Thurston County 4-H News
April 2020
Nebraska Extension - Thurston County
Stacey Keys, Extension Assistant, stacey.keys@unl.edu
Samantha Beutler, Office Staff, samantha.beutler@unl.edu
Email: thurston-county@unl.edu
Website: thurston.unl.edu
Location: 415 Main Street, P.O. Box 665, Pender, NE 68787
Phone: 402-385-6041
Facebook: facebook.com/UNLExtensionThurston/
Twitter: @UNLThurstonCty
Upcoming Dates
Apr 1 - 4-H Council Senior Scholarship DUE
Apr 1 - Butter Braid pick up @ Extension Office (5 pm)
Apr 3-4 - Siouxland Garden Show @ Sioux City (CANCELLED)
Apr 6 - 4-H Leader/Parent Training (6:30 pm) (DIGITAL)
Apr 13 - Joint 4-H Council Meeting (CANCELLED)
Apr 13 - All Contest Day DIGITAL ENTRIES DUE
Apr 19-25 - National Volunteer Week
Apr 24 - Office Closed - Arbor Day
May 1 - Drop/Add 4-H Projects DUE
May 8 - Horse: County ID DUE & District & State Entries DUE (POSTPONED TO JUNE 15, DISTRICT CANCELLED)
May 11 - Thurston County 4-H County Meeting
May 25 - Office Closed - Memorial Day
May 29 - Ponca Day Camp Registration DUE
COVID-19 UPDATES
Thurston County 4-H Leader/Parent Training
Who: Anyone (Specifically 4-H Leaders & Parents)
When: April 6th @ 6:30 pm
Where: Zoom
Why: Updated Risk Management Practices that everyone needs to follow, Positive Youth Development Practices for our 4-H youth so this experience is the best, general changes and questions that you might bring!
RSVP is due by April 6th at noon. Be watching social media and your mail for more information!
Please join us through Zoom (app or online) on April 6th @ 6:30 pm! You can join through video or simply call in!
Phone one-tap: US: +13462487799,,306831038# or +16699006833,,306831038#
Meeting URL: https://unl.zoom.us/j/306831038
Meeting ID: 306 831 038
Join by Telephone
For higher quality, dial a number based on your current location.
Dial: US: +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 301 715 8592
Meeting ID: 306 831 038
Companion Animal Challenge - COVID-19 Updates
Due to COVID-19, the University has taken measures to help protect the UNL community and broader community. To decrease large group gathering instances, we have decided to continue the Companion Animal Contest through remote means. Youth will need to re-enter if they were previously entered for Companion Animal Challenge by using the new entry form (online) through Google Docs.
The event will return to its regular format for 2021.
Companion Animal Challenge Entry Form: https://forms.gle/5oZdENZy63Xps8RA8
Entry Due Date: April 13th by 5pm
Skillathon- Cancelled for the 2020 year
Demonstrations
Participants will do Live Demonstrations through Zoom
Youth that sign up for Demonstrations on their entry form will be emailed a Doodle Poll link to sign up for a time slot on dates April 15th from 8:00am-10:00 or April 18th from 8:00am-10:00am (if none of the time slots listed work for you, please email Grace Kim at grace.kim@unl.edu).
First Come, First Pick- for time slots
“How to” use Zoom click here
If you do not have a camera for Zoom you are able to download the Zoom app on your phone.
For team demonstrations please pick one time slot and put down both names when registering on DoodlePoll
Essays, Art & Photography
Participants will upload a digital copy when they fill out their online entry form (via google form). Please have your item (essay, photograph, etc.) completed when you fill out the entry form. You will be asked to submit photographs of your art, take photographs that clearly show the entire work in good lighting.
Art and photography should be in jpg. Format when downloaded
Essays should be in Microsoft Word or Google Docs
Please label/save your art and/or photography with your first name and last name.
Ribbons, awards, & scoresheets
Entries will be judged by April 20th with results posted on the Companion Animal Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/unlcompanionanimal ).
Participants will receive their online ribbons, certificates, and scoresheets via email. No ribbons or plaques will be mailed out.
Reimbursements
All entry fees will be reimbursed for those who were previously registered for the contest, and the families will be contacted.
If you have any other questions please contact Grace Kim at grace.kim@unl.edu
Living Room Learning
Don’t forget! An all new Living Room Learning! Register at https://4h.unl.edu/living-room-learning.
Join us each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at 2:00 PM CT/1:00 PM MT for #LivingRoomLearning! Each day, youth will participate in a hands-on virtually guided activity where they will learn about healthy living, science, technology, and more! Each session will focus on a new activity that can be done with materials found at home. These activities are perfect for youth in grades 3rd-5th.
Boredom Buster
Who needs a Boredom Buster? Every Monday & Wednesday at 2:00 pm CT.
Each week, youth will be given a problem to solve using materials found in their home. Through these hands-on virtually guided challenges youth will learn about entrepreneurship, healthy living, science, technology, and more! Boredom Buster Challenges are perfect for youth in 6th-9th grades. Each session will be recorded and made available for on-demand viewing. Youth do not need to be 4-H members to participate.
9th Annual Innovative Youth Corn Challenge NEW features for 2020
With the disruption in programming as normal, our corn challenge team wants to make sure you know that the corn challenge is still on and gearing up to be better than ever!
(NOTE: planning, etc. can be done virtually and we are here to help you make that happen)
New features to the program:
Once COVID-19 passes and things return to normal, our team is pleased to announce some NEW features to the Corn Challenge.
- Teams will communicate with other teams for peer-learning opportunities. (Ideally, these would be face-to-face, but time will tell what is allowed at any given point.)
- Corn challenge coordinators will make a site visit (when allowed) to obtain aerial imagery of your project.
- Programming will include NEW unmanned aerial (drone) lessons and potential field day for participants.
If you’d like to participate, there is still time to sign-up!
9th Annual Innovative Youth Corn Challenge
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 register by April 15th to the Fillmore County Extension Office in Geneva, NE. Details can be found at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth/cornchallenge. For more information, contact Brandy VanDeWalle at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu.
Summer Plans
COVID-19 Resources
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln takes the health and safety of our campus community very seriously. As the United States and global health officials continue to address the spread of novel coronavirus and COVID-19 infection, health and emergency preparedness officials at UNL are monitoring the situation in collaboration with our university and governmental partners. Any official updates regarding UNL’s response will be found on this site.
Need to Know
NO Sheep & Goat Weigh-In
Member Info
Identifying Volunteer Opportunities for Youth: 4-H Civic Engagement Ideas
4-H empowers young people to be true leaders. True Leaders are people who have confidence, will stick to a job until it gets done, and can endure through challenges. Communities across Nebraska need true leaders now more than ever.
4-H volunteers and youth across Nebraska may be looking for ideas about how they can become civically engaged, all while abiding by the guidelines shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A web page with numerous ideas can be found at: https://4h.unl.edu/4-h-civic-engagement. Now is a great time to collectively use our heads for clearer thinking, our hearts for greater loyalty, our hands for larger service, and our health for better living.
More details at: https://4h.unl.edu/4-h-civic-engagement
Club of the Month
County Fair/Events
Exhibitor Livestock Policy *UPDATED*
"Exhibitors are responsible for adhering to all livestock rules. Violation of the stated rules will result in the animal being disqualified from competition. (Ex. Feeder Calf is disqualified, this means from Cow/Calf class, Feeder Calf class, and Showmanship class.) Any premium (physical or monetary, including bonus auction for that animal) will be forfeited. No refunds will be made."
4-H Horse Show Time Moved
New Photography Exhibit Data Tags
Any questions check the county fair book or check the state fairbook: https://4hfairbook.unl.edu/fairbookview.php/exhibits/5
Double check to be sure you are use the correct data tag. There are different data tags for each photography level. Current Data Tags last updated for 2020 are available at https://unl.box.com/v/4h-photography
Name: Include both first and last name.
Age: Include your 4-H age, or the age you were on January 1st of the current year.
County: Include the county where you are exhibiting – this will be required if the exhibit is select for State Fair.
Year in Photography: List the total number of years you have been enrolled in any 4-H photography project.
Years in the Current Level: The total number of years you have been enrolled in the current 4-H photography level.
Camera:
· Indicate the brand make and model of the camera, such as Google Pixel 2, Nikon Coolpix B500, or Canon EOS Rebel T7.
· Indicate whether the camera is digital or film.
Tell us about this photo (special equipment, techniques, subject, location, goals, etc.). Use this space to tell the judges what you want them to know about the photo. For abstract photos, it might be a good idea to tell the judge what the subject is or how you took the photo. For especially unique images, tell the judge how you captured the image. For images where you used advanced equipment or tried a new technique, tell the judge about it here.
Describe any edits or changes made to the picture using digital software. Use this space to explain any digital manipulation done to the photo, including digital post-production filters, cropping, or any adjustments to exposure, contrast, etc. Explain what edits or changes were made, as well as what software was used. This include mobile/smartphone apps.
(The following questions are for Level 2 and 3 exhibitors only.)
Focal Length*: This is a number indicating the length of the lens which determines how much of a scene you are able to see through your viewfinder. This is typically measured in millimeters (mm).
Example: 29mm, 35mm, 50mm.
See Level 2 Activity 1 for more information.
Type/Source of light: Be as specific as possible. Identify whether the lighting was natural or artificial. If artificial, identify the light sources, such as camera’s flash, neon lights, car headlights, flashlight, etc. For natural light, identify the type, dawn, dusk, midday, reflected, diffused, direct, light shining through a window, etc.
Example: natural, midday direct sunlight
See Level 2 Activities 3 and 5 for more information.
(The following questions are for Level 3 exhibitors only.)
Shutter Speed*: This is the length of time a camera shutter is open to expose light into the camera sensor. Shutter speed is typically measured in fractions of a second when they are under a second. Slow shutter speeds allow more light into the camera sensor and are used in low-light situations, while faster shutter speeds help freeze motion. This might also be referred to as exposure time.
Example: 1/30, 1/125, or 1/500
See Level 3 Activity 1 for more information.
F Stop*: This is a number which indicates the size of the aperture, which allows light to travel into the camera. The aperture controls the depth of field. A larger aperture opening will result in a smaller depth of field. The aperture size is expressed in f numbers or f-stops.
Examples: f/1.4, f/4, f/22
See Level 3 Activity 1 for more information.
ISO*: This is a number that indicates a film’s sensitivity to light or more commonly its speed. It is typically measured in numbers, a lower number representing a darker image, while higher numbers mean a brighter image.
Examples: 100, 200, 400
See Level 3 Activity 1 for more information.
List advanced equipment and/or techniques used and/or what manual adjustment were made. Level 3 exhibitors should be exploring and experimenting with advanced techniques. This may include but does not necessarily require using a DSLR camera, manual adjustments, or other advanced equipment. Use this space to identify and, if needed, explain what advanced equipment or techniques were used to capture this image. If manual adjustments were made, identify which settings were adjusted (ISO, F Stop, Shutter Speed).
*Note: Regardless of whether or not you made manual adjustments or used special equipment, you must still identify this information. “Auto” is not an acceptable answer. Digital cameras automatically record this information for each photo captured. The information, referred to as Metadata, is attached to the image file and goes with it when the image is downloaded to a computer for example. There are many ways to access this data. See instructions below for more information.
Continuing Education
Thurston County 4-H Council Senior Scholarship
Applicant Criteria:
- Applicant must be a current High School Senior.
- Applicant must currently be an enrolled member of the Thurston County 4-H Program. And have been enrolled in 4-H for at least the past two years.
- Applicant must have completed and turned in their 4-H Career Portfolio/Achievement Application for at least the past two years.
- Application must be completed and returned to get proper signatures to the Club Leader by April 1st of the current calendar year. Club Leaders will then turn all collected applications to Nebraska Extension in Thurston County. After submission, applications will not be returned.
Scholarship Information:
- One $150 will be awarded to all applicants who meet the criteria.
- Scholarship will be awarded after receiving written notification of scholarship recipient’s second semester enrollment. For those students enlisting with the military, notification of basic training completion will be the equivalent.
- Scholarship monies will be sent directly to the scholarship winner.
Projects
2020 Online Horticulture Judging Contest
Horticulture judging contest consists of three parts. The first is identification of plant material. Participants identify the plants by common name from a plant list. Specimens may be alive or preserved plant parts like stems, twigs, leaves, flowers, seeds, fruits, roots, bulbs, tubers, or plant products.
The second is a knowledge portion, usually in the form of a true/false or multiple choice quiz. Questions will test the contestant's knowledge of cultural practices for horticultural crops, plant science, pesticides, horticultural careers and other topics related to the production, processing and consumption of horticultural crops.
The last portion is judging or placings. This is where four different plants, plates of vegetables, or containers flowers are ranked from best to worst based on a set of criteria. Classes are judged on the basis of condition, quality, uniformity, true-to-type, and size.
More information about the Nebraska State contest along with a list of study materials can be found in the Fairbook http://4h.unl.edu/fairbook/plant-science/horticulture-id. Here you can find the written study materials for the knowledge portion, follow links to plant pictures for help with identification, and read how judging of plant material is done.
More details at: https://4h.unl.edu/online-horticulture-judging-contest
Summer Opprotunities
Computer Science Summer Camp
The Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln is pleased to announce a summer learning opportunity for high school students. We are hosting “Innovate: The Raikes School Way” and “Girls Who Innovate: The Raikes School Way”, computer science camps that will be led by Executive Director of the Raikes School, Steve Cooper. This opportunity was highlighted in a 2019 Forbes article, "STEM-Focused Summer Programs for Ambitious High School Students".
Students will participate in a two-week, project-based, on-campus camp, where they will learn basic programming skills, receive instruction from Nebraska faculty members, experience what classes can be like in the Raikes School, visit local businesses and research labs, and interact with Raikes School students and staff, all of whom play a key role in the competitive selection process to our program each year.
What: “Innovate: The Raikes School Way” & “Girls Who Innovate: The Raikes School Way”
For: High School Students (primarily the graduating class of 2021)
Where: University of Nebraska–Lincoln
When: July 12-25, 2020
Cost: $950 (limited need-based scholarship opportunities are available)
Programming Experience: None needed (in fact, no experience is preferred)
Application Deadline: March 27, 2020
Interested participants are able to find more details and application materials at http://raikes.unl.edu/summercamps. This video below gives you a glimpse of what students can expect to experience.
If you have any questions about the camp, please email anna.pressler@unl.edu.
Animal Science
Tractor Safety 2020
Does your child, age 14-15, work on someone else’s farm or acreage nearby? Or do you employ a young person on your farm or acreage?
If the answer is yes, this little-known information is vital. Federal law prohibits youth under 16 years of age from using specific equipment on a farm unless parents or legal guardians own the farm. Certification received after a course provided by Nebraska Extension grants an exemption to the law, allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to drive a tractor and to do field work with certain mechanized equipment.
The most common cause of agricultural-related death in Nebraska is overturned tractors and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Employing anyone uncertified under age 16 is a liability risk for farmers if those children operate such equipment.
Members of the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health in the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health will provide a tractor safety course in May and June of 2020 in 11 towns across Nebraska in partnership with Nebraska Extension. The course provides extensive training on tractor and all-terrain vehicle safety with a variety of hands-on activities. Making safety a priority and respecting agricultural equipment are primary goals of the course.
Teens 14 years of age or older, who work on farms, are encouraged to register for the Nebraska Extension Tractor Safety & Hazardous Occupations Course. Anyone under age 14 is not eligible to take the class.
Cost of the course is $60 and includes educational materials, instruction, supplies, and lunch.
The first day of class will cover the required elements of the National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program, hands-on participation, concluding with a written test which students must pass to attend the second day of training.
The second day of training will include a driving test and equipment operation and ATV safety lessons. Students must demonstrate competence in hitching and unhitching equipment and driving a tractor and trailer through a standardized course. Instructors will also offer education about safe behaviors and laws for ATVs, utility-task vehicles (UTVs), and other off-road vehicles (ORVs).
Instructors for the course are members of the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health: Aaron Yoder, Ph.D., Ellen Duysen; UNMC graduate student Alyssa Damke; and Nebraska Extension educators Troy Ingram, Randy Saner, Chandra Giles, and John Thomas.
Classes begin at 8 a.m. or 9 a.m., depending on location, and end times vary depending on the number of participants. If classes do not fill to the minimum of 10 participants, an option will be offered to do Day 1 training online and Day 2 in person.
Dates, training site locations, and site coordinator phone numbers are below:
May 26 & 27 – Ord, Fairgrounds (308) 728-5071;
May 28 & 29 – Wayne, Fairgrounds (402) 375-3310;
June 1 & 2 – O’Neill, Plains Equipment, (402) 336-2760;
June 3 (first day is online) – Gordon, Fairgrounds, (308) 327-2312;
June 4 & 5 – Ainsworth, Evangelical Free, (402) 387-2213;
June 9 & 10 – Geneva, Fairgrounds, (402) 759-3712;
June 11 & 12 – North Platte, West Central Research, Extension and Education Center, (308) 532-2683;
June 16 & 17 – Kearney, Buffalo County Extension Office (308) 236-1235;
June 18 & 19 – Hastings, Adams County Extension Office (402) 461-7209;
June 29 & 30 – Gering, Legacy Museum (308) 632-1480
July 1 & 2 – Weeping Water, Fairgrounds, (402) 267-2205;
For more information or to register, contact the appropriate Extension office above for guidance on where to send the registration form.