Livestock

Saturday, June 19, 2021 is county fair validation day.

General Rules and Regulations:

All Open and Junior Livestock – Breeding Beef Cattle, Commercial Heifers, Breeding Sheep, Commercial Ewe Lambs, Breeding Swine, Commercial Gilts, Dairy Goats, Dairy Cattle, Boer Goats  Commercial Meat Does, and Breeding Rabbits must be registered no later than Thursday, July 15, 2021. All Market Animals must be registered  and in the exhibitors possession by Friday, June 11, 2021.

  1. Registration applications must be postmarked by the above date in order to be accepted.  Forms will be available at the Johnson County Extension Office or online at www.thejohnsoncountyfair.org.
  2. Entries need to be sent to Johnson County Extension Office,  PO Box 590 Clarksville, AR 72830.
  3. All Livestock (excluding Poultry and Rabbits) must be in place by 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 and remain in place until Sunday, August 22, 2021. Livestock may be released early at the discretion of the Superintendent.
  4. Livestock will be checked by the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Livestock Inspector at the gate from Noon – 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. No livestock (excluding rabbits & poultry) should be brought to the fairgrounds before Noon on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 or after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 17.
  5. All livestock must be in place by 6 p.m. and checked in with the Livestock Superintendent by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 17, 2021.
  6. Poultry and Rabbit check in will be Tuesday, August 17 from Noon-8 p.m.
  7. All Poultry and Rabbits must be in place by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 17.
  8. Exhibitors are responsible for the care and feeding of their animals and upkeep of pens and stalls and removal of manure while animals are at the fair.
  9. During the fair, all animals must be securely tied or contained in a pen when not being shown. All livestock will be in their stalls by 5:30 p.m. and remain there until 10:00 p.m. Then the animals can be tied out, except for Thursday night, which is auction night and animals must remain tied or penned until the evenings activities are concluded. This is for the safety of our guests.
  10. 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.
  11. Livestock entries that have been shown in a fair of any other county are not allowed at the Johnson County Fair.
  12. Point premiums are set by the Points Committee, no prizes, trophies or premium money will be awarded to animals not shown.
  13. No classes will be added the day of the show.
  14. 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 30 days prior to the opening of the show.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. Market Classes are for 4-H and FFA members only.  Classes will be determined after weigh in of all eligible animals and 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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 Class with the stipulation that these Lambs, Hogs, and Goats will earn premium points for ONLY the class they receive the highest placing.
  20. Market animals: steers, lambs, hogs & goats must have been registered with the County Extension Office and in the exhibitor’s possession by June 11, 2021. Special Rules for Rabbit registration are listed in Rabbit Show section.
  21. Market animals will be weighed upon arrival at the fairgrounds. Animals which are determined to be ineligible to show in the established weight classifications will be awarded participation ribbons and be allowed to show in a special class. These animals may be used for showmanship but under no circumstances will be allowed to sell in the premium auction.
  22. Market animals must attend one of the JCF market animal weigh-ins at the beginning of the summer. This will be held Saturday, June 19, 2021.
  23. Market animals must have JCF ear tag. If ear tag is lost, exhibitors must notify the Livestock Superintendent to receive a replacement tag. Animals must have JCF ear tag to show.
  24. 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.
  25. If an animal gets loose three times from an exhibitor while in the show ring, it will be disqualified from the show and removed from the ring.
  26. 4-H and FFA members showing swine, sheep, cattle, goats, and/or rabbits at the 2021 Johnson County Fair must be present and show their animals at the time of judging and at the market sale and must remain at the sale for photos with premium auction buyers.
    • Showing animals – All animals entered in this department are to be shown by exhibitors entering them unless unavoidable circumstances (illness or injury) prevent the exhibitor from being present, in which case another eligible youth may show the animal.
    • If a junior exhibitor has 2 animals in the same class, another junior exhibitor may show the second animal.
    • Eligibility – This department is limited to Johnson County School residents only, who are bona fide members of an FFA Chapter or a 4-H Club in good standing. Exhibitors 5-8 years old can show in the market show but are NOT eligible for the Premium Auction. You must be nine years old or older at show time of the current year to sale an animal in the Premium Auction.
    • Exhibitor’s project or program must be under the supervision of the Vocational Agriculture teacher or the County Extension Agent. Exhibitors may exhibit in Junior Division shows no later than the fall after graduating from High School.
  27. Weight classifications for 2021 Market Animals:
    • Steers – Minimum weight 550 lbs.
    • Lambs – Weight range 75 to 150 lbs.
    • Hogs – Weight range 160 to 300 lbs.
    • Goats – Weight range 40 to 150 lbs.
    • Meat Pen Rabbits – Weight range 3 to 5 lbs. per rabbit
  28. WE STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT ALL GOATS AND SHEEP THAT REQUIRE CLIPPING OR SHEARING BE DONE PRIOR TO THEIR ARRIVAL AT THE FAIRGROUNDS. CLIPPING OF ANIMALS ON THE GROUNDS IS LIMITED TO SPECIFIC AREAS OF THE BARN AS ASSIGNED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT AND ALL REMNANTS FROM CLIPPING MUST BE CLEANED UP IMMEDIATELY.
  29. Cattle grooming chutes are limited to specific areas of the barn as assigned by the livestock superintendent.
  30. 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
  31. Junior Exhibitors may sell ONE (1) animal in the premium auction.
    • Eligible animals: See Rule 10 under Premium Auction.
    • Sale order will be determined by the judge.
  32. Junior Exhibitors are allowed to enter up to eight (8) market animals only two (2) may be of the same species.
  33. Review of all animals exhibited at the Johnson County Fair are subject to review by the Livestock Committee for breeding and soundness.
  34. 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.
  35. 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.

Entry Forms: