The 2021 Teton County 4-H Fair will be held on June 23-26.    

Plans are subject to change. Check frequently to make sure you have the most current information. 

 2021 Teton County 4-H Fair 

Dear 4-H Members and Families, 

We are excited to see you at Teton County 4-H Fair this year. We truly enjoy seeing how your skills have grown. If you cannot attend, we will miss you, but please know that you are not required to participate in the fair. The fair is one of many parts of our robust educational program.  

Each year we make changes to improve our fair and to adapt to current needs.  Below is information you will need regarding the 2021 Teton County  4-H Fair. 

We have the information in sections:  General, Animal, Market Livestock, Sale and Marketing.  Please remember, we are the first 4-H Fair in Montana and often others look to us to learn from our fair experience.  We are proud our program and hope you will all work to show positivity, patience, and politeness. 

Keep in mind in today’s world, everything we do can be on display.  While we ask people to refrain from posting videos of pictures of youth without written permission from parents, we realize that not all will remember these guidelines.  Many events may be “unofficially: livestreamed or shared with others electronically.  Our livestock sale will be simulcast to a broad audience.  It is imperative that we understand that we should represent ourselves, our 4-H program and our county the best we can through our language, appearances, attitudes, and treatment of others and our animals. 

General

Registration Deadline May 28. 

Please see our website for details.

Attendance 

Families are asked not to bring any non-participating youth to increase safety and attentiveness to those participating.  Unattended youth create safety concerns. 

To allow for enough space for buyers at our livestock sale, we ask that 4-H families limit attendance to only those necessary and to not take a seat in the stands unless registered and planning to bid on animals. 

Public Health 

  • Social distancing – stay 6 feet apart as much as possible 
  • Masks – wearing a face cover is a personal choice.  Please be kind and considerate of people’s choices. 
  • Illnesses – Please do not attend the fair if you are ill or exhibit any signs of COVID-19. 

Interview Judging at the Choteau Pavilion 

  • Members will be assigned an interview time on Wednesday, June 23 
  • Judging will be by specialty/skill area 
  • Members are encouraged to follow social distancing while waiting to interview with a judge 
  • Members will enter from north  
  • Members will check in with the office to receive their registration sheet to carry to each judge 
  • Members will move among judges as they are available until all entries are judged. Judges will review projects, and mark ribbon placings on member’s sheet 
  • 4-H members will turn in entry sheets and premiums/ribbons will be distributed after the fair 
  • Hand sanitizers will be available at entrance and exit 
  • We will limit people in the building to the assigned club members 
  • REMEMBER: 
  • Market livestock animal members planning to show/sell MUST attend interview judging AND complete at least 7 learning activities in their books. 
  • We may try to have a photo station (Remember to dress nicely!) 

Prizes, Premiums and Awards 

  • Prizes and premiums will be sent following fair. 
  • Registration sheets with placings will be sent to member following fair. 
  • Members will be given a link to choose their prizes and to choose rosettes/ribbons if they want them mailed. 

Exhibiting 

  • Exhibits will be displayed at the Pavilion following judging so that people may enjoy the great works of our 4-H members. 
  • Photos of members with their exhibits may be taken. Dress nicely, with no advertising on clothing, and look sharp! Be ready for photos!  
  • For those with items that would be wasteful to leave exhibited, please bring a printed photo of completed exhibit (no smaller than 8x10) to leave on display.  For example, a  4-H member may bring an entire cheesecake to be judged.  The judge may sample a slice.  The member can take the cheesecake home, leaving a photo in its place to be displayed.   

Not Happening

  • Meat and Greet Buyer’s reception
  • Concessions

Club Duties

Each club leader will receive correspondence as to their yearly rotational duties.   

What You Can Do 

  • Check email daily. 
  • Read correspondence from the office. 
  • Communicate with us. 
  • Limit attendees 
  • Bring only immediate family members and only those necessary to assist 4-H member directly. 
  • Do not bring non-participating youth. Younger children at our fair who are not consistently supervised create multiple safety challenges.   
  • Follow the recommended guidelines 
  • Social distancing 
  • Stay home if ill 
  • Meet deadlines 

Animals

Horse Show – Saturday, June 19 at the 406 Arena 

  • Register for fair by May 28 
  • Make your best guess for classes and levels, we will adjust as needed after you’ve been assessed 
  • Work with your leaders to get assessed 
  • Watch for correspondence from leaders and office 

 

Small Animals 

  • Register for fair by May 28 
  • All small animal show times are scheduled for Thursday, June 24 
  • Be sure to have additional animal medical information submitted including vaccination records 

  

Breeding Animals 

  • Register for fair by May 28 
  • We will decide classes, times, etc. once we have registrations to gauge numbers and interest.  

Market Livestock

  • You will need ONE photo of you and your animal (read below for details) and have them ready to upload when you register for the fair.
  • You MUST meet the fair registration deadline of May 28 

In 2021, these (and other) requirements are in place: 

  • 4-H member must show in both market and showmanship classes.   
  • Only one market animal per member will be designated the sale animal. Members showing multiple species will designate which one will be their sale animal.  
  • Interview with project book and SEVEN completed activities with evidence. 
  • For 2021 Only:  Round Robin in optional.  Entries in the Round Robin contest will be Champion showman and Reserve showman from each class. Large animals include beef, sheep, goats, horse, swine, and dairy.  A member will be entered in Round Robin showmanship with their first qualifying show as a grand champion showman.  If necessary, we will use up to the fourth place in showmanship to select participants for Round Robin.  Round Robin will include grand and reserve senior, junior, and pre-junior members. There will be no small animal Round Robin. 
  • Set-up, clean-up and loading. A specific crew will be selected for setting up, cleaning and loading.  If you would like to volunteer, email [email protected]. If you have beef, lamb, or goats, the animals must be brought back on Sunday morning at specified time to ship.  4-H member does not need to be present for loading. 
  • Clean your area and stall.  Members will be responsible for cleaning up their garbage. 
  • Hogs should be fed and watered prior to leaving on Saturday evening.  If possible, please take all your feed pans and equipment with you.  Hogs will be loaded by a selected crew early on Sunday morning.   

Other important considerations: 

  • Animals (beef, goats, and sheep) should be well-trained and safe to halter lead. 
  • Hogs should be well-trained for showing. 
  • Wash racks can be used; however, we highly encourage minimizing the need for the wash rack so that we can avoid congested areas of people.  You may pack buckets, water and rags to do minimal cleaning.  There is water in creek nearby.  
  • As much as possible, bring your animal in show condition and plan for minimal cleaning and fitting after arrival. We will alert the judge that we are encouraging minimal show fitting. 
  • Animals will not be required to be stalled inside.  Animals may be tied at trailers if 4-H member chooses.  4-H members must be mindful of safety when moving animals from parking lot/trailer area into arena. 
  • Haul your own feed and bedding for animals. 
  • NO concessions. Bring your own food items and pick up your own garbage to ensure fewer touch points. 
  • Cluster by family groups with 6 ft between groups.  Do not lean on rails and block the view of others.  
  • NO buyer’s reception or “Meat and Greet.” 

We will have: 

  • Evaluation of projects through judging, showmanship, and for market animals, carcass grading. 
  • We plan to break shows into small groups, to allow for social distancing. Classes will be broken by weight.  Showmanship will be held first, and animal quality/confirmation will be held by weight classes.  Once 4-H member is done showing for the day, they can check with species superintendent to make sure they are complete and then they can leave with their animals. 
  • Weighing will be by assigned time. 
  • Members will be mailed their back tags and will be responsible for bringing them to fair. 
  • Only one adult and member should get out of vehicle for animal weighing at a time.

Beef will show on Friday with Lambs and Goats following. 

  • Beef members must bring brand inspection/ownership papers at weigh-in to be turned into brand inspector. 

Swine will show on Saturday. 

  • Will weigh on Saturday morning and be penned. Waterers will be available in hog barn.  We will try to arrange so that a pen is left open between families. 
  • The swine show is Saturday in order to eliminate the need for multiple people returning to facility over several days to care for their animals in our most congested space.  The swine project also has the most members.  PLEASE limit people in the hog barn.  ONLY the 4-H members caring for their animal should be in the barn and then should exit, promptly.  The swine barn should not be a place to bring several friends or hangout.  Go in alone, do what needs done quickly, and then leave.  

Livestock Sale

  • All enrolled market animals designated as sale animals, along with reserve and champion, will be entered in the auction and you are agreeing to sell to the highest bid. There will be no reserves or floor prices.  It is the same as every other year.  There are no guarantees once the animal is in the auction.  
  • Sale will be simulcast, meaning animals will be sold at the Weatherbeater shown by 4-H members in the sale ring and buyers can attend in person OR they can view the sale from a location with internet as it is happening live.   
  • Sale will be online at jerrycollinsauctions.hibid.com.  One photo of each market animal with member will be posted.  We will note on website that photos were taken the beginning of June and will have several more days of finish. Please note that the lot number may change when grand and reserve are placed.  Buyers may place a bid online in advance.   
  • Photo Considerations: 
    • Background – plain, no advertising, lighting, clean, shows how you treat your animal 
    • Dress for showing - crisp, clean, pressed, nice
    • Fit your animal as mush as possible
  • Photos MUST be uploaded by June 2.  Upload your photos.  This is a separate link that is different from the fair registration link.  Do NOT send by email or text.   
  • For buyers opting to purchase animals online, the link will be: jerrycollinsauctions.hibid.com 
  • As soon as weights are entered for each species, bidding will open. Weights will be entered each show day. 
  • Buyers who can purchase online will be encouraged to do so. 
  • Buyers who want to attend in person are invited to the Weatherbeater. Sale will be simulcast. Bidding will occur simultaneously online and live at Weatherbeater. Ryan Perry, Western Livestock Auction, will be the live auctioneer. 
  • At present, we do not plan to provide food/beverages for in-person bidding, due to the additional requirements. No alcohol is allowed, in keeping with 4-H policy.   
  • Seating will be limited. 4-H families and buyers who can attend and/or bid from home are strongly encouraged to do so.  4-H members and families should not be taking seats unless they are planning to buy.  Please buy online from home if you can.  

Swine after the Sale:

  • 4-H members will need to provide care instructions, feed, pans for feed marked with your name
  • Swine will stay in facility on Saturday and be shipped early Sunday morning with a select crew
  • Once you have shown or penned your hog on Saturday, you will not return
  • A care attendant will be assigned to feed/water hogs

 

After the Sale:

  • Thank your buyer
    • A personal phone call or visit
    • Local newspaper ads, if you would like
    • Social media post
  • REQUIRED:
    • A thank you card must be delivered to the office at PO Box 130, Choteau, MT 59422
    • Unsealed
    • Stamped
    • Addressed
  • Payment
    • Once we receive payment, we will mail your check to you, provided you have sent your thank you card for the buyer to the Extension Office.

Marketing Animals

The MSU Extension Office in Teton County will:

  • Send postcards and letters to previous buyers
  • Advertise in local newspapers and on radio
  • Create posters for you to print and distribute
  • Create social media posts for you to use/repost

4-H Market Livestock Members should:

  • Search online for topics such as: 4-H livestock buyer letter, 4-H livestock marketing ideas.
  • Invite buyers personally
  • Use social media to post photos/video of your market animal
  • Ask people to share information with their networks
  • Think of people who may want to secure their protein source for the year and who can afford to buy all at once
  • Encourage buyers who do not want a whole animal to find friends to split it into ½ or ¼. The responsibility to split should be with the buyers, not the office.  They should let us know if they split only for our advertising purposes. 
  • Explain the process – We will send more information later, but think about the following:
    • How to buy
    • Who the processors are – Vandevanters for beef, Bear Paw Meats for the swine, lambs, goats
    • Use proper language
    • How much meat you receive – typical yield
    • Cost per pound of packaged meat
    • When it will arrive
  • Use language such as “harvesting” of the animals
  • Send copies of postcards and posters (ours or ones you create) to organizations and ask them to share with their employees and co-workers
  • Remind people of website and ways to bid
  • Help them understand … Market animal = Meat
  • Call people directly. Practice first so you know what to say and are easy to understand.
  • Direct contact makes a difference
  • Send emails and texts with photos/videos and sale information
  • Use the platforms/methods your buyers use – Think about whether they are following you on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, etc. or if an email, phone call, visit or handwritten note would be most appropriate
  • INVITE …
    • Do not beg, do not be rude or greedy
  • Snap a picture of our postcard or one you create and send out asking people to share with anyone who might want to purchase meat in bulk this year or split an animal with someone else
  • Share a favorite recipe for your meat product with sale announcement
  • If you are able to follow social distancing guidelines and you may want to host potential buyers to show your animal, like an open house -- only an “open corral.”
  • Share what you have learned by raising a local food source
  • People want to invest in learning, programs, goals …
  • Carefully construct your story and share it
    • What will make them want to purchase?
    • What information or help do they need to make purchasing as easy as possible?
    • What new opportunities exist this year?
    • Make it about what the buyer gets … not what you get.

Carcass Judging

  • More information will be forthcoming following the fair 
  • For safety, no one will be invited to the grading in the collers

2021 Teton County 4-H Fair Schedule