All about fair in Olmsted County

For projects with animals: 

• February 15 is the deadline for IDing all Market Beef and Dairy Steers. Please review Minnesota 4-H animal ID requirements and birthdate requirements at: Minnesota 4-H Animal ID Webpage. 
• All other species have an ID deadline of May 15. Ear tags are available at the Extension Office and can be picked up during our standard office hours (Monday-Thursday 9 am-4:30 pm, Friday 9 am-1 pm) or during additional posted office hours closer to deadlines. 
• Mark your calendars for June 15 Fair Registration deadline. This is when you will select the classes you will be participating in. In order to show without any restrictions at the county fair, you are required to meet this deadline.
• For 4-H’ers showing livestock and hoping to be eligible for a state trip, Livestock Quality Assurance Training (LQA) is required. An email will be sent in January with training options for those who do not yet have a valid LQA certification for this fair season.

For general projects (non-livestock):

General project registration isn't due until June 15 (unless you want to participate in the food revue project, which will take place earlier in the year). However, if you want to start brainstorming fair projects or have questions about where to get started, we encourage you to check out the resources on our website and the MN 4-H Projects page.

We've compiled a list of important dates for this spring/summer: 

• February 15 - Animal ID deadline for market beef (in 4-H Online)
• May 15 - Animal ID deadline for all other animal species (in 4-H Online) 
• June 15 - FairEntry registration deadline
• June 15 - Alumni Association Scholarship and Olmsted County 4-H Scholarship applications due
• July 22-28 - Olmsted County Fair

These resources will be updated throughout the year as information is available.

You can always find these in the events section of our website, on our county google calendar, and even on Facebook! 

Project Exploration 

• Horse Project Meetings - generally 1st Monday 
• Beef Project Meetings - generally 3rd Monday 
• Wabasha County Beef Clinic - April 19 
• Rabbit Fun Show - April 20 
• Paint and Punch - April 27
• Food Revue and Cake Decorating - April 27

Registration Assistance / Drop-In Help Nights

The 4-H Office will be offering drop-in help nights during extended hours prior to the May 15 (Animal ID) and June 15 (FairEntry Registration) deadlines. Whether you are a new family or not, this is a great opportunity to drop in and receive assistance or double-check with staff that your registration is complete. Help Nights will be May 14 and June 11. 

Shooting Sports & Wildlife Information

Olmsted County 4-H offers various SSW project disciplines - check out the details here.

All animals present at the county fair must be IDed in 4-H Online, which means that the 4-H’er picks up an ear tag from the Extension Office, places the tag in the chosen animal, and creates a profile for that animal in 4-H Online using the tag number and other identifying information. For more information, visit the 4-H Animal ID webpage or 2024 ID requirements sheet.

A few reminders:

• Ear tags can be picked up at the Olmsted County Extension Office at no cost, thanks to the Blue Ribbon Auction fundraiser.
• When tagging animals make sure you are using a ytex tagger, if you do not have one, you can borrow one from the office.
• Both parts of the tag for all animals must have matching numbers.
• If you have unused tags from previous years, please contact the Extension Office before using them so we can make sure they will still be valid for 2024.
• Market beef must be IDed in 4HOnline by February 15, while all other animals have a deadline of May 15. Read the 2024 Animal ID letter for more information.
• Please note that this step must be followed by adding a project in the FairEntry website by June 15.

County fair registration for Cloverbuds is a multi-step process with some slight variations from regular registration (and new vocabulary).  Check out our Guide to Cloverbud Projects to see a full list of Cloverbud opportunities.  Cloverbuds can either show their own animal, a sibling’s animal, or one owned by another 4-H’er. Regardless, we ask that they make sure both steps of the registration process are completed to prevent any mix-ups on show day. 

Step 1 - Animal Identification - For non-Cloverbuds, animals are IDed in 4-H Online, but we have a paper form for Cloverbuds to fill out. If your animal requires an ear tag (view all animal id requirements here), you can pick them up at the 4-H Office and, thanks to our Blue Ribbon Auction fundraiser, they are free to our families.  

Step 2 - County Fair Registration - This is completed on the FairEntry website (which will be available on May 16). This is where 4-H’ers register for specific classes in both livestock and non-livestock (general project) categories. You will notice that there are a condensed number of choices for Cloverbuds. For example, there is only one Cloverbud beef class and Cloverbud General projects are all judged in one category (not separated by photography/crafts/robotics/etc.). The registration deadline is June 15.

We know this can be a confusing process, so please feel free to reach out to 4-H staff or your fellow 4-H’ers. We will also be hosting some drop-in nights at the Extension Office for families to walk through the process with extra volunteers, staff, and extended hours. More information will be coming.

The FairEntry website will open on May 16. This is where you will register for specific projects and classes for the county fair. The deadline to register is June 15.

FairEntry Quick Guide 

FairEntry Detailed Instructions

FairEntry Tips:

• All Cloverbud Classes are located in one spot:
  • When you register your Cloverbud, all animal and non-animal projects are together.
• Multi-Entry:
  • You are able to sign up for all of your projects in each class area at once. For example: If you are bringing 3 photography projects, you will be able to select photography and then how many individual projects you will be bringing to the fair. 
• Livestock Entry:
  • You will be required to assign animals to classes. For example: when signing up for the Meat Goat - Senior Breeding Doe class, you would then select the animal from the list of animals on 4-H Online which you previously IDed. Among other benefits, this process significantly reduces staff and volunteer hours at the fair, speeds up check-in/weigh-in time, and reduces errors in paperwork and show programs.
  • YES - even if you assign an animal to a class, it can be switched out with another animal you have IDed or with a sibling’s animal at any time up until your animal is checked in at the county fair.  However, you must still be registered for the class in which you want to participate in FairEntry by June 15 to be in it at the fair.
  • The multi-entry system will let you choose all of your “classes”, but if it gives you an error when you try to complete registration, it will then push you back to the individual classes to add animals to each one. If you run into issues with this, please email or call 4-H staff and we can walk you through it.
• Horse/Dog Entry : 
  • You are able to choose your animal, and then enter that horse (or dog) into ALL classes that it will be in at once - this should speed up the registration process significantly. 
• Project Organization

All projects that are judged in the exhibits area (and not in a show arena) are under the general project area. This includes horseless horse, horse related, etc. If you are unable to find a specific class, please let us know.

• Make sure you've added projects you're interested in to your 4HOnline profile. This doesn't sign you up to take the project to the fair, but it does make sure that you get on the appropriate email lists and will be notified about related and sometimes important events, like project meetings or animal science clinics. 
• Interested in a project area and unsure what to do with it? Check out the curriculum resource library at the Extension Office! Review our collection here.