Dubuque County 4-H

🚨 Calling All Youth Grades 4–12! 🚨

We are looking for more buddies and youth mentors for our upcoming 2026 Bacon Buddies Show! 🐷💚
Bacon Buddies is an amazing opportunity to build friendships, develop leadership skills, and help create a fun and inclusive experience at the fair. Youth mentors work one-on-one with a buddy to make the show a positive and memorable experience for everyone involved.

📅 Event Date: Thursday, July 30 (following the Swine Show)
📌 Who can participate: Youth in grades 4–12

If you or someone you know is interested in being part of this meaningful program, please complete the short application and submit it as soon as possible.

📄 Application link:
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/dubuque/county-fair
📧 Email completed forms to: [email protected]

🎉 What a night at the Performance Beef Show! We had a fantastic time celebrating the hard work of our 4-H youth, and we’re so proud of everyone who participated!

This year was especially exciting because all of the entries in the contest were home-raised animals, which is an incredible accomplishment for Dubuque County. We also received many compliments from the judge on the outstanding quality of the cattle exhibited, showcasing the dedication, knowledge, and hard work of our youth and their families.

Congratulations to our winners of the Live Contest:
🥇 Champion Live Performance Beef – Lana Link
🥈 Reserve Champion Live Performance Beef – Lana Link

A heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who came out to support these incredible youth and to our amazing sponsors and supporters who made the evening possible:

👏 Farm Credit Services – for sponsoring our judge
🍔 Dubuque County Cattlemen – for providing delicious burgers
🥤 Fidelity Bank & Trust – for supplying the rest of the meal, including water, chips, buns, and condiments
📍 Cascade Livestock Auction – for hosting us at their facility
🚛 Jeff Loes – for hauling the animals to Tyson for their final carcass evaluation
🐮 Denise Schwab – for her dedication to our beef exhibitors and for the countless hours she spends teaching and mentoring youth about beef production

And of course, a HUGE shoutout to our dedicated Beef Committee for all their hard work behind the scenes. This event wouldn’t have happened without you!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success, and congratulations again to all of our exhibitors on an outstanding year! 🏆🎉

📍FOR ALL 4-H MEMBERS! 📍

All Indoor Projects & Livestock Exhibits must be entered into their respective classes in FairEntry by Wednesday, July 1st!

A few reminders:
🔐 Login: 4-H families - FairEntry uses your 4-H Online login. If needed, reset your password in 4-H Online, not FairEntry. FFA exhibitors, you will work with your advisor.
🍀 Clover Kids do NOT enter projects in FairEntry.

✅ Don’t wait—submit early and reach out with questions to Grace at (563) 583-6496 or [email protected].

🐄🍀 Congratulations to our Dubuque County 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl teams! 🍀🐄

On June 9, Dubuque County 4-H members competed at the Iowa State 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl in Starmont, IA—and they represented our county incredibly well!

🏆 The Intermediate Team (Ellie Simon, Brielle Gavin, Adley Rahe, and Carson Rauen) brought home 1st place in their division!

👏 Ellie Simon earned 1st place individual test score, followed by Brielle Gavin in 2nd place.

🥈 The Junior Team (Bodie Simon, Jada Rauen, and Colin Rauen) also had a fantastic day, finishing 2nd overall!

⭐ Bodie Simon earned 2nd place individual test score in the junior division.

Great job to all the 4-H’ers for their hard work, knowledge, and teamwork—it was a fun and successful day! 💚

✨ 4-H members had a great time at our Clothing & Communications Event on June 13th! From showcasing stylish outfits to sharing creative presentations, it was a day full of confidence, learning, and fun! 👗🎤🍀

🚨 FINAL REMINDER: LIVESTOCK EXHIBITORS! 🚨
YQCA certification is REQUIRED by July 1 to exhibit the following species at the 2026 fair:
🐄 Beef
🐖 Swine
🐐 Meat Goat & Dairy Goat
🐑 Sheep
🐓 Poultry
🐇 Rabbit
🐄 Dairy Cattle
💻 Complete the online training at https://yqcaprogram.org
✅ Did you take one of the in-person trainings?
Don’t forget to log in, complete the post-test, and download your certificate.
📩 All certificates must be emailed to Grace at [email protected] by July 1.
No certificate = not eligible to exhibit. 🔒
Let’s get this done so you're ready to hit the show ring!

🎣🏆 Congratulations to our Dubuque County 4-H anglers!

🐟 Grant C. placed 2nd in the Walleye Tournament with a 19.5-inch walleye.

🐟 Will B. tied for 2nd in the Trout Tournament with a 13-inch trout.

We’re proud to see these 4-H members recognized among the top youth anglers in the Iowa 4-H Fishing Club Tournament. Great job, Grant and Will! 🎉🍀

Are you passionate and excited about the future of agriculture? 🍀

Apply now to become an Iowa 4-H Agricultural Ambassador! Represent Iowa 4-H, grow your leadership skills, and connect with youth across the state. 🐮🐔🐑

🔸 Applicants must be at least 16 and not older than 20 as of January 1st of the current year at the time of their application.
🔹 Term will be from August through September of the following year.
🔸 Monthly in-person retreats, virtual leadership and skill building opportunities, service experiences and career exploration tours.

📝 Applications due July 7

🔗 https://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/ag-ambassadors

🚨 Calling all youth grades 4–12! 🚨

We're looking for more youth mentors and more buddies for our 2026 Bacon Buddies program! 🐷💚

This is an amazing opportunity to make a difference, build leadership skills, and help create an inclusive and fun experience for everyone involved. Bacon Buddies takes place after the Swine show on Thursday, July 30.

If you're interested in being part of something meaningful and memorable, please complete the short application below as early as possible (deadline July 1) and email it to [email protected].

📄 Application link: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/dubuque/county-fair

Iowa 4-H members planning to exhibit a food product should pay close attention to food safety guidelines for prepared and preserved foods as outlined in the Foods for Iowa 4-H Fairs Quick Reference Guide for 2026. Members are also encouraged to submit their chosen recipe to AnswerLine for food safety feedback or concerns. go.iastate.edu/H3QVQD