4-H Livestock and Poultry Project Resources

Many youth are involved in Lancaster County 4-H's livestock program, which includes beef cattle, dairy cattle, bucket calves, dairy/pygmy goats, meat goats, sheep, swine and llamas/alpacas. Youth ages 8–18 may participate by joining a club or as an independent member. Some clubs focus on a specific animal project while some clubs work on a variety of projects including specific animal projects. Except for the Pick-a-Pig and Go Go Goat Getters 4-H clubs, youth are required to provide their own animal — raising an animal develops life skills such as goal setting, discipline and a sense of responsibility. To compete in 4-H/FFA livestock, poultry and rabbit shows (such as at the Lancaster County Super Fair) exhibitors must complete Youth for the Quality Care of Animal (YQCA) requirements — see box below.

For more information about the livestock program, contact Extension Assistant Calvin DeVries at 402-441-7180 or calvin.devries@unl.edu.

Join 4-H — Get Involved

Enroll or Re-enroll in 4-H

Nebraska 4-H Code of Conduct for Youth and Adults (pdf)

Lancaster County Super Fair 4-H Livestock & Poultry Information

This web page has non-fair 4-H livestock and poultry project information. Resources, identification information and forms for the 4-H livestock and poultry shows at Lancaster County Super Fair are on the 4-H at Lancaster County Super Fair web page.

Super Fair Livestock & Poultry Resources

4-H Overall Livestock Project Resources

4-H project books are available to view and purchase at the Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County office. They may also be ordered online through Shop 4-H.

4-H Specialty Clubs Invite New Members — includes Pick-a-Pig and Star City Llama & Alpaca 4-H clubs (pdf)
Nebraska 4-H Livestock Program Website
Nebraska 4-H Premier Animal Science Event (PASE)
Nebraska Department of Agriculture Information on How to Get a Premises ID Number

Lancaster County 4-H News & Announcements

4-H Beef/Dairy/Bucket Calf Project Resources

Extension Beef & Dairy Websites

4-H Goat & Sheep Project Resources

Scrapie Tag Information – USDA Website

Extension Sheep Websites

4-H Swine Project Resources

Extension Swine Websites

4-H Poultry Project Resources

Extension Poultry Website

Youth for the Quality Care of Animals Requirements for 4-H/FFA Members Exhibiting Livestock, Poultry and Rabbits Updated for 2022!

4-H/FFA youth enrolled in any of the following animal projects will 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)

Deadline to complete YQCA and submit certificates of completion is JUNE 15. Send completed certificates to Calvin DeVries at calvin.devries@unl.edu or Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County, 444 Cherrycreek Rd., Ste. A, Lincoln, NE 68528.

Youth must be currently enrolled at https://v2.4honline.com. Only parents/guardians may enroll 4-H members.

YQCA has moved to a new online system at https://yqcaprogram.org. You’ll notice a major change to the account structure — the opportunity to create a parent account and add children, essentially creating one family account for all your YQCA needs. On the More Info/Parents & Youth page, you’ll find Help Documents detailing the steps to getting your web-based training certification, instructor-led training certification (face-to-face training) or test-out certification. Parents/youth, if you have a current and valid YQCA certification, please follow the steps at https://go.unl.edu/newyqcasteps to get yourself set up on the new site.

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

Complete web-bsed training at https://yqcaprogram.org. Note new website Cost is $12.
Attend a face-to-face training held Thursday, June 2 or Tuesday, June 7, 6–7 p.m. at the Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County conference rooms, 444 Cherrycreek Rd., Suite A, Lincoln. To sign up for face-to-face trainings, you must go to https://yqcaprogram.org Note new website 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. You must sign in as proof of attendance — certificates will be available online.
Complete test-out exam at https://yqcaprogram.org. Note new option Cost is $36 for ages 12–14 and $48 for ages 15–18.