Good morning,
As we gear up for another great validation season, please note some very important changes noted below for the Horse Project, State Fair Market Goat and Market Lamb, Major steer and Fall heifer validations.
HORSE PROJECT VALIDATION UPDATES
Please pay attention to the instructions for the 2017 Horse Validation process are attached. Some of the fields within the system have been updated, so families with existing horse profiles will need to update some of their information when validating. Validation will be open March 1st – May 1st, at $10 per validation until April 15th and $20 from April 16 until May 1. Please remind your horse families that:
=horses must be validated in 4-H Connect every year.
=Only one validation per horse each year is necessary (horses do not need to be validated under each siblings name)
=If the horse is registered then the registration papers must be uploaded during validation. The uploaded papers must be legible and the owner must be listed as the 4-Her, or a member of the 4-Hers immediate family (parent, sibling, grandparent, legal guardian). A bill of sale or a signed transfer request will NOT suffice. Families should apply for and receive the corrected papers prior to uploading in 4-H Connect.
=If the horse is grade (unregistered) then the field designated for the upload of registration papers should be left blank.
=Pictures need to be a visual representation of the horses color and markings (head and legs must be visible in right and left profile images and lighting should be sufficient to determine coat color)
MAJOR STEER AND HEIFER VALIDATION UPDATES
• EARLY ORDER DEADLINE for Steers and Heifers TO THE COUNTY OFFICE IS APRIL 12TH
o EARLY ORDER FEE IS $15 PER TAG.
• AFTER EARLY ORDER DEADLINE, THE FEE GOES TO $25 PER TAGFFICE IS JUNE 14TH
• Last day to order late tags is June 14th
*As a note, heifers will continue to be charged per animal submitted online (they pay when we verify papers BUT I need to know how many you are wishing to validate)
* whereas steers will be charged a validation fee based on how many tags are ordered.
MAJOR MARKET LAMBS AND MARKET GOATS VALIDATION UPDATES
• EARLY ORDER DEADLINE for State Fair Market Goats and Market Lambs TO THE COUNTY OFFICE IS APRIL 12TH
o EARLY ORDER FEE IS $15 PER TAG.
• AFTER EARLY ORDER DEADLINE, THE FEE GOES TO $25 PER TAGFFICE IS JUNE 14TH
• Last day to order late tags is June14th
• Single Validation TAG and Validation Form for sheep and goats
• State Fair Market Lambs and Market Goats will use the same RFID validation tag
• Validation order will be combined total number of market Lambs and market goats.
The Texas 4-H and FFA Livestock Validation Program has been successfully confirming ownership and ensuring exhibitor engagement with their livestock projects for the past several decades. In the past 10 years, the complexities of the livestock project have changed, along with society, to require more specialized support to exhibitors from people other than AST/CEA and designated volunteers. The addition of breeding sheep, goats and heifers, along with the validation website to manage exhibitors and projects, has dramatically increased the human resources needed to effectively execute the program. Below are the expected outcomes of changing the fee structure of the validation program:
• Increased enforcement of continuous care
• Establishment of validation support teams
• Development of website linking all validation systems together and integration with some major livestock show entry systems
• Development and implementation of livestock volunteer management system
• Development of Texas FFA Association SAE and Livestock Specialist position
• Addition of Sheep and Goat Validation website manager and other personnel
• Addition of Swine Validation support position
• Reduce enforcement responsibilities from educators
• Streamline the entire validation process and reduce the workload of CEAs/ASTs
*Please note – much more information will follow on the initiatives above.
To provide additional support to the validation program, each species will increase the validation fee from $8-10 to $15 per animal validated.
We realize that the validation fee increase may cause added questions regarding the validation program. Please help families understand they are not purchasing a UIN or ear tag, rather they are investing in a system to protect the integrity of the youth livestock program and ensuring a level playing field for all.
Look to your 4H Connect Family Page for the Order Form
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