4-H Project Judging

Project Evaluations and Judging allow 4-H members to present their completed project & share what they've learned through project work. Many alumni credit 4-H for helping them build valuable life skills! Please be sure to look at the general guidelines for the topic area as well as the project specific guidelines. All project guidelines are captured within the first few pages of your project book. 4-H members must have completed project work to exhibit in Junior Fair. If you have questions, please call your Club Advisor or OSU Extension at 937-599-4227.

  • We want all 4-Hers to have a positive experience with the evaluation portion of their project. Please contact the Extension office by June 1st to make arrangements for members with special needs so reasonable accommodations can be made.
  • Please notify the Extension Office if you are not planning to participate in the scheduled county judging so the appropriate number of judges may be secured. If your child is scheduled for an individual appointment and is unable to attend, call us at 937-599-4227.
  • If your child is unable to attend his/her scheduled judging, you MUST call the Extension Office to schedule an alternate date BEFORE that scheduled date. 

 

LIVESTOCK EVALUATIONS - JUNE 22 at the fairgrounds show arena 

Thursday, June 22, 2 - 7 p.m. 
Livestock Evaluations are required in order for Livestock to be exhibited at the Logan County Fair - Do NOT bring Livestock to the evaluation

Grading Scale:

• A - Completed
• B - Needs Improvement
• C - Incomplete


Any youth member that is not able to attend county wide Livestock evaluations on June 22nd, MUST MAKE ACCOMMODATIONS by contacting the Extension Office. Make up judging will only be allowed in circumstances approved by the Extension Office. If make up judging is granted, then that judging must be completed in the Extension office prior to June 22nd.

Livestock Judging will be held at the Show Arena.

Here is the flow: Youth members will enter the arena, drop off their books in a clearly marked, specie specific area. They will then do either interview or Skillathon. There is no wrong order to do them, they must do them both. Then after competition of both stations they will go to the book pickup area and “checkout”.

Attendance times will be based alphabetically by last name.

Last Name Begins With

Please Arrive Between

Last Name A - E

2 – 3 PM

Last Name F -K

3 – 4 PM

Last Name L – P

4 – 5 PM

Last Name R -T

5 – 6 PM

Last Name V – Z

6 – 7 PM

If your family has members with multiple last names, please bring all members together based on the primary last name (no need to split up families).

 

Livestock Evaluations Components:

Skillathon Station: Youth should practice topics listed based on their species and 4-H age. The Skillathon topic for 2023 will be Parts for all animal species.
Project Book/Record Keeping: Youth should bring an up-to-date, neat and accurate record book from the current year. While the project book can be reused from year to year, at a minimum new completed record pages for this program year must be added to the book. If an activity is not listed as optional at the top of the page, it should be up-to-date or completed as appropriate. If a youth has no entries to make on a required activity, write “N/A” so the judge does not consider it incomplete.
Experiential Interview: Youth will be asked experiential interview questions by a judge. Youth should practice interview technique with their club advisor or parent/sibling prior to Livestock Evaluations.
Sample Experiential Interview Questions:
• What lessons have you learned this year that will help you in the future?
• If you took this project in the future, what would you do differently?
Part of the interview also includes appropriate appearance/dress; interest in project; ability to communicate knowledge; positive attitude. Member’s appearance should be neat and clean. Appropriate dress includes one of the following: jeans/khakis or clothes the youth would wear to show their animal at the fair.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVMENT IN LIVESTOCK AWARD:
This award will be selected by the judges for each species based on interview skills, project book and skillathon. The top 2% - 5% of youth will receive this award.

FREQUENT QUESTION & ANSWERS:

  • Dairy Feeders complete the Beef Project book not the Dairy Cattle project books.
  • Horses (except for Horseless Horse) will participate in Livestock Evaluations and only need to complete 1 book. (Beginning Horse Management is split into 3 parts for 3 years)
  • Cat and Dog along with Companion Goat and Pet Rabbit projects are judged with Companion Animals at still project judging. These projects DO NOT bring their animal to Still Project Judging OR the fair.

LIVESTOCK EVALUATION RUBRIC CAN BE FOUND HERE


Still Project judging - JUNE 21 and 29 at the extension office

Wednesday, June 21 9am - 3pm  Thursday, June 29 9am - 3pm

To have the opportunity to be selected for county awards or the Ohio State Fair, youth are required to participate in Still Project Judging. Projects must be evaluated in order for them to be considered complete.

· Preparing for Judging: To assist 4-H members in preparing for project judging and to provide for a positive experience during project judging and exhibiting, the following suggestions are given:

1. Be sure members are aware of and understand what they are expected to bring to judging. Some books are for multi-year projects. Youth members are only required to complete activities for one year. Members should be able to discuss/answer questions about the information in the project book as well as the items brought to judging. An educational display will depend on the project but may include items such as a poster depicting an activity from the project, scrapbook or outfit made by the youth.

2. Have experienced club members discuss the process of judging and the interview process with other 4-H members and their parents, prior to judging.

3. Member’s appearance should be neat and clean and they should dress as they would for a job interview or special presentation at school.

4. Members are required to be present at the scheduled time of judging. There will be NO OFFSITE JUDGING for gardening projects this year. 

5. Projects that are used for school requirements cannot be used as a 4-H project. For example: a woodworking project completed for a grade at school can not be used as a 4-H project; a science fair project can not be used as a 4-H project, etc.

6. Cat and Dog along with Companion Goat and Pet Rabbit projects are judged with Companion Animals at still project judging. These projects DO NOT bring their animal to Still Project Judging OR the fair.

 

·Grading Scale:

• A - Completed: Completed project requirements, excellent exhibit and knowledge gained. Youth must have an educational display and complete book requirements (some projects are designed to be taken over multiple years, so they may not need to complete the entire book in one year.)
• B - Needs Improvement: Completed some, but not all project requirements (incomplete book, no educational display, etc.), exhibit sloppily or poorly done, poor knowledge.
• C - Incomplete: Did not complete project requirements, exhibit sloppily or poorly done, poor knowledge.

Many projects are eligible for competition at the Ohio State Fair. County awards may be selected by judges for projects that are not eligible to participate in the Ohio State Fair.

- What To Exhibit / judging schedule here -

 

·*Please note that any Non-Livestock projects that are interviewed at make-up judging are not eligible for county awards or state eligibility. It is just for completion.


STATE PROJECT COMPLETION & FAIR REQUIREMENTS CLICK HERE