Fresno County 4-H Livestock Achievement Program

Overview, Purpose, & Goals WHAT: Fresno County 4-H is starting a Livestock Achievement Program beginning this year! The program will be similar to the Dog Achievement and Horse Achievement Programs already in place in Fresno County. The program will provide an outline of what information should be covered in each year of a livestock project. Members, leaders, and parents can go online to to access study guides for each species of livestock (beef cattle, dairy goats, meat goats, sheep, and swine.) Study guides and other resources will also be available for purchase from the 4-H office. Project leaders will administer a written test to their members in April. In May, in conjunction with the 4-H Fair, members will be tested on skills related to their species of livestock. Written and skill tests will be scored and members will be awarded medals or ribbons based on their proficiency. WHY: Fresno County 4-H wants to encourage members to increase their knowledge and skill development in their livestock projects and offer members an opportunity to excel outside of the show ring. WHO: The Livestock Achievement Program is open to all 4-H members who are enrolled in a beef cattle, dairy cattle, dairy goat, meat goat, sheep, or swine project. Participation in the program is strongly encouraged but is optional. If a project leader does not follow the program, members are still eligible to participate on their own. In that case, the written test will be done with another club or individually, as needed. HOW: All members will begin with Level I. Members are eligible to participate in the Livestock Achievement Program for each species of livestock for which they are enrolled in a project. Members do not need to medal in order to move on to the next level the following year.

Levels There will be four proficiency levels for each species: Beef Cattle, Sheep, Swine, and Meat Goats Levels 1 and 2 will focus on market animal production Levels 3 and 4 will incorporate breeding animal production as well as more advanced skills and knowledge of the species. Dairy Goats Levels 1 and 2 will focus on basic care and handling of dairy goats. Levels 3 and 4 will focus on more advanced skills and knowledge. Dairy Cattle* Levels 1 and 2 will focus on basic care and handling of dairy cattle. Levels 3 and 4 will focus on more advanced skills and knowledge. *There is a need for a leader to oversee the Dairy Cattle portion of the Livestock Achievement Program

Written Test Overview During the month of April, project leaders will order tests from the 4-H office and administer the tests to their members. All tests will be returned to the office by the end of April for scoring. Level 1 Written Test: Body Part Identification (Identify 6 parts) Complete a Fair Entry Form Terminology (Match 10 terms to their definition) List Three Breeds of Your Species of Livestock

Skills Test Overview In conjunction with the 4-H Fair held in early May, livestock members who completed the written test will be tested on skills specific to their species of livestock. An “open testing” format will be used, in which members will receive a packet of score cards and will be able to move among the testing stations at their own pace. They will turn in a score card after completing each test station. Level 1 Skill Test: Basic handling skills (haltering, leading, tying) Basic showmanship (setting up legs, presenting animal to judge, proper use of show stick/whip) Judging (members will judge a class of 4 animals of their species) Feed identification (identify 5 feedstuffs) Equipment identification (identify 8 pieces of equipment specific to their species) Basic veterinary skills/knowledge (basic care & cleanliness; feeding/water; proper worming schedule; temperature of healthy animal )

Medal/Ribbon Criteria To be consistent with our existing Dog and Horse Achievement programs that are already in place, it was decided that members will be able to move on to a new level, as long as they tested in the previous level, regardless of how they scored. All members will begin at Level 1 for written and skills testing. Each member will test on one level per species but can work on multiple species in a given year. Written test score will be combined with skill test score to determine final score. 90% or above = gold medal; 80-89% = blue; 70-79% = red; 69% or lower = white.

Resources Study guides will serve as a resource and curriculum guide for leaders and provide members with information and a reference for the testing. Study guides to be used will be those developed by Fresno County 4-H Livestock Achievement committee members and/or those purchased from Ohio Cooperative Extension. Study guides made by committee members will be available for purchase or on-line. There are currently study guides for beef, sheep, and swine. The Ohio Cooperative Extension books will be available for purchase through the 4-H Office. There are Ohio Cooperative Extension books available for beef, sheep, swine, and goats.

Fresno County Livestock Judging Contest Fresno Co. Livestock Judging Day is a stand-alone judging contest, to be held at CSUF, in early March depending on availability of CSUF facility. Members will judge a class of beef cattle, sheep, swine, meat goats, dairy goats, and dairy cattle. Oral reasons will be a class for Intermediate and Senior members.

Leader/Parent Help Needed Species help (Dairy cattle needs a leader to oversee the program; Swine and Beef cattle would like extra leader help.) Written Test Scoring Skills Testing – judging skills, scoring, tabulations, set-up, clean-up Livestock Judging Day – tabulations, set-up, clean-up Contact Susanne Carroll to sign up to help: (559) or