Fresno County 4-H
Livestock Achievement
Program
Overview, Purpose, & Goals
WHAT: Fresno County 4-H Livestock Achievement Program: The program is similar to the Dog Achievement and Horse
Achievement Programs in Fresno County. The program provides an outline of what information should be covered in each year
of a livestock project. Members, leaders, and parents can go online to http://ucanr.edu/sites/4-H-Fresno/ to access study
guides for each species of livestock (beef cattle, dairy goats, meat goats, sheep, and swine.) Study guides and other resources
will also be available for purchase from the 4-H office. Project leaders will administer a written test to their members in April. In
May, in conjunction with the 4-H Fair, members will be tested on skills related to their species of livestock. Written and skill
tests will be scored and members will be awarded medals or ribbons based on their proficiency.
WHY: Fresno County 4-H wants to encourage members to increase their knowledge and skill development in their livestock
projects and offer members an opportunity to excel outside of the show ring.
WHO: The Livestock Achievement Program is open to all 4-H members who are enrolled in a beef cattle, dairy goat, meat goat,
sheep, or swine project. (Dairy cattle will be added if there is leader/member interest). Participation in the program is strongly
encouraged but is optional. If a project leader does not follow the program, members are still eligible to participate on their
own. In that case, the written test will be done with another club or individually, as needed.
HOW: All members will begin with Level I. Members are eligible to participate in the Livestock Achievement Program for each
species of livestock for which they are enrolled in a project. Members do not need to medal in order to move on to the next
level the following year, however, members who do not medal, have the option to repeat the level the following year.
Levels
There will be four proficiency levels for each species:
• Beef Cattle, Sheep, Swine, and Meat Goats
Levels 1 and 2 will focus on market animal production
Levels 3 and 4 will incorporate breeding animal production as well as more
advanced skills and knowledge of the species.
• Dairy Goats
Levels 1 and 2 will focus on basic care and handling of dairy goats.
Levels 3 and 4 will focus on more advanced skills and knowledge.
• Dairy Cattle*
*There is a need for a leader to oversee the Dairy Cattle portion of the
Livestock Achievement Program
Written Test Overview
During the month of April, project leaders will order tests from the 4-H office and administer the tests to
their members. All tests will be returned to the office by the end of April for scoring.
Level 1 Written Test:
• Body Part Identification (Identify 6 parts)
• Complete a Fair Entry Form
• Terminology (Match 10 terms to their definition)
• List Three Breeds of Your Species of Livestock
Level 2 Written Test:
• Body Part Identification (Identify 12 parts)
• Wholesale Cuts (Identify 3 cuts) (Beef, Sheep, Swine, and Meat Goats)
or Parts of the Udder (Identify 3 parts) (Dairy Goats)
• Terminology (Match 20 terms to their definition)
• Identify Three Breeds of Your Species of Livestock
Skills Test Overview
In conjunction with the 4-H Fair held in early May, livestock members who completed the written test will be tested on skills specific to their species of
livestock. An “open testing” format will be used, in which members will be able to move among the testing stations at their own pace. They will turn in a
score card after completing each test station.
Level 1 Skill Test:
• Basic handling/management skills (haltering, leading, tying, care, cleanliness, feeding/watering, worming schedule, temperature of healthy animal)
• Basic showmanship (setting up legs, presenting animal to judge, proper use of show stick/whip)
• Judging (members will judge a class of 4 animals of their species)
• Feed identification (identify 5 feedstuffs)
• Equipment identification (identify 8 pieces of equipment specific to their species)
Level 2 Skill Test:
• Management (members will answer questions and/or demonstrate skills related to basic management including simple veterinary care, feeding, and
fitting)
• Showmanship (members will demonstrate Level 1 skills + demonstrate ability to move animal out of line and set-up (if applicable), position themselves
correctly to show front, side, and rear view of animal, and turn animal)
• Judging (members will judge a class of 4 animals of their species)
• Feed Identification (identify 10 feedstuffs)
• Equipment Identification (identify 15 pieces of equipment specific to your species of livestock)
Medal/Ribbon Criteria
To be consistent with our Dog and Horse Achievement programs, members will be
able to move on to a new level, as long as they tested in the previous level,
regardless of how they scored; however, if a member does not receive a gold
medal in their level, they can repeat that level the following year. All members will
begin at Level 1 for written and skills testing. Each member will test on one level
per species but can work on multiple species in a given year. Written test score
will be combined with skill test score to determine final score. 90% or above =
gold medal; 80-89% = blue; 70-79% = red; 69% or lower = white.
Resources
Study guides will serve as a resource and curriculum guide for leaders and provide
members with information and a reference for the testing. Study guides to be used will
be those developed by Fresno County 4-H Livestock Achievement committee members
and/or those purchased from Ohio Cooperative Extension. Study guides made by
committee members will be available for purchase or on-line. There are currently study
guides for beef, sheep, swine, and meat goats. The Ohio Cooperative Extension books
will be available for purchase through the 4-H Office. There are Ohio Cooperative
Extension books available for beef, sheep, swine, meat and dairy goats.
Leader/Parent Help Needed
• Species help (Dairy cattle needs a leader to oversee the program.)
• Written Test Scoring
• Skills Testing – judging skills, scoring, tabulations, set-up, clean-up
• Contact Susanne Carroll to sign up to help:
• (559) 269-9959 or susanneandkevin@yahoo.com