraska.

June

3 -7, 10 - Sewing Workshops, Extension Office

6 - Pressure Canning Workshop, Grace Lutheran Church, Fairbury

11 & 12 - Camp Renegade, Camp Jefferson

14 - Jefferson County Fair Entries Due

14 - State Fair/AKSARBEN DNA & Online nominations due

14 - EXTRA fair shirt order due

20 - Collage Workshop, Extension Office

27 - Clover Kid Workshop, 4-H Building

July

2 - Cat & Companion Animal Show

3 - Favorite Foods Contest

7 - Static Exhibit Check-In

8 - 4-H Fashion Show/Clothing & Static Exhibit Judging

8 - 4-H Public Fashion Show

9 - Dog Show

10 - 4-H Foods Judging

11 - Poultry & Swine Shows

12 - Rabbit, Dairy & Beef Shows

13 - Sheep/Goat & Horse Shows

Email: darci.pesek@unl.edu
Website: jefferson.unl.edu
Location: 517 F Street, Fairbury, NE, United States
Phone: 402-729-3487
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeffersoncountyext

Nebraska Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the United Sates Department of Agriculture.

Nebraska Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.

©2020