Jennifer Hulme
Tama County Youth Coordinator
203 W. High Street
P. O. Box 308
Toledo, IA 52342
Phone: 641-484-2703
FAX: 641-484-6178
jhulme@iastate.edu
December 1, 2015
Dear Beef Project Member:
The 2015-2016 market beef weigh-in will be Tuesday, December 29, from 8:30 a.m. to
Noon at the Tama Livestock Auction (snow date of December 30th). All market steers,
dairy steers and market heifers (a maximum of 6 per member) and feeder pens of 3
(a maximum of 4 per pen) must be weighed, tagged, and nose printed at this time.
Please know in advance which 4 animals make up your pen of 3.
Breeding heifers may be tattooed and nose printed either December 29 or at the May
identification date at the fairgrounds. If you attend the date in May, your heifers will
need to be halter broke just like at fair time. If you have breeding heifers, please have a
legible tattoo in their ear before the 29th, or one will be put in at the weigh-in. Calfhood
vaccination tattoos are not acceptable. Please remember birthdates are required for
breeding heifers.
New this year at the 2016 Tama County Fair for breeding heifers: Calves must be
born between September 1, 2014 and December 31, 2015.
What happens at weigh-in: A 4-H member or/and someone that knows the animals
needs to be at the chutes so the work crew knows how to tag the animals for the
appropriate classes. Know which class you intend to enter: TAMCO steers (born &
raised in Tama County), Open steers, pen of three, market heifers.
For anyone interested in exhibiting market steers or market heifers at the IOWA STATE
FAIR or AK-SAR-BEN, you will need to complete nomination forms on December 29th.
Make sure you tell them in the chute if you are nominating for Iowa State Fair
and/or AK-SAR-BEN. (Remember, these are nominations and not entries). Iowa state
Fair animals need to have a retinal image and tagging as well as an additional $5.00
fee. If you are planning on exhibiting at AK-SAR-BEN, an additional $5.00 fee will be
charged and a DNA sample will be taken.
Breed steers must have the breed, sire’s name and sire’s registration number. These
require a tattoo that day if the steer is a breed steer.
For all cow/calf exhibitors: REMEMBER you must have all your cows & calves listed
on your livestock ID by May 15th or they will not be eligible for the fair.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation,
gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran.
When the animals are finished in the chute at the back, they are brought to the scale.
The 4-H member needs to come to the seating area with the paper work from the back,
to the outside of the ring to complete the Identification Report. Please stay until all of
the report information is completed. Both the 4-H member and a parent must sign
the identification report. If one of these are not going to be present, they must
sign the enclosed waiver and bring to the weigh-in.
Bottle Calves do not need to be weighed in. They must be born between Jan. 1,
2016 and May 15, 2016. You need to identify them on 4honline, along with a picture by
May 15th. The bottle calf is for 4-Her’s in the 8th grade or younger. If you are doing the
bottle calf project, it must be your only beef project for fair.
What to bring:
 Please bring $1.25 for each ear tag.
 TAMCO verification form for all Tama County born and raised calves.
 If you have a breeding heifer and cow/calf pairs, you will need to bring a copy of
the pedigree or registration.
 If you have a breed steer, you need the breed, sire’s name and sire’s registration
number.
 If you and/or your parent can not be at weigh-in, please be sure to have the
enclosed yellow waiver form completed with signatures and sent with your
cattle (waivers for both member and parent are enclosed). Only a 4-H member
can sign for their animals and only their parent/guardian can sign the forms. The
waiver allows someone to take care of the process. If you and your parent are
present at the weigh-in, the form is not necessary.
 If nominating for the Iowa State Fair, bring an additional $5.00 per animal.
 If nominating for AK-SAR-BEN, bring an additional $5.00 per animal. The 4-H
member and parent must sign an AK-SAR-BEN nomination form. If either will not
be present, you must have a signed waiver. Contact the Extension Office for that
waiver before the weigh-in.
Please be cooperative with the Tama Livestock Auction personnel and work crews. Tell
them how much you appreciate their help and support! Be very careful with gates,
especially around the docks. Please be sure an adult is around to help with the
unloading and loading. All of this takes time, so be patient with each other and the
workers. Remember it can be very cold in the sale barn, so dress appropriately.
After weigh-in: The information on the identification form (weights, registration
numbers, etc) will be entered by the county staff in 4honline. Each beef exhibitor
weighing in animals on December 29th, needs to log into 4honline to verify the data by
January 25, 2016.
If you have any questions, please contact the Extension Office.
Sincerely,
Jenny Hulme, County Youth Coordinator
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation,
gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran.