# of Entries: One per class
Premium: Purple $2.50; Blue $1.75; Red $1.50; White $1.25
All static exhibits must receive a purple ribbon at the County Fair to advance to the State Fair.
General Information: Each exhibit must be properly identified with Unit and Class. All plant displays and display covers must be the result of the current year's work. Plant identification and lists of appropriate plants in each category (grasses, forbs, shrubs, and grass-like plants) can be found in the Range Judging Handbook and Contest guide (EC150, Revised July 2024), Common Grasses of Nebraska (EC170), and Common Forbs and Shrubs of Nebraska (EC118). The purpose of these exhibits is to demonstrate to the public the benefits from the study and application of crop, weed, range and soil sciences to solving problems in management, conservation, sustainability and environmental protection. For guidelines on specific projects, refer to appropriate project manuals.
Books – Classes 1-6:
- For books, plants must be mounted on sheets that are no larger than 14" wide by 14" high. Plants should be glued rather than taped and the mounts should be protected with a clear cover. Proper plant mount should include root as well as stem and leaf tissue. Exhibits will be judged based on completeness of plant mount, accuracy of identification, labeling, neatness and conformation to project requirements.
- Each completed mount must have the following information in the lower right corner of the mounting sheet: 1) scientific name (in italic or underlined), with authority; 2) common name; 3) county of collection; 4) collection date; 5) collector’s name; 6) personal collection number indicating order that plants were collected in your personal collection; 7) other information depending on class selected, i.e., value and importance, life span, growth season, origin, major types of range plants. This information should be typed or printed neatly.
Example to attach to your exhibit:
Scientific name: Abutilon theophrasti Medik.
Common name: Velvetleaf
County of collection: Hall County
Collection date: 6 July 2025
Collector’s name: Dan D. Lion
Personal collection number: 3
Life cycle: Annual
Range Management Books, Division 330 Classes
*D330-001 - Value and importance for Livestock Forage and Wildlife Habitat and Food Book - A collection of 12 different plant mounts, with four classified as high value, four as medium value and four as low value for livestock forage, wildlife habitat, or wildlife food. Value and importance classifications can be found in the Range Judging Handbook and Contest Guide, Appendix Table 1 (EC150, Revised July 2024) starting on page 42. Plants can consist of any combination of grasses, grass-like plants, forbs or shrubs. Assemble plant mounts in order of high, medium and low value and importance. Label each plant mount with its value and importance classifications for each of the three areas: Livestock Forage, Wildlife Habitat, Wildlife Food.
*D330-002 - Life Span Book - A collection of 6 perennial plant mounts and 6 annual plant mounts selected from grasses or forbs.
*D330-003 - Growth Season Book - A collection of 6 cool-season and 6 warm-season grass mounts.
*D330-004 - Origin Book – A collection of 6 native range grass mounts and 6 introduced grasses. Introduced grasses are not from North America and often used to seed pastures.
*D330-005 - Major Types of Range Plants Book - A collection of plant mounts of 3 grasses, 3 forbs, 3 grass-like and 3 shrubs.
*D330-006 - Range Plant Collection Book - A collection of 12 range plant mounts with something in common (i.e. poisonous to cattle, historically used as food by Native Americans, dye plants, favorite antelope forage, etc.). Include a short paragraph in the front of the book which describes what the plants have in common and why you have chosen to collect them.
Displays – Class 7:
- The purpose of the display is to tell an educational story to those who view the display. The display is a visual representation (pictures, charts, graphs) no larger than 28” by 28” on plywood or poster board. The display should be neatly titled. Make sure to label display with 4-H member’s name, address, and county on back side.
Range Management Displays, Division 330 Classes
*D330-007 - Parts of a Range Plant Poster - Mount a range plant on a poster board. Label the key plant parts useful for ID & correct for that plant species such as root, branch, cotyledon, petiole, midrib, stem, node, leaf, leaflet, spikelet, collar, ligule, sheath, internode, culm, crown, flower, etc.7. Include the plant label in the lower right corner, including the scientific and common name of the plant. 4-H member name and 4-H county should be on the back of the poster.
Boards – Classes 8-9:
- Boards should be no larger than 30" wide by 36" tall. Boards should be adequately labeled.
Range Management Boards, Division 330 Classes
*D330-008 - Special Study Board – A display of the results of a clipping study, a degree of use study, range site study, etc. A short essay must accompany the display to explain the reason for the study, what was learned and study results, and should be placed in a sheet cover attached to the board.
*D330-009 - Junior Rancher Board - This exhibit should include a ranch map with a record book or an appropriate educational display on some phase of rangeland or livestock management. A short essay must accompany the display to explain the purpose of the rancher board, what was learned, etc.
An asterisk* in front of a division/class number indicates the class is State Fair eligible.