June 10, 2025
State Livestock Nomination Deadline Approaching June 15
All small livestock and commercial heifer state nominations are due June 15. This includes commercial breeding heifers, market swine, commercial breeding gilts, market lambs, commercial breeding ewes, and ALL meat goats. Market animals of any breed or gender, as well as commercial breeding females, must be nominated to be eligible for the Kansas State Fair Grand Drive and/or KJLS. Animals must be submitted online by June 15, as well as the completed and signed official DNA envelopes being postmarked by the deadline. Families also need to submit a copy of their receipt showing the list of all animals that were entered in the system under each child in their family.
The annual deadline for state nominations is June 15, which is a Sunday this year. All animals must be submitted online by this date. However, DNA envelopes may be postmarked Monday, June 16, and still be accepted, only for this year.
Families must submit the animals under each child within the family for all kids to be eligible to show the animal. If a family has two kids and five animals, all five animals need to be entered into the ShoWorks nomination system under both kids. This does mean families will duplicate entries online to get them submitted under multiple children. All youth must also sign the DNA hair sample envelope for each animal. Gilts, ewes, and does may be dual nominated in the market and breeding divisions by entering the animal as market and then sliding the dual nomination checkbox to “yes” in the online system. However, only one DNA hair sample envelope needs to be submitted for the animal.
The 2025 state livestock information is available from the KSU Youth Livestock Program website (www.asi.k‐state.edu/research‐and‐extension/youth‐programs). All families are encouraged to use the specie checklist as a guide to ensure their nominations are complete upon submission. The Rookie Guide and zoom video recording are also resources people find helpful.
Once the first animal nomination is entered for each child, the system will prompt users to upload the child’s YQCA certificate and Declaration Form. They must be done at the same time, so families need to have these documents ready before they start. YQCA certification must be completed at the time of nomination and valid through 10/5/2025 to be accepted.
Ear notches are required for swine nominations and full scrapie tag numbers are required for sheep and goats. The scrapie tag number must include the Flock ID and individual animal number (example: KSS0035 16121). Nominations received without this information will be considered incomplete and returned to the family for completion. Resources on reading ear notches and submitting scrapie tag numbers are available on the website.
After nominations are submitted online through the Kansas nomination link, the signed DNA envelopes need to be postmarked by June 16. This is a firm deadline, no exceptions. Certified mail, or a commercial mailing option that provides proof of mailing and tracking, is highly encouraged.
Confirmation letters will be sent to families once their DNA envelopes are received and nominations have been processed. Reports showing a list of nominations that have been received and opened will be updated a few times a week. Mail is opened and processed in the order in which it is received. Once the signed DNA envelopes are received and reviewed, animals will appear on the nominated livestock reports. Families are encouraged to check the reports regularly until they appear on the list, as well as use the confirmation letter and online report to verify their nomination information is correct.
REMINDER ‐ A complete nomination does NOT constitute show entry. The Kansas State Fair Grand Drive entries will be available once all nominations have been processed, around July 1. The link to entry will be available on the Grand Drive and KJLS websites, as well as their social media platforms. Kansas State Fair Grand Drive entries will be due July 15, with KJLS entries due August 15. Animals that are nominated, but do not follow the appropriate entry processes set forth by each show, will not be permitted to show. For more information, contact Lexie Hayes (adhayes@ksu.edu or 785‐532‐1264).