4-H & FFA Animal Exhibits | Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

4‑H Animal Exhibit Resources

ON THIS PAGE:
General Rules for Animals | Bagged Shavings | Premium Payouts Procedure | Purple Ribbon Market Livestock Premium Auction | America's 250th Anniversary Theme Pen/Stall/Table Decorations

GENERAL RULES FOR ANIMALS

Youth may enroll in 4-H in more than 1 county, however, they may not enroll in the same project area in more than 1 county in the same year (examples: beef, horse, food, clothing, etc.). FFA youth may show an project as FFA in 1 county and as 4-H in another county. The 4-H & FFA rules in this Fair Book apply to ALL 4-H & FFA youth exhibiting at the Lancaster County Super Fair — regardless of place of residence — including premium payout and all release times.

To participate in 4-H at the fair, youth MUST BE ENROLLED in 4-H Online by JUNE 15 of the current year. FFA members must also enroll under their chapter in 4-H online. Only parents/guardians may enroll 4-H & FFA members. During the enrollment process, youth will need to select at least 1 project in order for their enrollment to be complete. Project selection is REQUIRED for Horse projects by June 15.

An animal may not be shown in both 4-H and FFA at the Lancaster County Super Fair, but may be shown in 4-H or FFA and open class.
All exhibitors shall wear 4-H or FFA identification when participating in livestock or small animal shows. Long pants and official 4-H or FFA shirt are required.
As a safety precaution, hard soled shoes are recommended when exhibiting livestock.
If space availability becomes an issue — poultry exhibitors may be asked to have some entries leave the premises. This number will be determined by the superintendent and an Ag Society board member.
Each exhibitor is expected to cooperate in proper manure disposal, keeping alleys clean, storing feed and keeping animals clean, neat and attractive.
If an exhibitor violates the rules, the exhibit will be subject to loss of premium, ribbon, other awards and/or elimination from the show.
All livestock animals must be stalled in the barns/pavilions during the 4-H part of the Super Fair. Beef are allowed to stall in designated cattle tieout area. Feeder calves may arrive day of Beef show and be released at completion of show. Horses used only in Roping/Working Ranch Show or Special Needs Show may show from trailer.

Deadlines

March 2, 6–7 p.m. — Market Beef Weigh-In at Sandhills Global Event Center (SGEC) – EquineMarket Pavilion.
May 4, 6–7 p.m. — Sheep and Goat Weigh-In & Tag Day at SGEC – Currency Pavilion.
May 21 & June 4, 6–7 p.m. — Youth for the Quality Care of Animals in-person training for livestock animals at Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County conference rooms, 444 Cherrycreek Road, Suite A, Lincoln.
June 1 — Horse identification certificates are due to the Extension office.
June 15 — No late entries accepted.
4-H Online enrollment due.
Youth for Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) training must be completed.
Super Fair identification certificates/affidavits for beef, bucket calves, dairy cattle, swine, sheep, meat goats, dairy & pygmy goats and rabbits are due to Extension office.
State Fair breeding and market livestock nominations must be entered and paid via Show Stock Manager (step-by-step instructions are online at State Fair Livestock Identification & Nomination). DNA envelopes due to Extension office for State Fair.
June 18–July 1 — Animal entries and stall/pen reservations for the Lancaster County Super Fair must be submitted online via ShoWorks between June 18 and July 1, 11:59 p.m. No late entries accepted.
July 1 — Deadline to request a stall/pen for 4-H Clover Kids Livestock, Poultry and Rabbits.
July 7 — Beef, dairy cattle and bucket calf bedding fees and horse Roping/Working Ranch Show livestock fees due to the Extension office.
Aug. 10 by 8 p.m. — State Fair animal entries due online at Livestock Shows, Nebraska State Fair. Select whether showing in 4-H or FFA.

🔎 MORE INFORMATION: All livestock exhibitors are strongly encouraged to review the “2026 Lancaster County 4-H & FFA Livestock Checklist.”

🆕 Currency Pavilion To Be Air Conditioned

New in 2026, air conditioning is planned in the Currency Pavilion during the 4-H and Open Class animal show days! Exhibitors are encouraged to still bring fans, frozen water bottles, etc. as backup cooling methods.

Identification Requirements

All 4-H & FFA animals exhibited at Lancaster County Super Fair must be owned and officially identified in accordance with Nebraska 4-H animal ID requirements. Tags and ID forms are available at the Extension office and online at 4-H & FFA Animal Exhibits. Livestock IDs are due to the Extension office or emailed to lancaster4h@unl.edu by June 15.

Market beef, feeder calves — tagged with a 4-H ear tag*; submit Market ID Certificate (market beef); submit Breeding ID Certificate (feeder calf)
Breeding beef — breeding beef tattoo is their ID number*; submit Breeding ID Certificate
Bucket calves (require a record book) — tagged with a 4-H ear tag; Submit Bucket Calf Ownership Affidavit
Sheep, meat goats — tagged with a USDA scrapie tag (for more info, call 1-866-USDA-TAG) submit Market or Breeding ID Certificate
Swine — tagged with a 4-H ear tag; submit Market or Breeding ID Certificate
Dairy cattle, dairy goats & pygmy goats — submit Dairy Cattle or Dairy Goat ID Affidavit
Rabbits — all rabbits must have a permanent, LEGIBLE I.D. (Tattoo) in the left ear. Tattoos must be in place before check-in. Submit Rabbit Ownership Affidavit (ID form)
Poultry, dogs, cats and household pets do NOT require an identification form
Horses shown at Super Fair must be identified on form “4-H Horse Identification Certificate” and submitted to Extension by June 1. Sketch markings showing both sides and face on the form are preferred instead of photos. Horse identification form is available at the Extension office as a carbon copy form. If you use the online form, be sure and make a copy for yourself before sending it to the Extension office.

*FFA members can use an EID tag for breeding beef and feeder calves.

🔎 MORE INFORMATION: “Market Livestock Identification Certificate,” “Breeding Livestock Identification Certificate,” “Dairy Goat Identification Affidavit,” “Bucket Calf Ownership Affidavit,” “Dairy [Cattle] Identification Affidavit,” “Rabbit Ownership Affidavit” and “Horse Identification Certificate” forms are available at the Extension office and as fill-in PDFs at 4-H & FFA Animal Exhibits.

Youth for the Qualtiy Care of Animals Requirements

4-H & FFA members participating in any of the following animal projects need to complete Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) training:

Beef (bucket calf, feeder calf, breeding beef, market beef)
Dairy cattle
Goat (breeding meat goat, market meat goat, bottle meat goat, dairy/pygmy goat)
Poultry
Rabbit
Sheep (breeding sheep, market sheep)
Swine (breeding swine, market swine)

Exception: 4-H Clover Kids ages 5–7 (by Jan. 1 of the current year) do not need to complete.

Youth must be currently enrolled in 4-H Online. Only parents/guardians may enroll 4-H members.

In Lancaster County, youth may choose one of two options to complete their YQCA requirements:

Complete online YQCA training. Cost is $12.
Attend an in-person training held Thursday, May 21 or Thursday, June 4, 6–7 p.m. at the Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County conference rooms, 444 Cherrycreek Road, Suite A, Lincoln. To sign up for an in-person training, you must register online before the training. The training will cost $3 payable by credit or debit card on the website. We cannot take payments in person; all families must register and pay online. Note: You will need to take a 5-question pre-test before attending. You must sign in at the training as proof of attendance — certificates will be available online.

Deadline to complete YQCA and submit certificates of completion is Monday, June 15. Send completed certificates to lancaster4h@unl.edu or Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County, 444 Cherrycreek Road, Suite A, Lincoln, NE 68528. If certificates are not submitted, 4-H staff have no way of knowing if trainings have been completed.

If you have further questions, contact the Extension office at 402-441-7180 or lancaster4h@unl.edu.

Animal Entries Must Be Submitted Online

All 4-H & FFA animal entries for the Lancaster County Super Fair must be entered online in ShoWorks (this includes stall/pen requests and livestock/poultry exhibitor T-shirt sizes). 4-H families and youth may submit entries. Youth must be enrolled online in 4-H Online by Monday, June 15. Animal entries may be submitted online starting on Thursday, June 18. Deadline is Wednesday, July 1, 11:59 p.m. No late entries will be accepted! Step-by-step instruction guides with pictures will be at 4-H & FFA Animal Exhibits. If you have questions about the process, call 402-441-7180 or email lancaster4h@unl.edu.

STALL/PEN RESERVATIONS: For beef, bucket calves, dairy cattle, swine, sheep, meat goats, dairy & pygmy goats and horse entries, you must submit stall/pen requests during the online entry process or you will be assigned stalls/pens (requests are subject to space and availability). During online entry, look for ‘_Stalls and Pens_’ as the first option under division (species). Please submit 1 ‘_Stalls and Pens_’ item per animal species. Rabbits, poultry and cats are assigned cages based on entry numbers.

LIVESTOCK/POULTRY EXHIBITOR T-SHIRT SIZES: Livestock and poultry exhibitors will each receive a free T-shirt at Super Fair courtesy of sponsors. During animal entry online, T-shirt sizes will be required for livestock and poultry exhibitors prior to check out. T-shirts will be available for pickup during the Lancaster County Super Fair at the Livestock Office.

LIVESTOCK BEDDING FEE: Exhibitors who enter the following species will be charged a bedding fee: Beef and dairy cattle — $12 per head; Bucket calves — $9 per head. Complete the Livestock Bedding Fee Worksheet (a fill-in PDF form which will calculate your total due). Print and submit with payment (cash or check payable to Lancaster County Livestock Boosters) by Tuesday, July 7. Sandhills Global Event Center (SGEC) staff will deliver the bedding in bulk to these stall areas prior to the fair.

HORSE ROPING/WORKING RANCH CATTLE FEE: Horse exhibitors in the Roping/Working Ranch show will be charged a $15 cattle fee per class for the following events: Working Ranch Horse, Boxing, Roping Break-Away, Roping Header and Roping Heeler. Complete the Horse Roping/Working Ranch Cattle Fee Worksheet (a fill-in PDF form which will calculate your total due). Print and submit with payment (cash or check payable to Lancaster County Horse VIPS) by Tuesday, July 7.

TIPS:

For rabbits, notice there are 4 rabbit divisions. If you can’t find the class you are looking for, try the other rabbit divisions. If you plan to enter 15 rabbits, you will need to submit 15 entries.
For horses, if you plan to enter 12 horse classes, you will need to submit 12 entries plus 1 for stalls and pens.

Note: Do not use feedback through ShoWorks for comments or questions about entries — feedback is not seen by Extension staff until AFTER the Super Fair.

Health Regulations

All animals, upon request by the superintendent, Extension staff or Ag Society Board member, will be inspected by the official fair veterinarian or member of their staff. Any animal found to be infected with an infectious, contagious or otherwise transmittable disease or that is suspected of being so affected shall be removed immediately to a place of quarantine as ordered and directed by the official veterinarian.

Additional health regulations may be specified within each respective category.

Animal Handling Conduct Rules

The Ag Society and Nebraska Extension strongly believe non-prescribed drugs or medications should not be used in animals at the county fair. Therefore, animals shall be administered drugs or medications at the fair only under the direction of a veterinarian. The use of ice on an animal in any manner for the purpose of improving its show performance is prohibited. Physical abuse of animals is also prohibited.

Grooming of Livestock

Preparation and grooming of an animal should be the primary responsibility of the exhibitor; however, assistance may be provided by other 4-H or FFA exhibitors, immediate family members or another person acting in a mentoring and teaching capacity. The intent of this policy is to promote and foster positive youth development and a high-quality learning experience which are core values of 4-H and FFA.

Fans

Animal exhibitors are highly encouraged to bring their own fans and extension cords (except rabbit exhibitors). Fans must have finger guards. Electrical equipment must be UL listed and in good working condition — all equipment is subject to safety inspection. Equipment found in poor condition must be immediately removed from the grounds. Absolutely no evaporative coolers (also known as swamp coolers, desert coolers, wet air coolers — or any other cooling device which cools air through the evaporation of water) will be allowed.

Substitute Showmen

An animal must be shown by the 4-H or FFA exhibitor who entered it unless the exhibitor is excused by the superintendent because of serious illness, disability due to an injury (e.g. broken arm or leg) or conflict with other livestock classes in the 4-H & FFA show. An exhibitor who has more than 1 animal in a class need not secure approval for another 4-H or FFA member, eligible to exhibit livestock, to show the additional animal in the class. A 4-H or FFA member must show their own animal in showmanship.

4-H Clover Kids Animal Showmanship

Most livestock shows and the Rabbit Specialty Show include a 4-H Clover Kids Showmanship class for 4-H members ages 5–7 (by Jan. 1 of the current year). Participants must be enrolled in 4-H Online by June 15. This class is meant to foster an understanding of the show ring, animal handling practices and gain experience for younger youth. To participate, enrolled 4-H Clover Kids should talk to 4-H or FFA members to find an animal (weighing less than 350 pounds) to show and a helper, age 13 or older, to help handle the animal during showmanship. For most livestock shows, Clover Kids Showmanship follows the regular age division Showmanship classes. For rabbits, Clover Kids Showmanship is part of the Rabbit Specialty Show. Check in at the announcer table any time between the beginning of the show and Clover Kids Showmanship, providing the Clover Kid’s name and 4-H helper’s age.

Clover Kids may bring their own livestock (weighing less than 350 pounds), poultry or rabbit(s) to exhibit in the 4-H Clover Kids Showmanship class at fair. An animal ID must be submitted by June 15 (poultry do not require an ID). Clover Kids do not need to complete Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) requirements. Request a stall/pen by emailing lancaster4h@unl.edu by July 1. Clover Kids may follow animal 4-H & FFA exhibitor load-in and load-out guidelines OR arrive day-of the species show. Animals arriving day-of-show must be in stalls by 8 a.m. and may be released at completion of show.

See Animal Exhibits for livestock, poultry & rabbit show rules, dates, times and locations.

At Clover Kids Show & Tell in the Ag Society Hall on Sunday, Aug. 3, Clover Kids may show & tell 1 small animal such as a dog, cat, rabbit or household pet — excluding larger livestock such as a bucket calf or goat. See Clover Kids for complete information. See the Nebraska 4-H policy for Animal Exhibits for Clover Kids.

Animal Exhibitor Load-In & Parking

Horses may start arriving Tuesday, July 28 at 4 p.m. Livestock may start arriving Wednesday, July 29 at noon.

Animal exhibitors — except beef & swine — must enter Gate 4 (third driveway off Havelock Avenue). On load-in days, exhibitors may unload in the posted temporary 20-minute unloading zones for each animal species:

Beef and swine — enter Gate 3, north side of Currency Pavilion
Rabbit, poultry, goat, sheep and dairy cattle — south side of Currency Pavilion
Horse — marked center lines between Currency, EquineMarket and LivestockMarket Pavilions
Dogs, cats and household pets — east of South Hall

NO PARKING allowed in posted 20-minute loading zones — move immediately after active unloading/loading is completed.

Livestock exhibitors may park trailers only in Lot F (cattle tieout lot) and horse exhibitors may park trailers only in area marked inside the RVUniverse Campgrounds. NO TRAILERS ALLOWED TO PARK IN ANY OTHER AREA at any time due to fire marshal rules.

Animal Exhibitor Load-Out

Starting Sunday at 7 p.m., parking staff will release vehicles with trailers from Lot F and the RVUniverse Campgrounds to load-out zones as quickly as spots are available. Exhibitors bringing trailers from home will be directed to the appropriate trailer lot to join the other trailers waiting. Trailers are NOT allowed to line up or wait anywhere on the Sandhills Global Event Center fairgrounds besides Lot F and the RVUniverse Campgrounds due to fire marshal rules since the fair is still open to the public.

To speed up move-out, animal exhibitors are encouraged to bring in passenger vehicles/pickups to load smaller gear on Sunday until 6 p.m. Due to numerous vehicles blocking access next to the buildings at release time, access immediately next to buildings on Sunday will be restricted to ensure all exhibitors will be able to get into these active loading zones as soon as possible after release time on Sunday at 7 p.m.

During peak animal move-out time, there will be space held for both trailers and vehicles without trailers between the Currency and EquineMarket Pavilions — please be patient as there are many more exhibitors in these 2 pavilions than there is move-out space. If you can use a door not between these 2 buildings, it will speed up your move out.

Release of Animals

No exhibits are released early except for hardship/emergency reasons. In the event of extreme extenuating circumstances, exhibitors must submit an early release request form and obtain approval.
Exhibitors must clean their stalls prior to release of animals.
Release of 4-H & FFA animals begins Sunday, Aug. 2 at 7 p.m.
Final move-out time for all 4-H & FFA animals is Monday, Aug. 3 at 11 a.m.

Sandhills Global Event Center Fairgrounds Safety

4-H & FFA youth are encouraged to use a buddy system while on the SGEC fairgrounds and stay in groups of 3 or more or be accompanied by an adult. If you are in any situation where you don’t feel safe, ask a trusted adult for help. In an emergency, call 911.

BAGGED SHAVINGS

All livestock and horse exhibitors must use shavings provided by the Sandhills Global Event Center (SGEC). Absolutely no outside shavings or straw is allowed since SGEC composts. Note: all stalls are disinfected with Nixall between each rental year-round.

Special discounted 4-H & FFA price of $9 per bag (with sales tax included) will be honored for 4-H & FFA animal shows from Tuesday, July 28 through Saturday, Aug. 1 with self-pickup at the General Store in EquineMarket Pavilion.

4-H & FFA exhibitors may pay and pick up their shavings at the General Store on the east end of EquineMarket Pavilion during these hours:

Tuesday, July 28, 4–8 p.m.
Wednesday, July 29, 7 a.m.–9 p.m.
Thursday, July 30, 7 a.m.–9 p.m.
Friday, July 31, 7 a.m.–3 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 1, 7 a.m.–3 p.m.

If you need shavings outside of these hours, please call SGEC office at 402-441-6545 or stop by (it is in front of Ag Society Hall on northwest corner of facility) daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m. with any form of valid payment accepted.

PREORDER SHAVINGS! Save time and prepay for shavings online to pick up at the General Store in EquineMarket Pavilion. On arrival, just check in quickly with cashier to sign for your shavings. Preorder no later than Monday, July 27, 4 p.m.

4-H & FFA PREMIUMS PAYOUTS PROCEDURE FOR ANIMALS

Read carefully — premiums not picked up at the specified time will be forfeited! Review premium payouts carefully and report any errors to 4-H staff. No changes or corrections will be made on premium amounts after 14 days.

ANIMAL EXHIBITORS (except horse and rabbit): Livestock exhibitors (including poultry) must pick up premium payouts on Sunday, Aug. 2, 5–7 p.m. at the Abate Room. Cat, household pets and dog premiums will be paid at the shows. Livestock Judging Contest participants will receive premiums after the contest. 🆕

HORSE EXHIBITORS: Premium payouts must be picked up on Monday, Aug. 3, 7–11 a.m. in the Ag Society Hall. The entire 4-H club must have removed all bedding from each stall in order for premiums to be received. Stalls will be checked. 4-H & FFA members or their representatives may pick up premium payouts — a signature will be required.

RABBIT EXHIBITORS: All rabbit payouts (including rabbit shows and contests) will be made to 4-H members at the Rabbit Awards Ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 2, 5:30 p.m. in the Currency Pavilion – Southwest Corner.

LANCASTER COUNTY 4-H & FFA PURPLE RIBBON MARKET LIVESTOCK PREMIUM AUCTION

Sale committee: Julia Plugge, Scott Heinrich, Ben Walbrecht, Tom Mueller and Mike Lockee
Ag Society Board Members: John Cooper, Ron Dowding and Kendra Ronnau

Auction: Saturday, Aug. 1, 6 p.m. (Currency Pavilion – Arena, West Side)

4-H & FFA Market entries in Beef, Sheep, Meat Goat and Swine are eligible for the auction. Exhibitors will sell the premium only. Ownership does not change hands as the exhibitorwill retain ownership of the animal for future shows, i.e. State Fair.

Exhibitors will sell 1 unit in the auction. A unit is described as:

1 Market Beef (steer or heifer)
1 Sheep or Pen of Three
1 Meat Goat or Pen of Three
1 Swine or Pen of Three

In the event of an exhibitor having 1 or more qualifying exhibits, the exhibitor can elect to combine the units into 1 sellable lot/unit (example: champion swine and champion sheep).

Auction is dependent on donations and buyers; help is needed to secure funding. For more information, contact Auction Committee Chair Julia Plugge at julia.plugge@gmail.com or 402-450-0706.

Eligible units are defined as follows:

Beef

Champion Market Steer
Reserve Champion Market Steer
Champion Market Heifer
Reserve Champion Market Heifer
Champion Market Animal
Reserve Champion Market Animal
Champion Lancaster Co. Born and Raised
Reserve Champion Lancaster Co. Born and Raised
Champion Second-Year Bucket Calf*
Reserve Champion Second-Year Bucket Calf*

*(stated as a market animal in record book)

Purple ribbon placings are eligible to sell beyond the champions.

Sheep

Champion Market Sheep
Reserve Champion Market Sheep
Champion Division
Reserve Champion Division
Champion Lancaster Co. Born and Raised
Reserve Champion Lancaster Co. Born and Raised
Champion Pen of Three
Reserve Champion Pen of Three
Purple ribbon placings are eligible to sell beyond the champions.

Swine

Champion Market Swine
Reserve Champion Market Swine
Champion Heavy Weight Division
Reserve Champion Heavy Weight Division
Champion Middle Weight Division
Reserve Champion Middle Weight Division
Champion Light Weight Division
Reserve Champion Light Weight Division
Champion Pen of Three
Reserve Champion Pen of Three
Purple ribbon placings are eligible to sell beyond the champions.
Only Pick A Pig champion and reserve are eligible for the auction. Pick A Pig participants can elect to show in the regular show and receive a purple to be eligible for the auction.

Meat Goat

Champion Meat Goat
Reserve Champion Meat Goat
Champion Lancaster Co. Born and Raised
Reserve Champion Lancaster Co. Born and Raised
Champion Pen of Three
Reserve Champion Pen of Three
Purple ribbon placings are eligible to sell beyond the champions.

Auction order is as follows for 2026: Sheep, Swine, Meat Goat, Beef. Future auctions will be in rotation of this order — 2027: Swine, Meat Goat, Beef, Sheep; 2028: Beef, Sheep, Swine, Meat Goat. The Grand and Reserve Overall Champions (beef, sheep, swine and meat goat) will sell first. Each species will sell all the remaining units in that species after the 6 champions are sold.

Grand Champion and Reserve Beef, Sheep, Swine and Meat Goat; as well as Champion Second-Year Bucket Calf Exhibitors will be invited to display their animal in the “purple row” near the auction arena 30 minutes prior to the auction. Auction supporters, including potential buyers, will be invited to visit with the 4-H & FFA youth and their projects.

To receive auction premiums, youth must submit a thank you to the premium sponsor of their project by Nov. 30. After Nov. 30, all money will be forfeit and returned to the Livestock Auction account. Instructions will be mailed to premium auction participants at the conclusion of the current year’s fair.

AMERICA'S 250TH ANNIVERSARY THEME 4-H & FFA ANIMAL PEN/STALL/TABLE DECORATIONS

In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, 4-H & FFA animal exhibitors are encouraged to decorate their pen/stall/table areas with a 250th Anniversary theme. Decorations must be kept out of reach of all animals. The theme could also be used in animal costume contests. Each animal exhibitor who uses decorations or a costume using this theme will receive a commemorative America’s 250th ribbon!