Colfax County 4-H Newsletter

If you are the club historian and want to exhibit your club scrapbook, you need to sign up for the Family Folklore or Foodways project. If you didn=t sign up on your enrollment form, call our office.

The Colfax County FCE Council is once again sponsoring a Character Counts poster contest at the county fair. Details on the contest will be in an upcoming newsletter.

Two workshops on basic photography will be held in June. Check the calendar of events for more details. Further information will be in the next 4-H newsletter.

Tree Day and Horticulture Judging Contest will be on Thursday, June 20. Tree ID will be in the morning at Po-Wi-To and Horticulture Judging in the afternoon in Columbus.

Youth enrolled in a 4-H sewing project can pick up discount cards at the Extension Office.

Just a reminder that the 4-H and FFA Livestock Judging Contest is May 30 at the fairgrounds in Leigh. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. and judging begins at 9:00 a.m.

We will judge two classes each of beef, sheep and swine. Novice (age 10 and under) will give reasons on one class; Juniors (age 11-13) will give reasons on two classes; and Seniors and FFA will give reasons on 3 classes.

4-H members from some of our neighboring counties will be participating in the contest also.

The Annual Safety Camp for Colfax County, sponsored by County FFA and 4-H, will be held in Schuyler on May 18. Colfax County youngsters from kindergarten through eighth grades are welcome to attend. Registration deadline is May 1. Parents can register their children by calling Heather Bennett, Dawn Spale or Tom Wheeldon at Schuyler Central High School at 352-2421. The first 100 participants to register will receive a free T-shirt.

Attached is a flier describing camps at the Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center. Consider attending one of the camps. Bring a friend - they don=t have to be in 4-H to attend.

Congratulations to the Jolly Jills 4-H Club for earning national recognition by Colgate-Palmolive=s 28^th annual search for the country=s best community service projects by young Americans.

Members of the Jolly Jills joined Operation Smile, an international project which helps children in Third world countries. The 4-H=ers have made Smile Dolls, small blankets and Smile Bags.

I (Susan) will be presenting a program on the History of 4-H at the May 6 meeting of the Schuyler Historical Society. You are welcome to attend this program, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the Museum in Schuyler.

Continue to check out the 4-H Centennial Website for the latest in our year long celebration of the 4-H program.

Thank you to our many volunteers that help make the 4-H program a success. 4-H=ers - be sure to thank your leaders and parents for sharing their time and talents with you.

We are looking for teen volunteers, ages 14-18, to help at 4-H Mini Camp on June 7 at Camp Luther. Interested? Contact the Extension Office.

Interested in biology and other sciences? Consider attending the Biology Career Workshop at UNL East Campus in Lincoln. The dates are July 14-18, 2002. This annual activity will have hands-on workshops, career exploration and fun evening activities. Applications are due May 1.

1) Continue to collect pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. We are working towards collecting 1 million tabs from Colfax County 4-H members.

2) Wonder what to do with magazines after you=ve read them? Consider donating them to a hospital, nursing home, Veteran=s home or anywhere else that people may appreciate them. After spending eight days with my Mom in the hospital, I read every magazine at Faith Regional in Norfolk. I have since donated some of my magazines to help other families pass the time. Before you take magazines to a site, be sure to ask if the magazines will be accepted (the answer is probably yes). Take off the mailing label before donating.

1) What were the three AH=s@?

2) What was the fourth AH@?

3) How was 4-H referred to in its early years?

4) When did the clover become the national 4-H emblem?

5) Where is the National 4-H Center?

New state 4-H rules require that all 4-H members who show market beef, market swine, market lambs, dairy and dairy goats, be certified in Quality Assurance. Training meetings will be held in April and members should check with their club leaders or the Extension Office to arrange to attend a training. You will not be able to show at the County Fair, State Fair or AK-SAR-BEN unless certified.

Clubs interested in running the food stand at the Judging Contest on May 30 should contact the Extension Office by May 1. This is a good way to raise money for your club.

Colfax County has been invited to participate in the Wisner Jr. Livestock Show on July 11-14. Besides classes for cattle, sheep and hogs, they have many other activities to participate in also. Contact the Extension Office if interested.

All livestock exhibitors are encouraged to attend a Progress Show prior to the County Fair. It=s good practice for both the exhibitor and their animals.

We will try to keep you informed of the many Progress Shows being held. However, many times we don=t receive the information in time to get it into the 4-H newsletter. Therefore, we urge those interested in receiving information about progress shows to contact the office and get your name on a Aspecial@ mailing list that goes out more often.

You need to notify us even if you=ve been on the list in previous years as we don=t carry names over from year to year.

Livestock Evaluation Camp - is June 5-7. Hosted by UNL Animal Science, this three day camp will feature in-depth training in livestock judging and evaluation, including evaluating live animals and looking at their actual carcasses and many other techniques for livestock judging. Contact person: Bryan Reiling 402-472-8960.

PASE: Premier Animal Science Events June 24-25 -

Dairy, Meats and Poultry Judging Contests will be June 24; Quiz Bowl will be June 24; Livestock Judging will be June 25. This is the State Livestock Judging Contest. Team members will be determined by their performance at the Colfax County Judging Contest on May 30.

Exhibitors showing beef, dairy, dairy goats, cats, sheep, swine, poultry and rabbits are required to wear a Colfax County 4-H T-Shirt, plain white shirt (including T-Shirt) or blouse with the official 4-H chevron attached, or a national 4-H T-Shirt. Club T-Shirts are not allowed. Dark blue jeans are required for beef, cat, sheep, swine, poultry and rabbit exhibitors. Dairy and dairy goat exhibitors may wear dark blue jeans or white pants. No hats, caps or other type of headgear are to be worn in the show ring. Exhibitors shall not display commercial or other identification while showing their animals except official 4-H and such identification the show ring may require.

Ever wonder what life is like in another country? There are opportunities through 4-H to help satisfy your curiosity. Some money is available to help with expenses. Those of you who know me know how much I value travel and learning about other cultures - how about you? Contact the Extension Office for more information.

New Livestock ID Forms (Brenda)

Most of the Livestock ID forms have been revised this year (except for rabbit and horse). Please throw away any of the old ID forms you may have left over from previous years. We will not be able to accept them.

Since the ID sheets are newly revised, there are no longer spaces/columns that do not need to be completed. All forms need to be completely filled out, this means complete address, etc. We are required to send all large animal ID sheets to the State Office this year so we need to be accurate with information on the ID sheets.

Please remember we cannot accept any old ID forms and we cannot accept ID forms that are not completely filled out. If you have any questions, please give us a call and we will try to help.

Are you in need of a T-Shirt to wear while exhibiting at the County Fair? We will place one large order through the Extension Office again this year.

The shirts are white with Kelly Green trim around the neck and sleeves. The logo says Colfax County 4-H with the 4-H clover in the upper left hand corner on the front of the shirt.

The shirts are 50/50 Polyester/Cotton and are adult sizes (Sm, Med, Lg, XL & XXL). The cost would be $9.54 for the Small-XL sizes and $10.86 for the XXL size.

The deadline to place your order is June 1. You will need to pick your shirt up in the Extension Office after July 1^st. We will not mail out the T-Shirts.

If you are interested, please make your check payable to Columbus Screen Printing and send it to the Extension Office indicating the sizes you would like ordered.

The Eastern NE 4-H Center is hosting a camp for those who love to scrapbook. This first time event is sure to provide ideas, conversation and useful information. With workshops for adults and camp activities for youth, it will be fun for everyone!

Mark your calendars for August 5 & 6, 2002. Register with an Eastern NE 4-H Center Registration, Permission and Health Form. This form can be found in camp brochures or on the web at http://4h.unl.edu. The cost of the event is $70 for adults (both days) and $25 for youth (per day) and includes meals, lodging and programs. You may call or email for more details: 4hcampea@unl.edu, (402)332-4496.

Looking for an international experience but don=t want to travel outside the United States? Consider hosting a youth from another country. Here are your opportunities:

1) Japanese youth will be arriving in late July and will stay one month.

2) High school students from Japan, Russia, Armenia and Ukraine will be arriving this fall for the 2002-2003 school year.

3) IFYE (International 4-H Youth Exchange) participants from 25 countries will travel to the United States. Participants are ages 15-25.

In the past, several Colfax County families have opened their homes and hearts to host a youth from another country.