Animal Updates and Reminders

Nebraska Extension - Wayne County

510 N Pearl Street, Suite C | Wayne, NE 68787-1939

402-375-3310 | FAX: 402-375-0102

E-mail: wayne-county@unl.edu

Website: http://wayne.unl.edu

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNLExtWayneCounty

All animals (except dogs, cats, small animals, and poultry) shown at the county fair must be individually identified, listed on the appropriate 4-H identification form (affidavit) and on file in the Extension Office by the deadline. Make sure forms are filled out completely. Forms are available at https://go.unl.edu/4hanimalid. Completed forms can be emailed, mailed, or put in the drop box on the north side of the Courthouse. The deadlines will be enforced.

Tags can be purchased from the Extension Office. County tags are $2.00 each and EID tags are $4.00 each. Families that purchase EID tags must have a premises ID on file at the Extension Office. Contact your veterinarian or the Department of Agriculture for Scrapies tags. Tagging needs to be done prior to the ID deadline.

ID Deadlines:

• Horse
• State: June 1
• County: June 15
• All Beef, Dairy, Goats, Swine, Rabbits, and Sheep: June 15

Include ear tag number of calf as well as cow, age of cow, sex of calf, and birth date of calf on ID. Reminder to 4-Hers 11 years of age and older the calf must be also ID’d as either a breeding heifer or feeder calf. Please indicate if the pair is eligible for Renee Felt Herd Builder project. To be eligible for RHB, tag/tattoos must match previous year’s ID sheets.

Indicate on the ID forms. Please note that a cow shown as a breeding heifer at the 2025 county fair is eligible for increased premiums if noted as return on the 2026 ID form. All other cows are ineligible for the increased premiums.

ID on County ID form and tagged with a 4-H/FFA or EID ear tag.

All goats being exhibited need to be individually identified with some form of USDA official Scrapie ID. A legible tattoo in the ear or tail may be used in place of a Scrapie tag for Dairy Goats. The tattoo will match registration papers if the goat is registered. Registration papers must be available at Fair check-in. Any dairy goat not registered will need a Scrapie tag OR the family can tattoo the Scrapie tag numbers in the ear or tail if they do not want an ear tag.

Markings may be drawn in or photos may be used on ID sheets. If using photos, clear views of the face and both sides of the horse are needed. Horse Level testing for County Fair must be complete by June 15. This includes signed books (or sheets) along with any needed reports.

• The State Horse Show in Grand Island is scheduled for July 11-15. Deadline for ID's and level testing documentation turned into the Extension Office is June 1, at 5 PM. Entries are due online at https://nhorse.fairwire.com by June 1.
• County Fair: Horse exhibitors have until June 15 to pass Horse Level 1, but all other levels must be passed by June 1 to count for classes entered in 2026. ID sheets are due June 15 as well.
• Advancement Level Study Guides and Resources are available at https//:4h.unl.edu/horse (Horsemanship Advancement Levels). Now is a good time to take written tests for Horse Levels. Please call the office to set up a time so a test can be ready for you.

ID on County ID form and 3 close range photos (left side, right side, front view) or tattoo.

All Sheep (breeding & market) must be tagged with a USDA Scrapies tag. Remember to mark RETURN on the ID sheet beside any breeding yearling that was exhibited in the breeding lamb class in 2025 to be eligible for increased premiums.

ID on County ID form and tagged with a 4-H/FFA or EID ear tag.

No ID required but proof of current vaccinations for cats, dogs, and ferrets are due with fair entries on June 30 and must be current at that time.

All livestock (4-H/FFA breeding livestock, market livestock , and feeder calves) in contention to exhibit at the Nebraska State Fair will be required to complete an online nomination with payment through Show Stock Manager (https://showstockmgr.com) and submit a DNA collection envelope with a hair sample. Cost is $7.00/head. Instructions for nominating animals are available at https://go.unl.edu/sfnomination.

New for 2026:

• Exhibitors planning to show the same animal at both the Nebraska State Fair and the Aksarben Stock Show (AKSS) must submit two separate DNA envelopes and online nominations.
• Please discard any old DNA envelopes from previous years as they will not be accepted. The new envelopes are valid only for the Nebraska State Fair.

DNA collection envelopes are DUE to the Extension Office June 15, and online nomination’s are DUE June 15.

ID requirements:

• Market Animals
• Beef and Swine - EID tag
• Registered Steers - EID tag and Tattoo
• Registered Swine - EID tag and Ear Notches
• Meat Goats/Sheep - USDA Scrapies tag
• Feeder Calves
• EID tag
• Breeding Animals
• Registered Heifers - Tattoo or identification type that is accepted by the breed association
• Commercial Heifers - Tattoo or EID tag
• Meat Goats - Scrapies tag
• Sheep - Scrapies tag
• Registered Swine - EID tag and Ear Notches
• Swine - EID tag

No online nomination or DNA required for State Fair Poultry or Rabbits. Rabbits exhibited at the State Fair must be tattooed and entered into ShoWorks by August 10. Poultry entries are due August 10 as well.

All 4-H and FFA animals with an EID tag are required to have a premises ID. A Premises ID can be obtained through the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and should correlate to the location in which livestock are kept/housed permanently.

• Only one Premises ID is necessary for a family with multiple exhibitors (provided livestock are housed at the same location).
• Only one Premises ID is necessary for an exhibitor that shows multiple species (provided livestock are housed at the same location).
• Any exhibitor that has completed YQCA and exhibits an animal with an EID tag at the Wayne County Fair or the State Fair will have a Premises ID.
• Premises ID numbers must be turned into the Extension Office by June 15.

All 4-H/FFA members that plan to exhibit Beef (bucket calf, feeder calf, cow/calf, breeding beef, market beef), Dairy Cattle, Goat (breeding and meat goat, dairy goat, pygmy goat), Poultry, Rabbit, Sheep (breeding sheep, market sheep), Swine (breeding swine, market swine) projects are required to complete the Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) course. The YQCA course will fulfill the livestock quality assurance requirements for eligibility to exhibit animals at any 4-H show and will also fulfill the Youth PQA requirement set by National Pork Producers.

Youth can complete YQCA by attending a Face-to-Face training or completing an online course. Youth will need to visit https://yqcaprogram.org to register for the Face-to-Face training OR complete the online course. Help documents are available on the website under Help Desk. Cost for the Face-to-Face training is $3.00/youth and the online charge is $12.00/youth. Payment for either option is made online at https://yqcaprogram.org.

Test-out options are available to youth in the first year of Intermediate (age 12) or Senior (age 15) age levels. There is no test-out option for Juniors. If passed, youth will not be required to complete the annual training requirements for the remainder of their current age level (Intermediate 12-14; Seniors 15-18) Each test consists of 50 randomly selected questions. Youth must score 80% or better for certification. Participants will have only one chance to take the test-out option. If youth fail, they will not be provided another opportunity to test out of that age level and will be prompted to take the instructor led or web based training annually. If passed, payment for the completed test-out course will be required after completion of the test. No payment is required to attempt the test. Test-out costs are: Intermediate: $36 ($12 x 3 years of certification), and Senior: $48 ($12 x 4 years of certification).

Youth will need to register online for the Face-to-Face training at https://yqcaprogram.org and complete the pre-test prior to attending the Face-to-Face training. Following the training, log back in to take the post-course survey and access your certificate. Download the certificate and email it to wayne-county@unl.edu OR print and bring to the Extension Office.

Dates for trainings are:

• May 27, 1:00 & 6:00 PM, Wayne County Fairgrounds, 4-H Building
• June 1, 1:00 & 6:00 PM, Pierce County Fairgrounds, Pavilion

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 States Department of Agriculture. The 4-H Youth Development program abides with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture. ©2026