Market Animal Projects

Market Animal Projects – Beef, Sheep, Swine, Meat Goats, Rabbits, and Poultry

 

2024 Calumet County Market Animal Sale News!!

Processing Appointments
All Market Animal Exhibitors for the Calumet County Fair are encouraged to reserve a meat processing spot for their animal if they intend to sell at this year’s Market Animal Sale. If you’re going to sell at next year’s fair, we encourage you to get a spot for the following year. The Market Animal Committee cannot reserve spots like we have in the past. All families will be required to transport their animals to the meat processor after the fair is over.

New Market Animal Email
All Market Animal questions can be emailed to: calumetmarketanimal@gmail.com. Market Animal paperwork & information is available on this website.

Bob Kesler, President
Gary Mertz, Vice President
Janice Thiel, Secretary
Nathan Hacker, Treasurer
Jay Juckem, Director
Mike Thiel, Director

Market Animal Forms and Information:

Pre-Fair Identification in Dates

  • Beef, Swine, Lambs and Meat Goats:
    • Animals must be identified (tagged, with photo and RFID tag identification form submitted through google classroom by May 15th)
    • Tags and identification forms will be available at the in-person meetings or at a scheduled time prior to May 15th.

Calumet County Fair Entry Deadline:

  • July 31st

Weigh-In Times for Calumet County Fair, Thursday, August 29, 2024

Calumet County Fair Market Animal Weigh-In Sheet

  • 9:00 am – Beef
  • 11:30 am – Swine (or directly after Beef)
  • 1:00 pm – Sheep & Market Goats (or directly after Swine)

No animals are allowed in the barn pens prior to being weighed in.

Show Times for 2024 Calumet County Fair

  Friday, August 30, 2024

  • 8:00 am – Hogs
  • 12:00 pm – Beef
  • 2:30 pm – Sheep & Market Goats

MARKET ANIMAL PROJECT ACTIVITIES

All members wishing to sell an animal in the Market Animal Sale at the Calumet County Fair are expected to attend at least three county-wide educational meetings and be a member in good standing in their club. Youth who do not attend three meetings will have $50.00 deducted from their settlement checks after the fair. Youth who do not attend at least two meetings will not be allowed to sell an animal in the Market Animal Sale at the Fair.

These meetings are established by a committee in early winter and a complete list of meetings will be listed on this website. Parents are encouraged to set up meetings with market animal related ideas and speakers to help educate the exhibitors.

Youth are expected to attend at least three educational meetings throughout the year. At least two meetings must be from the list of county-offered educational meetings (unless “out of county” meeting is actual participation in a youth educational event or a youth livestock show) in which case, it may replace a county-sponsored meeting. Members may not use more than two of these types of meetings (including online) to substitute for attendance at the regular county-organized meetings. Attending a county market animal sale or show or a dairy-related event will qualify as a Market Animal educational meeting. It is each individual’s responsibility to present proof of participation in an “out-of-county” event to the Market Animal Sale Committee prior to the fair using the Market Animal Participation Verification Form. The YQCA (Youth for the Quality Care of Animals) meeting is a required meeting that all youth who wish to sell an animal must attend — no exceptions. Youth may not count more than one meeting that does not relate to the species they are exhibiting at the fair.

Animals Raised at Exhibitor’s Home

Youth livestock project members are expected to feed and care for their project animals. Every project member must file an Exhibitor Information Form that outlines the arrangements under which animals are housed and cared for. These forms must be submitted through google classrooms by May 15th for Beef, Swine, Sheep, and Goats; and June 1st for Rabbits and Poultry.

Country of Origin Labeling Affidavit/Declaration

The COOL (Country of Origin Labeling) final rule for commodities took effect on March 16, 2009.  This USDA rule provides consumers with knowledge as to where their food originated. Exhibitors need to make sure they collect documentation from the seller when purchasing lambs, goats, or market poultry. This form must be submitted through google classrooms by May 15th.

Parent Expectations

It is expected that parents will not only be involved in working with their children in the care and feeding of their animals, but will also assist with the County Market Animal programs as needed and requested. Particularly at Fair time, help is needed with weigh-ins, setting up and taking down show rings, and generally assisting with moving animals back and forth from pens to show ring.

Drug History Sheets

All exhibitors wishing to sell an animal in the Market Animal Sale must have completed and turned in a Drug History Sheet to the Sale Committee at the County Fair prior to the animal being weighed on Thursday of the Fair. These forms will be furnished to each exhibitor. Parents or guardians must also sign the drug history sheet.

Financial Records

All exhibitors who have sold an animal in the Market Animal Sale must complete and turn in a Market Animal Financial Record by 12:00 noon on Monday of the Fair. A collection box will be placed in the Fair Secretary’s Office. This will give market animal participants the opportunity to have an accurate listing of their income, expenses, and net profit/loss. Sale checks will not be issued until this form has been completed and turned in. These forms are made available at the beginning of the project year.

CALUMET COUNTY FAIR

Making Entries for the Fair

Entry information is available on-line at www.calumetcountyfair.com beginning in mid-May. Carefully read all of the rules that pertain to market animals. Pay special attention to minimum weigh-in weights at the fair. The entry deadline for County Fair is July 31st. Entries should be made very carefully since changes will not be allowed after the entry deadline. Please take note of the following:

  1. Exhibitors must enter and participate in the showmanship classes to receive premium money for those classes.
  2. Each exhibitor should enter the market class as well as the carcass class for beef, sheep, swine, and market goats.

Soliciting Buyers

It is the responsibility of each project member to invite a number of potential buyers to attend the sale. The invitation can be extended either through a letter or a personal visit.

If the individual or business has not previously been involved in the sale, it will probably be very helpful to make a personal visit and use the Market Animal Sale Brochure (available from the UWEX Office) explaining how the sale works. Buyers are usually most concerned about how much it will cost them to participate and what they can do with the animal(s) they purchase after the sale.

A buyer may arrange an absentee purchase through the UW-Extension Office using the Absentee Bidders Form.

Pen Set-Up

All members must assist with pen set-up in the beef barn and the hog and sheep barn on a designated night prior to the fair. This date will be publicized in the 4-H newsletter. Poultry and rabbit pen set up will be the Saturday of face-to-face judging (the Saturday before the Fair). Pen take down is also mandatory after animals have exited the fairgrounds.

Decorations

Exhibitors are encouraged to decorate their livestock exhibit. Display panels have been prepared to make it easier to put up decorations. The panels are approximately 24″ x 72″ per pen in the sheep and hog barn, and 24” x 48” per stall in the beef barn. Decorations may be stapled or tacked to these wood panels. All staples and tacks must be removed when the decorations are taken down.

Market Animal Sale

The Market Animal Sale is held on Sunday of the Fair beginning at 12:00 noon. The sale requires a lot of workers to run smoothly. Parents and youth are expected to be available by 10:00 am that morning to assist with preparations for the sale and receive assignments for helping out with the sale itself. Simply make one of the Market Animal Sale Committee members aware that you are available and willing to help.

A commission is deducted from the proceeds of each animal sold. The disposition of these proceeds is at the discretion of the Market Animal Committee.

Thank You Letters

All exhibitors selling in the Market Animal Sale will be required to write a “Thank-You” card addressed to their buyer. This must be turned into the fair office by 12:00 pm Monday of the fair. If the “Thank-You” card is not turned in, the market animal committee will hold the exhibitor’s sale check until it is completed and turned into the market animal committee president.

After the Sale

The Market Animal Exhibitor makes arrangements to have all the animals purchased in the sale either delivered to a local meat market for processing or resold through a commercial market. Buyers indicate how they want their animals handled at the time they purchase the animal. Be sure to thank buyers and bidders in person and in writing after the sale. Be sure to write the name of the buyer and sale price on your exhibitor card immediately after the sale. Exhibitors are required to feed, water, and care for the animal they sold until it is loaded out Monday evening.

Pen Take Down

Monday afternoon of the Fair, animals may not leave until the time is announced. Decorations cannot be taken down until the time is announced. All members are expected to assist with pen/cage take down in all of the barns.

Carcass Contest

All market beef, sheep, and swine entered in the Fair will be scanned using ultrasound for loin eye size and backfat thickness. This information will be used in place of actual carcass measurements to determine carcass class placings.

Post-Fair Meeting

A meeting for all Market Animal exhibitors and their parents is held the third Tuesday in September at the Calumet County Courthouse beginning at 7:00 pm. The purpose of the meeting is to evaluate the market animal program and suggest any rule changes the group finds appropriate.

If members or their parents have any complaints or suggestions for changes to improve the Market Animal program, this is the meeting at which they should be aired.

Market Animal Sale Committee

The Market Animal Sale Committee is comprised of six individuals (representing all species). These committee members are elected at the annual post-fair evaluation meeting (held at 7:00 pm on the third Tuesday in September at the Courthouse in Chilton). The committee has the responsibility of coordinating the entire Market Animal program. This involves arranging and overseeing the education meetings, weigh-ins, making arrangements relating to the building and pens at the fair, making arrangements for the sale, disposition of animals after the sale, and a host of other details.

The committee also interprets and enforces the rules that pertain to the Market Animal Program in Calumet County.

Exhibitor Integrity

Integrity is a key part of the market animal project. The strong support that the Calumet County agricultural business community has shown for the project over the years would quickly be jeopardized if exhibitors or their parents resort to unethical or even questionable practices. Misuse of feed additives, not following withholding requirements with antibiotics, falsifying animal IDs, animal abuse, etc., have no place in the market animal project.

Perhaps the most important element of integrity relating to market animal projects is simply doing a good job of caring for your animal each and every day. Making sure your animal is comfortable, healthy, and well-fed is crucial, not only from an ethical standpoint, but goes a long way to insuring success in the show ring as well!