4hOnline Animal Identification Information | Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Muscatine County

All bucket calves, breeding beef, dairy goat, dog, horse, meat goat, sheep, and swine to be shown at the county and/or state fair need to be entered into 4hOnline by May 15th. Market beef must be entered by February 1st.

To enter animal ID information, log in to 4hOnline, select “View” next to the member whose animal information you are entering, select “Animals” on the left-hand side of the screen, and then “Add an Animal.”

Please be sure to read the instructions for each animal type before entering information.

A general help sheet for entering animals can be found here.

A help sheet for entering market beef can be found here.

A help sheet for entering horses can be found here.

If you intend to show an animal in a breed class at either the Muscatine County Fair and/or Iowa State Fair, be sure to put in breed registration information (number, paper, etc.)

Members must be enrolled in 4hOnline and have enrollment fee paid before animals can be entered.

Specific information for some of the animals are below.

Bucket Calf

Bucket calves need an ear tag or tattoo to identify the calf. If your calf has a tattoo, enter it into the “tag” field.
Animal birthdate is required.
If you are in need of an ear tag, please contact Katrina at the Extension office.

Breeding Beef

A tattoo is required for all breeding beef (both purebred and commercial).
Breeding beef also need additional method of ID (Registration number, calfhood vaccination number, or official Iowa 4-H ear tag or EID tag #) If you are in need of an Iowa 4-H ear tag, please contact Katrina at the Extension office.
Registered/purebred heifers MUST have a registration number listed by May 15. "Pending" or "Applied For" will not be accepted. If no registration number is entered by May 15, the animal will only be allowed to show as a commercial heifer.
“County Raised” indicates the animal was born and raised in Muscatine County.
“Home Raised” indicates the animal was born and raised from your family’s own herd. Please indicate this to show in the Produce Heifer Beef Classes at the Muscatine County Fair.
A NAIS Premises ID is not required for the Muscatine County Fair or the Iowa State Fair.

Market Beef

Please enter your tag number with the full tag number- “IA/42,” three letters, and four numbers e.g. "IAJJY1234" or full 15 digit EID/RFID number e.g. “840000123456789”)
"County Raised" indicates the animal was born and raised in Muscatine County. This is not necessary for any class at the Muscatine County Fair or Iowa State Fair.
"Home Raised" indicates the animal was born and raised from your family's own herd. Please indicate this to show in the Produce Market Beef Classes at the Muscatine County Fair.
A NAIS Premises ID is not needed for the Muscatine County Fair or the Iowa State Fair.
Your animal's registration number from the breed association is needed to show in any breed class at the Muscatine County Fair or the Iowa State Fair. If you do not enter a registration number by February 1, your animal will only be eligible to show in crossbred classes.
If your animal has an RFID/EID tag please enter the full 15 digit number (e.g. “840000123456789) in both the RFID Number & Tag fields. Non-RFID/EID tags (e.g. “IAJJY1234”) only need to be entered into the Tag field.
Tattoo numbers are needed for registered steers and registered breeding heifers. (Heifers that are weighed-in are eligible to be shown as breeding heifers. If you think a market heifer could be switched to a breeding heifer in the spring, enter her tattoo number, registration number, and birthdate.)
Enter a weigh-in location only if you weighed-in your beef at different county's weigh-in.

Dairy Goat

A NAIS Premises ID is not needed for the Muscatine County Fair or the Iowa State Fair.
Registered dairy goats MUST have a registration number listed by May 15 to show in a breed class.

Dog

Dogs can be dual-identified by siblings. Each 4-H member must identify the dog under their name in 4hOnline.
Rabies expiration date, rabies product serial number, and rabies vaccination date are all required for both the Muscatine County Fair and Iowa State Fair. A picture or PDF of your dog’s rabies certificate is also required.

Horse & Pony

Photos of your horse/pony are required for both the Muscatine County Fair and Iowa State Fair. A total of four photos of the horse/pony are needed: front, back, left, and right side.
A picture or PDF of your horse lease agreement is not required for either the Muscatine County Fair and Iowa State Fair for leased horses.
Horses can be dual-identified by siblings. Each 4-H member must identify the horse under their name in 4hOnline.
A registration number and upload of registration papers are not required for the Muscatine County Fair or the Iowa State Fair.

Meat Goat

Market meat goats & bucks MUST have 4-H USDA tag.
Breeding meat goat does must have a 4-H USDA tag, scrapies tag, or official tattoo (LE- Individual animal; RE- Herd prefix.)
Please enter your tag number with all letters and numbers on your tag, including the "42/IA", three letters, and four numbers e.g. " IA JJU 1234".
The NAIS Premises ID is specific to swine and not needed for the Muscatine County Fair or Iowa State Fair. You can leave this field blank.
A beginning weight is not required.
Enter a Weigh-In Location only if you weighed-in your meat goats at a different county’s weigh-in.

Sheep

Please enter your tag number with all letters and numbers on your tag, including the "42/IA", three letters, and four numbers e.g. " IA JJU 1234".
A 4-H USDA tag and scrapie ID information are both required.
“County Raised” indicates the animal was born and raised in Muscatine County. “Home Raised” indicates the animal was born and raised from your family’s own herd. Please indicate the appropriate option to show in Class 530- Home Born or County Born Market Lamb Class at the Muscatine County Fair.
The NAIS Premises ID is not needed for the Muscatine County Fair or Iowa State Fair. You can leave this field blank.
Enter a Weigh-In Location only if you weighed-in your sheep at a different county’s weigh-in.

Swine

Swine tags are available to be picked up at the Muscatine County Extension office.

All county fair swine need a 4-H USDA tag to show. State fair swine need both a 4-H USDA tag and a DNA tag. Both tags are only available at the Extension office. All swine need ear notches as well.

Families are responsible for tagging their own swine and entering animals into 4hOnline. We have taggers in the office that can be borrowed when you come to pick up your tags, if needed. If you need assistance tagging your hogs, please let Katrina know.

All swine must be tagged and have ID’s entered in 4hOnline by May 15.

Each 4-H USDA tag is $3. Each DNA tag is $10. (After 5 DNA tags, each DNA tag is $8.)

DNA samples must be returned to the Muscatine County Extension office by Friday, May 12th to be mailed to the state office (but, preferably sooner!)

You do NOT need a beginning weight or beginning weight date.
Please enter your tag number with all letters and numbers on your tag, including the "42/IA", three letters, and four numbers e.g. " IA JJU 1234".
For state fair swine, enter both USDA tag numbers and DNA tag numbers in the Tag entry field. E.g. “IA JJU 1234; DNA 4567”
The fields “Breeder Location,” “Colors and Markings,” and “NAIS Premises ID” are not required for the Muscatine County Fair or the Iowa State Fair.
Ear pictures are not required for the Muscatine County Fair or the Iowa State Fair.

Written instructions on how to tag with the DNA tags
A video on how to tag with the DNA tags
Ear notching help sheet

Contact Katrina with any questions.

Please contact the Muscatine County Extension & Outreach office if you have any questions.

PLEASE NOTE: Entering animal information into 4hOnline only nominates the animal to be shown. Animals will still need to be officially entered into the fair, in specific classes through FairEntry for both the Muscatine County Fair (May 16-Jun 16) and the Iowa State Fair (June 1-July 1).