Livestock, Horse & Rabbit Identification


2024 Identification Guidelines and Dates 4-H Youth Livestock

Market Animals 

  • County Only Market Nomination Card (ID card)
    Market Beef, Performance Market Calves, Market Goats, Market Sheep & Market Swine Due June 14th.
    This card is for office use only for County Fair and DOES NOT make the animal eligible for State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben. Families MUST enter animal ID information in the State Fair nomination data base and complete payment by midnight of the June 15 deadline at: www.showstockmgr.com to nominate market animals to be eligible for exhibition at the State Fair. 

  • NOTE TO MARKET SWINE EXHIBITORS: EID tags will serve at the official identificaton for County Fair, State Fair, and Ak-Sar-Ben swine. If your pigs have ear notches you may record them as a back up identification but they will not be the official identification method. 

  • EID TAGS: Families will need to contact the Extension Office to get and pay for EID tags (County Fair, State Fair, Ak-Sar-Ben) and obtain DNA envelopes (State Fair & Ak-Sar-Ben for market animals (youth ages 10 & older). Youth ages 9 must order DNA enveloples thru Ak-Sar-Ben to exhibit market beef at Ak-Sar-Ben. We do not send ear tags through the mail. It is the responsibilty of the family to make sure EID tags for Market Beef, Feeder Calves, Bucket Calves, and Calves of Cow/Calf pairs are in the animal's ear by June 14th. Market Goats and Market Sheep must have a Scrapie tag (offical ID) in the animal's ear by June 14th. 

  • DNA and Nomination Process for State Fair and Ak-Sar-Ben - Deadline is June 15th. 
    State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben Market Beef, Market Swine, Market Goat, and Market Sheep - Due June 14th - DNA Envelope is your ID for county fair, state fair and Ak-Sar-Ben. Call Extension Office for DNA enveloples. $3.00 for EID tags for beef and swine and $7 for DNA (paid online at time of online nomination) for beef, goats, sheep and swine. Sheep and Goat will be identified with Scrapie tags & DNA. Families MUST enter animal ID information in the State Fair nomination data base and complete payment by midnight of each deadline at: www.showstockmgr.com   

  • State Fair Nomination Instructions 

  • ID Forms and Nominations do not serve as an entry for any show. Entry is a separate process.

Breeding Animals

  • County Fair Breeding Nomination Card (ID card)
    Breeding Beef, Performance Breeding Beef, Breeding Goats, and Breeding Sheep Due June 15th. This card is for office use only for County Fair and DOES NOT make the animal eligible for State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben. Families MUST enter animal ID information in the State Fair nomination data base and complete payment by midnight of the June 15 deadline at: www.showstockmgr.com to nominate breeding animals to be eligible for exhibition at the State Fair. 

  • DNA and Nomination Process for State Fair and Ak-Sar-Ben - Deadline is June 14th. 
    State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben Breeding Beef, Breeding Swine, Breeding Goat, and Breeding Sheep - Due June 14th - DNA Envelope is your ID for State Fair and Ak-Sar-Ben. Call Extension Office for DNA enveloples. $3.00 for EID tags for commerical breeding heifers and breeding swine and $7 for DNA (paid online at time of online nomination) for beef, goats, sheep and swine. Sheep and Goat will be identified with Scrapie tags & DNA. Families MUST enter animal ID information in the State Fair nomination data base and complete payment by midnight of each deadline at: www.showstockmgr.com   

  • State Fair Nomination Instructions 

  •  ID Forms and Nominations do not serve as an entry for any show. 

Feeder Calves

  • County Fair Feeder Calf Nomination Form (ID card)
    Feeder Calves - Due June 14th. This card is for office use only for County Fair and DOES NOT make the animal eligible for State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben. Families MUST enter animal ID information in the State Fair nomination data base and complete payment by midnight of the June 15 deadline at: www.showstockmgr.com to nominate breeding animals to be eligible for exhibition at the State Fair. 
  • All Feeder Calves MUST have a DNA envelope on file and Nomination Process completed for State Fair and Ak-Sar-Ben - Deadline is June 15th. - DNA Envelope is your ID for state fair and Ak-Sar-Ben. Call Extension Office for DNA enveloples. $3.00 for EID tags and $7 for DNA (paid online at time of online nomination). Families MUST enter animal ID information in the State Fair nomination data base and complete payment by midnight of each deadline at: www.showstockmgr.com   
  • State Fair feeder calves must be nominated in www.showstockmgr.com by June 14th. 
  • Breeding Heifer (feeder calves) must also be nominated as a breeding heifer into www.showstockmgr.com by June 15th if you may possible want to show them as breeding heifers at state fair. Cannot be shown as a breeding heifer and a feeder calf and require a DNA sample.
  • $7.00 charge for a nomination fee (paid online at time of online nomination) for feeder calves for State Fair.
  • State Fair Nomination Instructions 
  • ID Forms and Nominations do not serve as an entry for any show. 

FFA Cow-Calf Pairs

  • Cow-Calf ID Form -  Due June 14
  • For State Fair, cow-calf pairs must also be nominated for State Fair with a Breeding Nomination. If you want to exhibit the calf as a feeder calf, you must also make a seprate nomination for the calf into www.showstockmgr.com 

Other ID Forms

  • Bucket Calf ID Form- Due June 14

  • Horse ID Form - Due June 14 or May 6 if entering District or State Horse Show. NOTE: ID forms must include any marking the horse may have or photos attached 

  • Rabbit ID Form - Due June 14

    Tattoos 
    It is the responsibilty of the family to make sure tattoos for Breeding Beef (Registered Heifers), Cow's of Cow/Calf pairs and Rabbits are in the animal's ear by June 14th. Commercial (non-registered) Breeding Beef may have an EID tag in place of a tattoo. 

    Scrapie Tags
    Market & Breeding Goats and Market & Breeding Sheep must have a Scrapie tag (offical ID) in the animal's ear by June 14th. The Extension Office does not supply Scrapie tags. If you purchased the animal, it should by law have a Scrapie tag already in the ear. If you raisedthe animal, you need to contact the NE Department of Ag. to obtain your own Scrapie tags - call 402 471-2351.

  • Nebraska 4-H Tagging Tips and Guidelines