Jefferson County 4-H

January 2022

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4-H Highlights!

4-H Council Member Candidates

We will be electing new members to the 4-H Council and are looking for interested adults and youth. The council is composed of 6 adults and 6 youth members. Adult members serve a 3-year term, while youth members serve a 1-year term and can serve 3 terms. We would like to invite anyone who’s interested in serving on 4-H Council to contact the office. Youth members need to be at least 13 years old by January 1, 2022.

4-H Online Enrollment is Open Now

It’s time to get enrolled in 4-H for the 2022 4-H year! Nebraska 4-H has transitioned to 4honline 2.0. To enroll, visit: https://v2.4honline.com/. For returning families, please do not create a new account; rather use your log-in credentials for 4honline used in previous years. Instructions can be found here: https://4h.unl.edu/enroll/returning-member. Enrollment instructions for new families can be found here: https://4h.unl.edu/enroll/returning-member

Clover Kid Enrollment Information

4-H enrollment is required for Clover Kids (ages 5-7) online at https://v2.4honline.com/. Youth should select "Clover Kids" as their club and must select at least one Clover Kid project to complete enrollment. Selection of multiple projects online is not required to exhibit multiple projects at the county fair.

2021 County Fair Award Pick-up!

The County Fair awards are here and ready to pick up anytime at the Extension Office. Please come and get them ASAP as we have programs and workshops scheduled in the back room and need them out of the way.


The following youth have awards that need to be picked up:

  • Thomas Hansmeyer
  • Alex Buxton
  • Branson Family
  • Axsel Stewart
  • Trent Ruhnke

2022 Special Garden Project

The Special Garden Project is a way to offer 4-H members the chance to grow unusual and fun projects in their gardens. The 2022 Special Garden Project is focused on the tasty Rubenza Cosmos. The flowers of the Rubenza are unique, the petals change color as they age. Pollinators and beneficial insects are attracted to the blooms all summer long. These cosmos make great cut flowers. Be sure to enjoy a bouquet of Rubenza indoors.
Youth should enroll for the Special Garden Project through 4-H Online. Please call the Extension office by January 21st to order your 2022 Special Garden Seeds!

2022 Special Agronomy Project Announced: Broomcorn Sorghum

The Nebraska Extension Special Agronomy Project gives 4-H members an opportunity to experience a crop that is grown, was grown or has the potential to be grown in Nebraska. Youth participate by receiving seed and resources to grow the crop, research traits of the crop and determine the viability of that crop in the part of the state they live. The project allows 4-H members interested in agronomy to grow something fun, new, and different.

The focus of the 2022 Special Agronomy Project is Broomcorn Sorghum. Broomcorn can be used for ornamental uses in floral arrangements or harvested for broom-use prior to seed maturity. To participate in the Special Agronomy Project, enroll in the project through 4-H Online or call your local extension office to reserve seed.

There are three ways to complete this at the county or state fair. First, an educational exhibit that can be in a poster format can include what you learned. Secondly, let your creativity go wild and create a video-type presentation explaining what you have learned, showing the growing process, etc. Finally, you can enter the crop itself. To do this, cut 4 stalks at the ground level and bound-together with supporting information about the project. For project specifications and details, be sure to go to the Nebraska State Fairbook at https://4hfairbook.unl.edu/fairbookview.php/rules.

Jefferson County Nebraska 4-H Youth Development YouTube Channel

We have a YouTube channel for all of our Jefferson County 4-H videos from events and projects that you can check out anytime! Our channel is named Jefferson County Nebraska 4-H Youth Development and can be found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMY3WfF8GnGUrEBvVKEsgeA/. Make sure to check it out and subscribe to our channel!

Year End Treasurer's Report

Organizational leaders and club treasurers, please remember that the 2021 Club Treasurer’s Report is due January 14th. The form is required to be completed even if you have a zero balance all year. If you have any questions please contact the Extension Office 402-729-3487.

Diamond Clover Forms

The Nebraska 4-H Diamond Clover program encourages 4-H youth to engage in a variety of programs, projects, and activities that will enable youth to acquire skills and abilities that will prepare them for success in the future.


The program consists of six levels that require a young person to plan and report a broad range of age-appropriate accomplishments. For each level, the Nebraska 4-H Diamond Clover program provides a list of accomplishments from which 4-H youth choose their goals. The accomplishments increase in quantity and difficulty for each level. At the beginning of the 4-H year, participants plan what to accomplish and at the end of the 4-H year, they report on their completed accomplishments. Successful completion of a level's Plan & Report form results in a 4-H youth earning that level of the Diamond Clover program.


Diamond Clover Forms can be downloaded at http://4h.unl.edu/diamondclover. Forms are due to the Extension Office April 1, 2022.

Upcoming Workshops, Contests & Events

2022 Jefferson County Fair Dates & Theme

The 2022 Jefferson County Fair will be July 13-17, 2022. The theme this year is "Ready, Set, Go…to the Jefferson County Fair".

Looking for fun, hands-on activities suitable for the winter season? Find the perfect activities to spark curiosity for youth all season long at http://4-h.org/about/4-h-at-home/holiday-2021.

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Animal Information

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4-H Cat Club

A message for all cat interested youth:

Do you like cats? What about learning how to care for or show them? Maybe you have heard about the 4-H Cat Club in the past and wanted to join, but couldn't make the monthly meetings.

Do we have good news for you, or what? We are pleased to introduce this year's self-paced Cat Club! No more being bummed that you missed the hour long meeting every second Thursday. You will now have access to monthly lessons and activities that you can complete on your own time. The first lesson can be found here on September 5th: https://4h.unl.edu/companion-animal/cat-club

If you are interested, please stay tuned and register today!

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Special Opportunties

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Virtual Field Trips

Join Nebraska 4-H as we go on-site to learn more about science, agriculture, technology, and more! Virtual Field Trips offer facility tours, educational experiences, and additional resources for teachers. Virtual Field Trips are perfect for youth in 7th-12th grades. Each session will be recorded and made available for on-demand viewing. Youth do not need to be 4-H members to participate.


There are also numerous field trips that have been archived to view at your convenience. Check them out. See the link below to view of all the tours available.

https://4h.unl.edu/virtual-field-trips

NEW 4-H Photography Showcase!

The 4-H Photography Showcase offers a project exhibition opportunity beyond traditional print media. It is intended to help youth develop professional and technical skills as photographers while fostering creativity and encouraging self-expression. Through this opportunity, youth are encouraged to practice and apply skills learned in their photography projects throughout the year.


How Does It Work?


Each month, a new photo will be selected from the online submissions. Selections will be made based on creativity, timeliness, technical execution, originality, and appropriateness. The selected photo will be showcased across the Nebraska 4-H social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Youth photographers will be credited wherever and whenever their photo is shared or published.

This opportunity is open to all enrolled 4-H members. Photo recommendations, file specifications, rules, and guidelines for participation are available online at https://4h.unl.edu/photography-showcase.

Workshop Ideas

We are looking for ideas for workshops in 2021-2022. We would like to hear ideas of what you would be willing to attend. We would also like to hear from you regarding what times would work best for most people, after school, 1⁄2 days when school is out, etc. Please contact the Extension Office 402-729-3487 and let us know what YOU are interested in.

Facebook

Just as a reminder, check out our Facebook page! The page name is "Jefferson County Extension & 4-H Youth Development". Along with our newsletter, we will be using this page to update our members about upcoming events, activities, and deadlines. We also hope to use this page to provide information about community outreach opportunities, scholarships, and research that is important to our followers. The staff will do our best to keep this updated and inform you all of what is going on at the office, Jefferson County, and in Nebraska.

Calendar of Events

January

17 - Office Closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day


February

10 - YQCA Training, Tri-County High School Ag Room


April

1 - Diamond Clover Award Applications Due

18 - Babysitting Workshop, Fairbury


May

17 - County Public Speaking Contest

Nebraska Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the United Sates Department of Agriculture.


Nebraska Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.


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