🧩Who's who: Fair Board, NCJLC, and 4-H

When you show a market animal at the Navajo County Fair, you’re actually working with three separate organizations. They cooperate, but each has its own rules, its own leaders, and its own paperwork. Knowing who does what saves a lot of confusion.

The short version

Group	What they run	Who to contact
4-H (University of Arizona Cooperative Extension)	Your club, your membership, ZSuite, record books, demonstrations, skill-a-thon, county 4-H events	Your club leader; the Extension office in Holbrook
Navajo County Junior Livestock Committee (NCJLC)	The Junior Livestock Show and Sale at the fair: tagging, weigh-in, the market and showmanship shows, the auction, and the Terms & Conditions	NCJLC president and your species superintendent
Navajo County Fair Board	The fair itself: fairgrounds, gates and wristbands, the carnival, open-class shows, shavings, camping spots, and the fair book	The Fair Office at the fairgrounds

4-H

4-H is a national youth program. In Arizona it’s run by the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, and in our county that’s the Navajo County Extension Office in Holbrook, coordinated by Beverly Goodnight.

4-H is where you are a member. That means:

• You enroll every year in ZSuite and pay a program fee.
• You belong to a club (ours!) with a volunteer club leader and regular meetings.
• You pick projects (market swine, market goat, and so on), keep a record book, and give a demonstration.
• 4-H sets the youth-development rules: age groups, the Cloverbud program for ages 5–7, the code of conduct, and what it means to be a “member in good standing.”

You must be an active 4-H (or FFA) member to show at the NCJL show. That’s the connection between the two groups.

Tip: When someone says “county 4-H” or “the Extension office,” they mean the office in Holbrook. When they say “the state 4-H office,” they mean the University of Arizona in Tucson. You’ll almost never need Tucson.

Navajo County Junior Livestock Committee (NCJLC)

The NCJLC (sometimes written NCJL for “Navajo County Junior Livestock”) is a volunteer nonprofit committee, separate from both 4-H and the Fair Board. Their job is the Junior Livestock Show and Sale, the market-animal part of the fair.

They:

• Write and enforce the Terms & Conditions, the rulebook you and your parent sign every year.
• Assign a species superintendent for pigs, goats, lambs, steers, and turkeys. (What superintendents do.)
• Run tagging day for each species and give you your official NCJL ear tag.
• Run check-in and weigh-in on Tuesday of fair week.
• Run the market classes, showmanship, and round robin.
• Run the auction on Friday, collect the money from buyers, and mail your check. They take a commission to cover the auctioneer, awards, and advertising.
• Decide protests and enforce fines (dirty stalls, late load-out).

You enter their show through ShoWorks at navajojlsa.fairwire.com ($40 per animal), which is different from your 4-H enrollment in ZSuite. Yes, you register in two different systems. Everybody trips over this the first year.

Navajo County Fair Board

The Fair Board runs the whole fair, of which the livestock show is one part. The fair also has open-class animals, home-arts exhibits, the carnival, the rodeo, and food vendors.

The Fair Board handles:

• The fairgrounds in Holbrook: barns, pens, the scale, the sale ring, parking.
• Gate entry and wristbands. Each exhibitor gets two wristbands (one for you, one for a parent). Extra family wristbands are $15 each, bought online through ShoWorks.
• Shavings. One free bag per exhibitor; extras are $15 at the Fair Office before 9 AM.
• Camping and trailer parking on the northeast corner of the grounds.
• Open-class shows (adults and anyone can enter), which happen Wednesday afternoon.
• The fair book, which includes the Department Q livestock rules that also apply to you.

Heads up: Fair Board decisions and NCJLC decisions are both final. If you have an issue during the fair, go to your superintendent first. They’ll tell you whether it’s an NCJLC matter or a Fair Board matter.

What about FFA?

FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) is the high-school agriculture program run through schools. FFA members can also show at the NCJL show. Some kids do both 4-H and FFA, but you show under one or the other. If you’re in FFA, your ag teacher is your “club leader” for NCJLC purposes.

What about SAILA and jackpot shows?

Those are practice shows run by other groups, not the county. The NCJLC requires you to show your animal in at least one bona fide livestock show before the fair (a SAILA show, jackpot, livestock camp, or small-stock show). They’re a great way to get your animal used to the ring. Ask your club leader which ones are coming up.

Quick “who do I ask?” guide

• I can’t log in to ZSuite. → Extension office.
• My record book is due when? → Club leader, then Extension office.
• My pig lost its ear tag. → Swine superintendent, right away.
• How do I sign up for the fair? → ShoWorks (NCJLC). Ask your club leader if you get stuck.
• I need extra wristbands. → ShoWorks “Items” tab (Fair Board).
• Where do I park the trailer? → Fair Board, and tell Becca Bushman at the NCJLC you’re camping.
• When is tagging day? → Your species superintendent.
• When will my auction check come? → NCJLC.

Next up: How to join 4-H and enroll in ZSuite.