WELCOME TO 4-H STATE FAIR To many 4-Hers, a State Fair trip is what they work towards all year. Whether it is a general exhibit or animal science project, attending the State Fair is an experience you will never forget! It is a great way to learn more about your project area, meet new friends and to share what you know. WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR STATE FAIR AND HOW DO I QUALIFY? Youth completing 6th grade and up are eligible to take a State Fair 4-H trip. Younger members may attend if they are performing in their club s Share the Fun skit. Youth may take one livestock trip, one lama trip, one general project trip, and one Share the Fun trip. You may also take one state horse show trip, one state dog show trip, and one state shooting sports trip. You must receive a blue ribbon at County Fair or the County Show to go to state, with the exception being for the State Shooting Sports and Wildlife Invitational. In general project areas, there are an allotted number of trips for each project as well as several bonus trip opportunities. After general exhibit judging, a list is compiled of eligible projects and posted in the 4-H Building Thursday afternoon of County Fair. In livestock, most classes qualify for State Fair but there are a few exceptions. Showmanship classes and a few county only classes in different species are not State Fair qualifying classes. These are all marked in your County Fair Premium Book. Youth must also have completed the Livestock Quality Assurance & Ethics training in the last three years and prior to the County Fair to be eligible to take a State Fair Livestock Trip. At the end of each livestock show, the judge makes a State Fair line up based on his/her experience of how well the project meets breed and/or industry standards and how well it will do in its specific class at State Fair. Realize the State Fair breaks down classes differently than the County Fair, so an animal that may seem a little different at our county show may actually be exceptional for its breed. For this reason, the judge may ask to find out exactly what age and breed your animal is and if it is registered or grade. The judge then bases his/her decisions on how well that animal will compete against these standards, not necessarily against all of the other animals that are at our county fair show. Following the show, the State Fair Line-up is posted in the 4-H Building. WHEN ARE THE STATE FAIR ENCAMPMENTS? Livestock, Lama and General Project encampments fall within the 12 days of the Minnesota State Fair. The livestock encampment is the Wednesday before State Fair opens through the first Sunday (one day before the fair opens plus the first four official days of the fair). The lama encampment is Wednesday through Friday the second week of State Fair. The general encampment lasts three days and held sometime during the last eight days of fair. Counties are assigned encampment dates on a rotating basis. The State Horse Show, State Dog Show, and State Shooting Sports Wildlife Invitational are held over different long weekends in September. WHERE DO YOU STAY AT STATE FAIR? Dorm style housing is available for the livestock, lama and general encampments on the State Fairgrounds. Chaperones stay with the members in dorms. Youth may also choose to stay with their families in a nearby hotel, in the campgrounds, or with family and friends. These expenses are on your own. 4-H members will receive one gate ticket for each day they are not staying on the grounds during their encampment. This is part of the standard program fee.
HOW DO I GET TO THE STATE FAIR? Yellow Medicine County 4-H partners with other counties to haul livestock in a semi. Alicia must know in advance if families are interested in this option. Livestock may also be hauled by families at their own expense. Yellow Medicine County 4-H partners with other counties to arrange for a charter bus to bring Livestock and General Project Encampment youth to and from State Fair using a portion of the foodstand proceeds; scholarship money is available with this option. General project encampment youth may travel with their family on the day their project is judged and choose not to participate in the full 3-day encampment. These expenses are on your own, except for one gate ticket. Lama members must arrange their own transportation to and from the State Fair. Horse, Dog, and State Shoot participants must arrange their own transportation and lodging. HOW DOES MY GENERAL PROJECT GET TO THE STATE FAIR? State Fair Projects must be returned to the Yellow Medicine County Extension Office at least two weeks before State Fair. Members should take their project home to clean it up (things can get very dirty during County Fair), make any changes the judge may have suggested before going on to State Fair, clearly label your project with your name, club and county. If the project has multiple pieces, label all the pieces (ex. 1 of 4, 2 of 4), and pack your project safely for transportation. That week 4-H staff will bring projects to the State Fair. Projects will be on display throughout the entire fair in the 4-H Building. Staff also pick up all projects from the State Fair the day after Labor Day and bring them back to the office. Families are responsible to come to the office to pick up projects as soon as possible after the State Fair. Exceptions to this process: Gardening: you will bring these projects with you to and from the State Fair. Potatoes and Vegetables: Dig fresh potatoes or vegetables if your encampment time is more than a few days from the County Fair. Items will be discarded unless they go home with you. Foods: perishable food (cakes, cookies, etc.) are not sent to the State Fair. Your foods State Fair Project is your display (recipe with picture, display board, recipe book, etc.). If you wish to bring a sample of the food to the State Fair, bring it with you when you go. Oversized projects: you must complete a special oversized exhibit form so State Fair staff saves space for your project. You may be asked to bring your own project to State Fair depending on the size. Talk with the 4-H Program Coordinator to work out details. Fashion Revue: youth must bring their outfit to the State Fair with them Your project judging experience at the State Fair will be different from the County Fair. When you arrive at the State Fair, take time to locate your project. When it s your turn to judge, you will pick up your project and bring it to your judging area. You will then present your project to a small group of your peers and the judge. HOW MUCH WILL A TRIP COST? Much goes on behind the scenes in order to offer a quality youth experience at the State Fair and other State 4-H events. A program fee is charged to cover expenses such as renting facilities, buying supplies, and paying for people to judge, process paperwork, enter results into the computer, work in safety jobs such as nurses or EMT s, dorm monitors, janitorial, public relations, etc. The Program Fee is only charged once for members participating in multiple 4-H events during the State Fair. Additional Program Fees are charged for other State 4-H events held outside of the State Fair dates. Yellow Medicine County 4-H pays for a portion of transportation and total chaperone costs for State Fair. Chaperones are 4-H parents and volunteers. Yellow Medicine County 4-H pays the Program for all Yellow Medicine County 4-H Members. A State Fair Livestock trip in 2014 cost: $40 Program Fee, $20 lodging per night, $7.50 meal ticket. The base cost for this trip is $80 to cover 4-night s dorm housing, and the program fee (free to Yellow Medicine County 4-H members). If eating 4-H Foodservice meals every day, the total cost would be an additional $82.50 or $162.50 total. Most members select some combination between the two extremes. Members staying off the grounds with family or friends would only pay for any 4-H Foodservice meals.
A State Fair Lama trip in 2014 costs: $40 Program Fee. $20 lodging per night, $7.50 meal ticket. The base cost for this trip is $40 which covers 2-night s dorm housing and the program fee (free to Yellow Medicine County 4-H members). A State Fair General Project Exhibit trip in 2014 costs: $40 Program Fee, $20 lodging per night, $7.50 meal ticket. The base cost for this trip is $40 which covers 2-night s dorm housing, and the program fee (free to Yellow Medicine County 4-H members).members just going for the day of their judging pay only the $40 program fee. A State Fair Share the Fun trip in 2014 costs: $30 per member Program Fee for those members not already participating in State Fair with another project. This Program Fee is also covered by Yellow Medicine County 4-H proceeds from the 4-H foodstand. ACCEPTING STATE FAIR TRIPS AND STATE FAIR MEETINGS Final registration for the state fair trips is on Saturday morning of county fair; this includes trips for: All State Fair, State Horse Show, and State Dog Show. All paperwork, transportation, and housing plans must be finalized Saturday morning. Payment will also be collected. On Saturday of the County Fair, State Fair meetings are held by the 4-H office at noon. This meeting will allow youth to meet chaperones, discuss what they should bring and not bring, and this will be a time for youth to meet others going to State Fair. Livestock members going to State Fair; this will also be a time to collaborate who will be bringing what for animals and tack boxes. Space is limited at State Fair for storage. WHO CHAPERONES THESE ENCAMPMENTS? 4-H is always looking for adults who wish to share the State Fair experience with their child as a chaperone. Chaperones must be 21 years of age or older and screened through the University of Minnesota. All expenses will be paid. Both male and female chaperones are needed for livestock and project encampments. If you think this is something you d like to do, please contact the office PRIOR to the County Fair so volunteer screening can be completed in time. Volunteers may not be accepted to chaperone in some cases. LIVESTOCK ACTIVITIES You may be surprised to learn how many things you will need to take care of while at the State Fair. You will need to help load and unload the bus and semi-trailer on Wednesday and Sunday. You will need to work together with the other exhibitors in your species from Yellow Medicine County to set up stalls/pens and organize a herdsmanship. All livestock must be verified during a specific time period on Wednesday or Thursday. You will bring your animal to the verification check point while volunteers check ear tags, tattoos, ear notches, leg bands, registration papers, etc. Members will then be expected to attend a mandatory meeting for their species, an educational workshop, and interview. Some species require you to sign up for showmanship, while others you must qualify for during the show. A 4-H dance is held Saturday evening while the Herdsmanship Awards Program is held Sunday afternoon. Animals being marketed are loaded out Saturday evening or Sunday morning. Other events include the Dairy Showcase, Beef Show Championship Event, Lamb Lead, Fleece, Auction, Poultry Prince and Princess contest, Chicken BBQ contest, Poultry Judging, General Livestock Judging, Poultry Promotion Booth, Rabbit Promotion Booth, Chef for a Day, poster contests, quiz bowl, games, and skill-a-thons. INTERVIEWS Members must participate in a Livestock Interview before they can show at the State Fair. The format for most species is a scheduled time to participate in an educational workshop followed by a computerized test. The highest scoring individuals are called back for interviews with a judge. Winners and Finalists receive prizes and are recognized during their show. To learn more about what resource books are primarily used for interviews, contact the Extension Office or visit the MN 4-H Animal Science and Project Bowl websites.
HERDSMANSHIP & CONSUMER AWARENESS Herdsmanship needs to be a priority throughout the fair as you represent 4-H, the livestock industry, agriculture, Yellow Medicine County, your family and yourself. The majority of visitors to the State Fair know little to nothing about agriculture and livestock. Be certain to give them a positive impression and help them learn. Each species is scheduled a time period for Consumer Awareness, which allows counties to create displays that educate the consumer about agriculture and livestock. These displays are set up by your pens/stalls. A judge will come around to visit with you but you will also have public walking by asking questions. Awards are given for Consumer Awareness as well as Herdsmanship. LIVESTOCK SHOWS Members need to monitor the progress of their shows to know when they need to bring their animal to staging. Also, remember it might take you longer to get to the show arena because of fairgoers blocking the aisles and animals being afraid. The shows do not wait for members that are late! Be aware that it is very difficult to hear announcements in some of the barns. Some species provide Twitter updates as classes progress. STATE HORSE SHOW The show runs Thursday through Monday in September and you are not required to stay the entire time. In addition to the classes, the hippology and horse judging competition is also a popular event! Members must have completed 6th grade to be eligible for a State Horse Show trip. The State Horse Show lineup is based on the judge s decisions and a point system. State Trip winners will be notified as soon after the show as possible. A State Horse Show trip in 2014 cost $55 Program Fee plus $5 for each class entered. State Horse Show attendees may ride in any class they received a blue ribbon in at the county fair. All State Horse Show packets must be turned in by final registration with payment on Friday of County Fair in order to secure your trip. Checks typically are not cashed until one week later. State Horse Show trip winners should meet as a small group before or during the county fair to discuss lodging, transportation, food, equipment, grand entry rider, and supervision. Lodging, transportation and adult supervision are on your own. STATE DOG SHOW This show runs in September and you are not required to stay the entire time. The State Dog Show consists of agility, obedience, showmanship and rally events. Members must have completed 4th grade to be eligible for a State Dog Show trip. State Dog Show attendees may compete in any class they received a blue ribbon in at the county fair. A State Dog Show trip in 2014 cost $15 Program Fee plus $15 for each class entered. Yellow Medicine County Leader s Council and Dog PDC offer scholarships to help cover some of the costs. All State Dog Show packets must be turned in by final registration with payment on Friday of County Fair in order to secure your trip. State Dog Show trip winners should meet with fellow 4-H members, 4-H parents and Dog Leaders to discuss lodging, transportation. Note that everyone will have a different schedule. Lodging, transportation, food and adult supervision are on your own. STATE SHOOTING SPORTS WILDLIFE INVITATIONAL The 4-H Shooting Sports program is open to members in grades three through one year past high school graduation, but there are age restrictions on some disciplines. Cloverbud members, those in K-2, cannot participate in any shooting sport, but can learn about wildlife. Other restrictions are listed below.
Youth completing 3rd grade may only participate in BB gun. Once a member has completed 4th grade, he/she may participate in archery, BB gun, air rifle, and air pistol. Youth must be in 7th grade or older to compete in black powder events (.22 rifle or pistol, shotgun, and muzzleloading). Competitive events are separated into age groups and include bare bow archery, freestyle limited archery, freestyle unlimited archery, BB gun, standard air, 3 position air, air pistol,.22 field grade,.22 target grade, black powder, trap, wildlife calling, silhouette shoot, skill-athon, and cast iron skillet cook-off. Recurve or compound bows may be used. Wildlife education hours- Every member must complete eight hours of wildlife education each year to qualify for the Minnesota 4-H State Shooting Sports & Wildlife Invitational. Each county must also create a wildlife display on the topic of their choice for this event. Members work together to select a topic, research, learn, create, and present their wildlife display. On-line hours - In order to qualify for the Minnesota 4-H State Shooting Sports & Wildlife Invitational, members must complete 15 hours of on-line shooting or safety training with a trained coach the first year they participate in a specific discipline. Eight hours are required in subsequent years for disciplines members have already completed the initial training in. QUESTIONS Before accepting a State Fair trip, be certain to get your questions answered by speaking with fellow 4-H members, 4-H parents, Club and Livestock leaders, and the 4-H Program Coordinator. If you accept a State Fair trip but later back out, your expenses will not be refunded. Compiled for Yellow Medicine County 4-H by Krista Lautenschlager 4-H Program Coordinator, January 2014 2014 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. University of Minnesota Extension is an equal opportunity educator and employer. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to 612-624-2116. Printed on recycled and recyclable paper with at least 10 percent postconsumer waste material.