Learn more about the Texas 4-H/FFA Livestock Validation

SPRING VALIDATION TAG ORDERS

• ALL Major Show Steers for the 2025 -2026 year ($30 per tag) – Regular deadline April 1st
• New Heifers ($30 per tag) – Regular deadline April 1st
• State Fair of Texas goats, lambs, and swine ($20 per tag) – Regular deadline for goat and lambs April 1st / Regular deadline for swine – April 15th
• Physical Validation of animals will take place in June 2025.

Grayson County 4-H will be submitting validation tag orders for 2025 -26 Major Shows and the Texoma Exposition and Livestock Show. This includes new heifers, and for swine, goat, and lamb which were not validated in June of 2025. See the information below:

Goat and Lamb Tag Ordering – All Major Show and the Texoma Exposition and Livestock Show (county stock show)

• Orders Open: August 1st
  
• Last day for REGULAR Tag Orders: September 5th
  
• Last day for LATE Tag Orders: September 7th
• Validation fee for Goat and Lamb
  • $20 per head August 1st – September 5th
    
  • $25 per head September 7th – October 20th

Lambs and goats validated during the 2025 State Fair of Texas Validation Period WILL BE ELIGIBLE for 2026 Spring Major Shows – Only re-validate if a TLBA/TGBA tag needs to be added to the animals ear.

• Market animals validated for the 2025 State Fair will carryover for 2026 Spring Major Shows.
• Once validated, the project MUST stay in the care of the exhibitor that project is validated to; if the exhibitor chooses to sell the project to a new exhibitor, the new exhibitor MUST REVALIDATE the project within the next validation period.

New Heifer Tag Ordering

• Orders Open: August 1st
• Last day for REGULAR Tag Orders: September 5th
• Last day for LATE Tag Orders: September 7th
  
• Validation fee for NEW Heifers
  • $30 per head August 1st – September 5th
    
  • $30 per head September 7th – October 20th
  • Payment due with tag orders

Deadline for validating all livestock will be October 31, 2025.

Swine Tag Ordering – Major Shows and Texoma Exposition and Livestock Show (county stock show)

• Orders Open: August 1st
• Last day for REGULAR Tag Orders: September 25th
• Last day for LATE Tag Orders: September 26th
  
• Validation fee for Swine
  • $20 per head August 1st – September 25th
  • $25 per head September 26th – November 15th
    

Deadline for validating all pigs will be November 30, 2025.

• • Purebred (registered gilts) must be validated. Date of ownership, transfer and registration must all be on or before June 30, 2024.
  • Purebred (registered gilts) must have registration papers uploaded into the validation system by July 15, 2024.
  • Crossbred gilts showing at the State Fair of Texas and Heart of Texas MUST be validated.
  • State Validation tags must be in the pigs ear when it enters the holding pens. This means tags cannot be in the hand or pocket. Any pig entering the holding pen without a tag will not be allowed to show

Roll-over Breeding Sheep and Breeding Goat program

Who does this impact? Registered breeding sheep, registered breeding goats, wether/commercial dams, and wether/commercial does ONLY

Who does this NOT impact? Market lambs and market goats

What does this mean? Beginning June 1, 2021, registered breeding sheep, registered breeding goats, wether/commercial dams, and wether/commercial does will have 3 total years of eligibility UNLESS A CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP TAKES PLACE.

This will be offered during major show validation as well. Put plainly- if you validate for State Fair during the June 2024 validation period, your validation will be eligible until June 2027, unless a change of ownership occurs during that time- then you must re-validate. If you validate during the October 2024 validation period for major shows, your validation will be eligible until October 2027, unless a change of ownership occurs during that time- then you must re-validate.