Livestock

Fairboard Committee Members:

President- Dylan Jackson Committee Members: Jess Jordan, Tiffany Jordan, Stephanie Denton, Tiffany Willamson, Barry Denton, Allyson Jackson, Jeanie Rowbotham, Area Ag Teachers, County Extension Agents

Online registration must be completed by midnight Monday June 1, 2026.

Validation will be with your Ag teacher, county extension agent, or fairboard livestock committee member by June 10, 2026.

All Open and Junior Livestock – Breeding Cattle, Breeding Sheep, Breeding Goats, Breeding Swine, Rabbits and Poultry must be registered online no later than midnight July 10, 2026.

General Rules and Regulations:

  1. All Livestock (including Poultry and Rabbits) must be in place by 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 and remain in place until Sunday. Livestock may be released early at the discretion of the Livestock Superintendent.
  2. Livestock will be checked by the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Livestock Inspector at the gate from 9am – 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
  3. Exhibitors are responsible for the care and feeding of their animals and upkeep of pens and stalls including removal of manure while animals are at the fair.
  4. All current state & federal health standards must be met. The livestock committee reserves the right to dismiss any animal which is determined to be ill, harboring parasites, or undernourished and such animal must be removed immediately from the fairgrounds.
  5. Livestock entries that have been shown in a fair of any other county are not allowed at the Johnson County Fair.
  6. Recorded Purebred or Registered Animals – All animals in the breeding classes must be registered in the name of the exhibitor and recorded or accepted in the recognized book for their respective breeds prior to the opening of the show.
  7. Certificate of Registration on all breeding animals must be available for presentation at check in. If no papers are presented, the animal will NOT be able to be exhibited and no points will be collected.
  8. Commercial Classes are for 4-H and FFA members only. Classes for Commercial Ewe Lambs, Commercial Meat Doe Goats, Commercial Dairy Does, Commercial Gilts, Commercial Heifers, and Commercial Dairy Heifers are for animals that are not registered as pure or percentage for their breed.
  9. Market Classes are for 4-H and FFA members only.  Classes will be determined after weighing in all eligible animals. The Classes will be divided as evenly as possible by number and weight of entries at fair time.  Final decisions concerning classes will be made by the Superintendent and Livestock Committee.
  10. No nurse cows are allowed in the barns. All calves must be weaned. The only exception to this rule is if you are showing a cow/calf pair.
  11. Bulls over 6 months must be exhibited with a nose ring or spring clip and chain lead.
  12. All Female Market Lambs are allowed to enter the Commercial Ewe Class, all Female Market Hogs are allowed to enter the Commercial Gilt Class, and Female Market Goats are allowed to enter the Commercial Meat Doe.
  13. Market animals will be weighed as they arrive on the Tuesday of the fair. Animals which are determined to be ineligible to show in the established weight classifications will be asked to leave the grounds and will not be allowed to show in the market show. Unless registered in another show.
  14. Market animals must be validated will be with your ag teacher, county extension agent, or fairboard livestock committee member by June 10, 2026
  15. Safety is of the utmost concern, if an animal is deemed to be a hazard to its exhibitor or the other exhibitors it will be removed from the show ring at the discretion of the livestock superintendent.
  16. 4-H and FFA members showing swine, sheep, cattle, goats, and/or rabbits at the Johnson County Fair must be present to show their animals at the time of judging and at the premium auction. They must remain at the auction for photos with premium auction buyers following the sale. If they leave the auction before a photo is taken they will NOT receive their premium check.
  17. Eligibility – Includes Johnson County residents or tax payers only or who are bona fide members of a Johnson County FFA Chapter or a 4-H Club in good standing. Exhibitors must be five years old or older at show time of the current year to sale an animal in the Premium Auction.
  18. Exhibitor’s project or program must be under the supervision of the Agriculture teacher or the County Extension Agent. Exhibitors may exhibit in Junior Division shows no later than the fall after graduating from High School.
  19. Weight classifications for the Market Animals:
  20. Steers – Minimum weight 500 lbs.
  21. Lambs – Weight range 70 to 150 lbs.
  22. Hogs – Weight range 150 to 300 lbs.
  23. Goats – Weight range 40 to 150 lbs.
  24. Meat Pen Rabbits – Weight range 3.5 to 5.5 lbs. per rabbit.
  25. All goats and sheep must be scrapie tagged or tattooed as required by the USDA scrapie eradication guidelines for exhibition animals. 1-866-USDA-TAG
  26. Junior Exhibitors may sell ONE (1) animal in the premium auction.
  27. Eligible animals: See Premium Auction.
  28. Animals exhibited at the Johnson County Fair are subject to review by the Livestock Committee for breeding and soundness.
  29. Protests must be submitted in writing, within two hours of judging, along with a $50 fee to the livestock committee. The fee will be refunded if the protest is upheld. If not, fee will be forfeited, and the matter dropped.
  30. Exhibitors must comply with the Exhibitor Rules and the Arkansas Poultry and Livestock Regulations as listed in this catalog, the General Livestock Rules as listed above and other specifications that are listed on the pages for individual classes. It is the exhibitor’s responsibility to read, understand and apply all rules and regulations for each class entered.