Skillathons are required for fair participation in the following areas: Beef, Sheep, Swine, Poultry, Rabbits, Goats, Horses, Dairy, Dogs, and Llamas/Alpacas
2026 Skillathon Dates:
June 16 & 25
6:00 to 8:00 pm
Sign up: Open June 1st
General Information
Requirement: All livestock exhibitors must participate in skillathon to be eligible to show at the Madison County Fair.
Dress Code: All participants must come to skillathon dressed in appropriate show clothes for their species.
- ACCOMODATIONS REQUEST: Fill out a Winning 4-H Plan for and send to the Extension Office to request accomodations for your child (extra time, read aloud, etc.)
- If you cannot attend the dates listed above, you will NOT be eligible to show at the Madison County Fair. Contact the Extension Office by June 1 to discuss any extenuating circumstances.
What to bring:
- Livestock Project and Record Book (for 1st year members) AND the PDF Livestock Records for additional years for each species
- Come dressed in clothes that are required for your show (See Fair Book for details)
- Be sure to study using the study guides listed below for your species!
Special Notes:
- Skill-a-thon uses hands-on learning to test member's knowledge of the project. Topics can be found in resource book, Skill-a-thon kits, study guide, and quality assurance topics.
- All families must register their youth for a time slot for each species skill-a-thon required
Special Accomodations:
- If your child needs certain accomodations to help them be successful, such as reading aloud, extra time, private judging, etc., please contact the OSU Extension Office to fill out a Winning 4-H Plan so we can discuss accomodations necessary!
Study Guides
Each species has a study guide which lists the stations and a description for the types of questions asked, where information can be found, etc. Please review the study guide and resources for each species you are exhibiting.
Feed Identification:
Auburn Resource
University of Kentucky Resource
Practice Quizzes are available here: Animal Science Virtual Learning Lab
Quality Assurance Study Help available here: QA Study Guide ALL GPP's
| Species | Study Guide | Additional Resources (also linked in Study Guide) |
| Alpaca | ||
| Beef (includes Dairy Beef Feeders) | ||
| Dairy | PTA- UMN | |
| Dog | Dog bite terminology | |
| Goats | ||
| Horse (Horseless Horse Projects do NOT participate in Skillathon) | ||
| Poultry |
Biosecurity Tips to Prevent Poultry Disease |
|
| Rabbit (includes Pet Rabbit) |
|
|
| Sheep | ||
| Swine |
