1. Washington County 4-H Calendar
2. NEW! - Lend A Hand Service Month
3. Nebraska Extension DHM Phase/Covid-19 Risk Dial Guidance
4. 4-H Enrollment is Open - Deadline is June 15
5. 2021 Washington County 4-H Public Speaking Contest - Entry Deadline is April 12
6. Lunch & Learn
7. Help Needed from 4-H Clubs
8. 4-H Poultry & Rabbit Workshop
9. Chicks Available in May
10. Introducing the 2021 4-H Summer Workshop Series
11. YQCA Certification
12. Virtual & At-Home Educational Resources
13. 4-H Project of the Year Kit Available
14. 2021 4-H Volunteer Training Available
15. New Classes Offered at the Nebraska State Fair
16. New Dog Achievement Program
17. UNL Livestock Judging Camp
18. 2021 District 4-H Horse Shows - Entry Deadline is May 7
19. 2021 4-H Summer Camps
20. Enroll Now - Big Red Camps
21. Other Statewide Events and Resources

*NEW OR UPDATED INFORMATION IS BOLDED!

April 12...................................................Deadline to Enter Public Speaking Contest

April 25...................................................4-H Public Speaking Contest

May 1......................................................Poultry & Rabbit 4-H Workshop

May 7......................................................District/State Horse Entry Deadline

June 15...................................................4-H Enrollment/Animal ID/YQCA Deadline

June 28 & 29...........................................PASE & Life Challenge Contests, East Campus-Lincoln

June 30...................................................State Public Speaking Contest, East Campus-Lincoln

July 8......................................................Pre-Entry Due for Washington County Fair

July 30 - August 4, 2021........................2021 Washington County Fair

Did you know that you can find the Washington County 4-H Calendar on our webpage? View just the month or download and print the whole program year!

Visit https://go.unl.edu/washingtoncounty4hcalendar to view. As dates/events continue to be added we will update the calendar. The webpage will show the most recent date that the program calendar was updated!

NEW! Lend a Hand Service Month

In 2021 we are shifting the traditional Lend a Hand Day to a Lend a Hand Service Month! How will this work? Using the GooseChase Application youth and families will complete challenges such as “donating items to the food pantry”. Youth and Families will then document the challenge they completed by taking a photo and uploading it to each challenge in the app. Families and youth who complete at least half of the challenges will receive a Lend a Hand participation gift. Those who complete all of the challenges will receive the participation gift and be entered for the chance to win the “Top Participant” gift. This new opportunity allows for families to give back to their communities on their own time, safely. We are looking forward to see all of the impact we can bring to the communities of Washington County through giving back. BONUS: you will want to create a team and be involved so you can watch the newsfeed and see how the 4-H Staff are giving back to the community! Final details along with the Game Code will be sent next week.

Nebraska Extension DHM Phase/Covid-19 Risk Dial Guidance

Follow Most Restrictive Guidance: State DHM or Local Health Department Covid-19 Risk Dial

CURRENTLY – ORANGE

4-H Clubs (events, activities, meetings)

Recommend meeting virtually; Facial coverings required for in person meetings; Follow additional local/county guidance.

Effective November 30, 2020

Nebraska 4-HOnline Enrollment Link: https://ne.4honline.com/Login.aspx?403D4050364539525371705375593D

Please note that the 4-H project history has been cleared and you must enter the project name and the number of years you have participated in it. You will find your history by going into your Family Account and choosing Member Reports.

You might also notice that the Virtual Robotics project shows up in the project history but has been removed this year as the curriculum is no longer available.

2021 Washington County 4-H Public Speaking Contest

The 4-H Public Speaking Contest provides an opportunity for youth to improve their public speaking skills while building confidence. If you write a speech or deliver a public service announcement (or both!) it's sure to be an enjoyable learning experience!

View the rules, regulations and the registration forms on the website by going to: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/washington/washington-county-4-h-public-speaking-contest/

Registration forms for Washington County 4-H Public Speaking Contest is due to the Nebraska Extension – Washington County Office Monday, April 12th by 5pm.

At this time we do plan to hold an in-person event at the Rybin Building at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Arlington.

Any questions or concerns can be directed to all 4-H Staff at washingtoncounty4h@unl.edu or e-mail Jaki and jaki.zahourek@unl.edu

The Week of the Volunteer is coming up at the end of April, and we're looking forward to celebrating our amazing 4-H volunteers! To celebrate we're hosting daily Lunch & Learn sessions from Monday, April 19 through Thursday, April 22, each from 12:00 -1:00 pm CST. Session topics include: Incorporating Positive Youth Development into Your Work, How to Keep the 4-H Experiences Fresh, Leading a Club that Works, and Confidence in Conflict Resolution. These are great for new and experienced volunteers as well as individuals interested in getting started. Each session will include 30 minutes of content followed by 30 minutes of discussion and networking time. Sign up to join us at go.unl.edu/lunch-learn.

We need your help! We are looking for a few 4-H Clubs in Washington County to work on building new picnic tables for the fair grounds. The Washington County Fair Board will provide the specs for the picnic tables. This would be a good club project activity. If your club is able please contact the Extension Office so we can get you on the list to send the information. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Just in time for spring and a perfect 4-H project! Washington County classroom will be participating in 4-H Embryology in the month of April. We are looking for places to rehome our chicks! Chicks are projected to hatch around May 1st and May 7th. Chicks will be laying hens from Hendrix Genetics.

We will have up to 7 dozen chicks available. If you would like more information or know of someone who needs chicks, please contact the office at 402.426.9455 or mblender2@unl.edu.

Here is a look at the 2021 Washington County 4-H Summer Workshop Series. All workshops will be held at the Washington County Extension office in 2021. We are excited to be able to offer a variety of workshops this year focusing on a multitude of project areas. Please visit our webpage at https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/washington/washington-county-4-h-summer-workshop-series/

to see workshop descriptions and find the link to registration. Registrations are due by Monday, May 17th. We can’t wait to LEARN BY DOING with you all during our 2021 4-H Workshops. Questions? Contact the 4-H Staff at washingtoncounty4h@unl.edu.

YQCA (Youth for Quality Care of Animals) certification must be completed by June 15, 2021 for all youth who plan to exhibit a beef, dairy, goat, hog, sheep, poultry or rabbit animal in 4-H this year. You can visit www.yqca.org to complete your certification. You will need to use your 4-HOnline user name and password to start the process. IMPORTANT—you must have completed your 2021 4-H Enrollment to begin your YQCA process. Remember you will need to send a copy of your certificate to the office to verify you have completed your YQCA certification for 2021! The perfect winter activity is completing your YQCA early!

Looking for educational resources you can use from home? We've got you covered! 😉

Nebraska 4-H is now offering a variety of virtual learning experiences, such as Living Room Learning and Boredom Buster Challenges. We've also collected some of our favorite activity guides that are perfect for hands-on learning at home.

Check out our virtual and at-home educational resources at https://4h.unl.edu/virtual-home-learning.

Join us for a virtual Home Environment workshop using many items that you can find around your home or easily gather! Youth will learn about the elements of design as well as create three projects that can be exhibited at the County Fair. Registration can be completed by going to https://go.unl.edu/homeenvironmentworkshop. A supply list as well as connection details will be sent to those registered at a closer date. It is never too early to get started on projects for the fair, let us help you.

When: Thursday, April 15th, 2021 | 5:30-7:00PM via Zoom

• Not everything produced in a garden or on a farm can be eaten before it spoils, so who works on trying to minimize damage to food and preserve its nutrients for everyday people? Food scientists! Our final spring virtual field trip is coming up on April 21st. We will look at the ways food scientists in the Food Processing Center take raw foods and make them into products you know and trust (and some of which you might even love)! The Food Processing Center uses chemistry, biology, engineering, and social sciences to create tasty, healthy, affordable, and safe food products. To join us live, sign up to receive the Zoom link at go.unl.edu/p7fb.

It is with great excitement that Nebraska 4-H will be offering new livestock classes and divisions at the 2021 Nebraska State Fair! With the decision to shift 4-H and FFA livestock shows to the two different weekends, this provided the opportunity to offer new shows and programs for 4-H.

Here’s what is NEW!

4-H BEEF

In our beef area, we will now be offering:

• a feeder calf show,
• a junior breeding heifer class to all of our breeding classes, and
• 4-H members will now be eligible to show up to a total of five beef animals. A 4-H’er can exhibit up to two market beef, three breeding heifers and two feeder calves as long as the total number of entries does not exceed five beef animals.

4-H SWINE

In our swine area,

• We will be offering a breeding gilt show. This breeding gilt show will include 9 purebred classes as well as a crossbred class.
• In our market swine show, we will be creating a more diverse show by including 9 purebred classes.
• We will also be adding new “Farrowed and Owned Breeding and Market Swine” divisions. The Nebraska 4-H Farrowed and Owned Swine Cohort is an opportunity for youth interested in learning more about the swine industry and is designed to cultivate the next generation of leaders in the swine industry. The goal of the Nebraska 4-H Farrowed and Owned Swine Cohort is to enhance the educational value of the traditional 4-H swine projects by providing unique opportunities focusing on swine production as goal of the member’s project, along with accurate and complete record-keeping, industry knowledge, and engagement by the 4-H member.
• 4-H members will now be eligible to show up to a total of five swine projects. A 4-H member is limited to exhibiting three market hogs and two breeding gilts

4-H SHEEP

• 4-H members will now be eligible to show up to a total of five sheep maximum, if at least two are breeding ewes. In no case will a 4-H member exhibit more than three market lambs.

4-H GOAT

• 4-H members will now be eligible to show up to a total of five goats maximum, if at least two are breeding does. In no case will a 4-H member exhibit more than three market goats.

We are excited to present our NEW 4-H Dog Achievement Program for 4-H youth! This program is similar to the Diamond Clover program you all may know about.

4-H Dog Achievement Program

The program consists of levels that require a young person to plan and report a broad range of age-appropriate accomplishments. For each level, the Dog Achievement 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 Dog Achievement program.

Please note: Entry and ID sheets for District/State registration is all ONLINE - use the link below for step by step instructions

Exhibitors will enter both the District 4-H Horse Shows and the State 4-H Horse Show at the same time, using the same entry process and deadlines. Before entering, please review all the District 4-H Horse Show rules, State 4-H Horse Show rules, and the current Nebraska 4-H Horse Show and Judging Guide. To learn more or begin the process, please see the entry instructions at https://4h.unl.edu/state-horse-expo-district

• Did you know that our 4-H summer camps are open to all youth?! That’s right, youth do not need to be 4-H members to attend any of our 4-H summer camps. We’re excited to be offering a variety of 4-H summer camps at the State 4-H Camp at Halsey. See our full schedule of sessions, apply for scholarships, and register at 4h.unl.edu/summer-camp.

• Cat Club - https://4h.unl.edu/companion-animal/cat-club
  

• Dog Showmanship Video Series - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?reload=9&list=PL579hRei5D7xwKTqpe8kJw0GnfKK4x8l4
• Virtual Dog Club - https://4h.unl.edu/virtual-dog-club
• Companion Rabbit Science Online Course - https://4h.unl.edu/companion-rabbit-science

• Companion Animal Workshop - https://4h.unl.edu/companion-animal-judges-workshop