Wayne County 4-H/FFA Fairbook

GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS

A. Entries for the Wayne County 4‑H/FFA Division are limited to youth enrolled in the Wayne County 4‑H Program or Wayne FFA Programs.

B. Only articles mentioned in the premium list will be judged and given a place in the exhibit hall. All exhibits will be judged on individual merit. A member may only exhibit one article under each premium number.

C. All entries must be received on dates as listed in the County Fair Schedule.

D. Release time for all exhibits is 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 27 and will be strictly enforced.

E. No animal or exhibit shall be removed from the grounds, prior to the predetermined release time, without consent of the superintendent of each department, Ag Society President, and 4-H Educator/FFA Advisor. Any violation of this rule will act as a forfeiture of any and all premiums (including Bonus Auction and Pool Money), awards (including high point awards and Start Fair qualified exhibits) and recognitions for that exhibitor. Horses may leave at 4:00 p.m. Friday night for the Tractor Pull, but must be back by 8:00 a.m. Saturday. The Champion and Reserve Champion Cow/Calf Jr. and Sr. pairs are required to stay. Cow/calf pairs exhibited by 4-H/FFA exhibitors with no other livestock at the fair must also stay (does not include feeder calf). All other cow/calf pairs may be dismissed at the discretion of the superintendent. Cows that leave early must leave between 8:00 p.m. Friday evening and 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning.

F. Exhibit space will be assigned by the respective department superintendents. 

G. Exhibitors must reach their 9th birthday sometime during 2025 and must not have their 20th birthday during the calendar year of 2025.

H. FFA: Youth that belong to the Wayne Community Schools or Winside Public School FFA chapters are eligible to exhibit animals (except bucket calf) and static exhibits at the Wayne County Fair. FFA members will follow the same rules and regulations as 4-H members.

I. Clover Kids: Youth may join Clover Kids when they turn age 6-8 during the current calendar year. This program will assist youth in developing emotional, physical, intellectual, and social skills. Clover Kid’s programming is designed with activities and learning opportunities that are developmentally appropriate for youth of this age. Youth within this age are not yet ready for competition. Clover Kid’s Workshops will be held throughout the year. Items created at the workshops can be entered and will be evaluated, but will receive a participation ribbon. Clover Kids programs involving live animals must adhere to specific requirements. Exhibition only includes enrolled 4-H Club members, 4-H does not sponsor or support pee-wee events or exhibition. Peewee referring to non 4-H youth.

J. Exhibits must be owned by youth working under the rules, policy, and guidelines of the 4‑H program associated with the University of Nebraska––Lincoln Extension (4-H Policy and Procedures Handbook, 4-H Council Handbook, & 4-H Animal Exhibitor Handbook) and the Official FFA Manual. The exhibit must represent the exhibitors own work accomplished since the last fair (unless otherwise noted in the Fair Book).. A member cannot enroll in the same 4‑H project area in more than one county in the same year. (Example: beef, horse, foods, clothing, etc.). 

K. Exhibits (including animals) can be entered in ONLY one county fair. Projects cannot be shown in both 4-H and FFA.

L. No Firearms, items with a blade (broad heads, knives, saws, etc.) or related items of any other kind, may be exhibited. This applies to actual items, replicated items and item parts. Shooting sports accessories are permissible as described in the Conservation, Wildlife, and Shooting Sports sections of the Fair Book.

M. Use of copy written images: copyrighted writing, artwork, videos, and images may be used in 4-H educational exhibits under Fair Use for educational purposes of Copyright Law. In order to qualify for Fair Use, 4-H members must: 1) only use a small amount of the copy-written work, 2) add new meaning to the work to make it original, 3) rework it and use it in a totally different way, and 4) use it for nonprofit purposes (not to make money). Giving credit to the original creator is also recommended. 

N. Disclaimer: 4-H/FFA exhibits at the Wayne County Fair are entered and displayed at the risk of the 4-H/FFA member. Nebraska Extension 4-H Youth Development, in cooperation with the Wayne County Ag Society accepts exhibits and will exercise due care to protect them. However, 4-H and the Wayne County Ag Society cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage due to the conditions imposed by large crowds, the arrangement of the buildings where displays are housed, and the large number of exhibits. 4-H member who have exhibits of great sentimental and/or monetary value should carefully consider whether such exhibits should be exposed to the hazards of the fair. 

O. 4-H Policy Regarding Missed Deadlines: The 4-H youth Development Program strives to instill responsibility in all 4-H members. Part of the responsibility is making sure that all 4-H deadlines are followed. It is the 4-H Council’s role to be consistent and fair to all 4-H members. Therefore, if a 4-H member contacts the Nebraska Extension Office after a missed county deadline, the 4-H member will be allowed to participate in county events, contests, etc., but will be ineligible for awards and advancement to the State Fair. In the case where ID papers are late, we must follow the state deadline so opportunities to participate in events beyond the county are out of the 4-H Council’s control.

P. Grievance Policy:

• The Extension Educator and FFA Advisors, together with the local 4-H Council and the executive committee of the general 4-H Livestock Committee consisting of the chairman of each of the 4-H animal projects has the authority to make appropriate decisions on local 4-H and FFA disputes. If this does not apply to an animal project, the Extension Educator, together with the local 4-H Council and appropriate superintendent of the project will make up the grievance committee. These decisions will be formulated using county rules, state policy and national directives as formulated by this policy or as dictated by law.
• Engagement Zone Coordinator and State 4-H Staff may provide resources to the situation when asked by the Extension Educator.
• All protests must be submitted in writing along with $100 cash. If protester is right, he/she gets the $100 back and the exhibitor forfeits the class placing/premium/award/special recognition. If the protester is wrong, the $100 is forfeited to the 4-H Council. This policy applies to all 4-H/FFA exhibits. The written protest must include: 
  • Names of persons involved
  • Cause of complaint or appeal
  • Situation and documentation
  • Recommendations for correction
  • Specific action, rule, etc., in question
  • Additional persons the committee may contact for further clarification
  • Procedures and/or steps carried out by the person involved prior to submission of the protest to the Protest Committee.
• All protests must be signed by the protester.
• Protests will not be accepted after the exhibit or event/activity is completed/released.
• The protest will be acknowledged after receiving the written protest and will be responded to in a timely manner.
• Protests related to judges’ integrity, decision, placings or other evaluations will not be accepted.
• The committee will review the written protest. They may call for a face-to-face meeting with affected persons and event leadership to discuss the situation and the official ruling. Recommendations will be developed, followed, and communicated both verbally and in writing to the individual or group affected.
• Failure of the protester to attend the face-to-face meeting with the Protest Committee will result in no action and forfeiture of the deposit.
• In cases of protest, the 4-H member/parent/leader may continue to participate. Results of participation will be subject to change based on the outcome of the protest process.
• The Protest Committee and event leadership reserves the right to withhold any award. The 4-H member/parent/leader may be excluded from 4-H if action warrants.

Q. Ribbons Awarded: In the 4-H Section, exhibits will be judged according to research-based standards that indicate level of performance or quality of work. Purple ribbons designate an exhibit of superior quality that has met and exceeded all the standards. Blue ribbons denote an above average exhibit that has met almost all the standards in a way that surpasses the norm. Red ribbons indicate average quality and indicate that the exhibit has met the majority of standards in such a way that the benchmark was reached, but not exceeded. White ribbons indicate that the exhibit has not met the majority of the standards. 

R. Nebraska 4-H Code of Conduct: All 4-H staff, volunteers, members, and parents/guardians should adhere to the code of conduct during participation at all 4-H Events. 

S. Any class number with a “+” indicates the class is State Fair eligible. All static exhibits must receive a purple ribbon to advance to the State Fair.

Note: Premium money will not be paid unless the youth has completed the project (for the project the premium is being paid on) to his/her leader’s/advisor’s satisfaction.