June 15, 2021
YQCA Requirement for State Shows
All exhibitors are required to be Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) certified for the 2021 state shows. This includes 7-year-old exhibitors who plan to show at KJLS. Youth who state nominate livestock projects MUST have a current and valid Youth PQA+ certification number or YQCA number at the time of nomination. A copy of each child's YQCA certificate or Youth PQA+ card needs to be attached to the Declaration Form. Certification(s) must be valid through October 3, 2021, to be accepted. YQCA is an annual certification program. Any nominations received without the appropriate YQCA or Youth PQA+ number will be considered incomplete. The Youth PQA+ program was discontinued on May 31, 2018. Youth who need quality assurance certification will need to complete YQCA training. Exhibitors only showing purebred, registered females will submit their certification information at the time of entry.
Youth may complete the training through an in-person instructor-led class, web-based course, or testing out. The test-out option is only available to 12-year-olds and 15-year-olds, but if they pass the test, their certification will be valid until they advance to the next age division (3 or 4 years, depending on their age). All participants must sign up through the YQCA website prior to training in order to receive their certificate and official number. Visit (see more recent publications for updated link) to sign up, or contact your local extension office for information. After completing the training, families will need to sign in to their YQCA user account, using the same method they did to register for a class, in order to view and print their YQCA certificate. While families will use their 4HOnline credentials to sign in and create an account, they must go through the YQCA website in order to successfully complete the certification process. There are resources on the program, signing up and printing certificates on the Quality Assurance tab of the KSU Youth Livestock Program website (https://www.asi.k-state.edu/research-and-extension/youth-programs/YQCA.html). For more information, please contact your local extension office or Lexie Hayes at adhayes@ksu.edu or 785-532-1264.