Sheridan County Newsletter
February 2020
Calendar of Events
Feb. 1 – Niobrara Trap Shooting Club Meeting at Gordon Methodist Church at 4 pm
Feb. 6 – Gordon Clover Bud meeting at Gordon Elementary at 4 pm
Feb. 9 – Panhandle Best Shoot in Hyannis
Feb. 11 – Rushville Clover Bud meeting at Rushville Elementary at 3:30 pm
Feb. 12 – Design Your Space workshop at Extension Office from 1 to 4 pm
Feb. 15 – Nebraska Cattlemen's Classic in Kearney
Feb. 16 – Panhandle Best Shoot in Alliance
Feb. 16 – 4-H Movie Night at Gordon Theater at 4 pm
Feb. 17 – Office Closed
Feb. 17 – Robotics Showcase at Gordon City Auditorium at 5:30 pm
Feb. 20 – Hay Springs Clover Bud meeting at Hay Springs School at 4 pm
Feb. 21 – Baking Basics in Hay Springs at 9 am
Feb. 22 – State Robotics Competition in Ashland
Feb. 26 – Rushville Sewing Day at Extension Office at 1 pm
Feb. 29 – Panhandle Livestock Judging Camp in Mitchell
Important Announcements
- If you did not attend the Sheridan County Beef Weigh-in, you can attend the Dawes County Weigh-in on February 8th from 9 am until noon at Crawford Livestock Auction. Please contact the office so we can make sure we have tags there for you.
- Horse Level Clinic will be held on Saturday, March 21 at the Scotts Bluff Co Extension Office where youth will get all of the qualifications (written test, demo, feed chart, breeds paper) done during the day. They would just have to complete their riding test. All youth from around the panhandle are welcome to attend.
Livestock Judging Team
Nebraska Cattlemen’s Classic in Kearney on February 15th. All cattle contest – recommended for kids with prior judging experience or age 16+.
Panhandle Livestock Judging Camp in Scottsbluff on February 29th.
Please message Shelby Dean at sdean15@gmail.com or 308-207-0613 if interested in attending by February 4th. And follow the judging team on Facebook at Sheridan County Livestock Team NE.
Trap Shooting Practice
Practice will start February 22nd at 1:00 pm, and will continue every Tuesday and Thursday after school from 3:30-5:00, and Saturdays from 1:00-3:00 until first week in May. If interested in joining Trap Shooting Practice, contact Stuart Hardin at (308) 360-0175. To learn more about Trap Shooting come to their informational meeting on Saturday, February 1st at 4 pm at the Gordon Methodist Church.
Clover Buds
The Gordon Clover Bud workshop will be held on February 6th from 4:00 – 5:00 pm at the Gordon After School program. The Rushville Clover Bud workshop will be held on February 11th from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm as a part of the Rushville After School program. The Hay Springs Clover Bud workshop will be held on February 20th from 4:00 – 5:00 pm. Please register for the Hay Springs event with Erika Gaswick by February 18th.
Clover Bud members are youth between the ages of 5 and 7 as of January 1st, 2020. These youth will experience teamwork, social interaction, and decision-making skills while participating in hands on activities. Upon participating in these workshops, youth will have Clover Bud projects to display at the 2020 Sheridan County Fair.
Equine Health Workshop Sponsored by Natural Horseman Club Presents What is Required, What is recommended for hauling your horse
Saturday, February 8
2:00pm
Crawford Nebraska Firehall meeting room
Chili and Dessert to follow
Join us as Dr. Joel Robbins, DVM from Pioneer Animal Clinic presents current information regarding what is required and what is recommended for hauling your horse safely and legally.
Dr. Robbins will also cover current recommendations for shots to combat current trends in diseases, as well as tips for keeping your horse healthy while traveling.
A representative from the Brand Office
might also be on hand to answer any questions
For further information, please call:
Jean Norman 308-430-1239
Kay Harwood 308-665-5130
County Wide Project - Design Your Space
The County Wide Project will be held on February 12th from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. At this workshop, youth are invited to create a project for Design Your Space and enter at the 2020 Sheridan County Fair. Please register by February 10th, by contacting the Nebraska Extension Sheridan County office at (308) 327-2312. This event is open to anyone interested in design projects.
4-H Family Movie Night
It’s Nebraska 4-H Month! And in celebration of our 4-Hers, there will be a showing of Spies in Disguise on February 16th at the Gordon Theater at 4:00 pm! The 4-H Council is sponsoring the event and the first 50 kids get in free! Parents, Community Partners, and Youth are welcome!
Robotics Showcase
The Gordon Robotics teams have been busy preparing for the State Competition in Ashland on February 22nd. They would like to invite the public to learn about their team project and their robot on Monday, February 17th at 5:30 pm at the Gordon City Auditorium. Come check out the robotics program and learn how to get involved!
Baking Basics
The Hay Springs February Baking Basics will be held on February 21st. At this workshop youth will prepare double crusted pies. The youth will also continue to work on their sewing projects. Participants will need to pack a lunch. The fee for this workshop is $10. Please register by February 19th, by contacting the Nebraska Extension Sheridan County office at (308) 327-2312. This event is open to anyone interested in baking and sewing projects.
Sewing in Rushville
The Rushville Sewing workshop will be held on February 26th at the Extension Office from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. At this workshop youth will be able to continue working on their sewing projects or create new ones for a fair project. Please register by February 14th by contacting the Sheridan Extension Office at (308) 327-2312.
Panhandle 4-H & FFA Livestock Judging Clinic
Blaine French, the UNL Livestock Judging Coach and team members will be teaching a livestock judging clinic on Saturday, February 29th from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm at the Scottsbluff County Fairgrounds in Mitchell. The fee for the clinic is $5 and includes lunch. The morning will consist of learning how to judge cattle, swine, sheep, and goats with a competition in the afternoon. To register for this event contact the Garden County Nebraska Extension Office at 308-772-3311.
Diamond Clover - A Way to Level Up in 4-H
Diamond Clover is a noncompetitive aspect of 4-H that allows youth to set goals for the 4-H year which are not tied to ribbons received. Now is a great time to set goals for this year. After fair is over, youth will write down their accomplishments under the goals they selected. At the Achievement Banquet they will be recognized and receive a 4-H pin with the stone that is related to their level. The forms can be found at: https://4h.unl.edu/diamond-clover. Youth can only complete one level a year but can start at any of the levels.
New this year, the Diamond Clover program has been adapted so 4-H member who maybe do not participate in the County Fair can still apply for this recognition. Please contact the Nebraska Extension Sheridan County office if you have any questions.
Speech Contest
This year the 4-H Speech Contest will be held in May. The state has decided to not have a District competition but make the state competition to be more accessible for youth from across the state. The reason for this is because of some of the declining speech participants across the state. The State competition will be held during the PASE/Life Challenge event on June 24th. Sheridan County will be able to send 5 competitors from each age division (Junior, Intermediate, and Senior) in both Speech and PSA. There will be a virtual option for the youth who do not want to travel to Lincoln for one day. Be looking for more information about the county workshop and contest in March.
Innovative Youth Corn Challenge
Do you enjoy being outside? Learning new things about crops? Considering a career involving crops, insects, diseases, soils, water or more? Do you want to help figure out how to feed our world’s growing population in a sustainable way?
Nebraska Extension and the Nebraska Corn Board are offering the ninth Innovative Youth Corn Challenge contest. This contest, open to 4-H members (age 10 & older as of Jan. 1st) or FFA members (in-school members), guides participants through all aspects of corn production, as well as agricultural careers related to corn production.
As a team (2 or more participants), youth will be challenged to implement a production practice different than normal to determine if they increased their yield. Economics and sustainability of the practice will also be considered. Yields, cropping history, and production information will be collected in the Corn Yield Challenge management summary.
Cash prizes and plaques are given. First place receives $1,000, second place receives $500, and third place receives $250. Sustainability, crop scouting and “extra mile” awards are also given as cash awards.
To participate in 2020, youth must complete and return an entry form by March 15th to the Fillmore County Extension Office in Geneva, NE. Forms can be downloaded after January 1st at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth/activities. For more information, contact Brandy VanDeWalle at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu.
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.
The 4-H Youth Development program abides with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Copyright ©2020
Nebraska Extension Sheridan County Office
Website: sheridan.unl.edu/sheridan4h
Location: PO Box 329 Rushville, NE 69360
Phone: (308) 327-2312
Facebook: facebook.com/UNLSheridanCounty
Twitter: @SheridanCounty