Webster County 4-H Newsletter
January 2021
HAPPY 2021!!
We made it through 2020!! We hope that you and your family had a safe and Happy New Year day and that 2021 brings you lots of joy. We are so excited to see what 2021 brings.
-The Webster County 4-H Staff
Important Dates & Events
Important Dates to Remember:
- January 1: Webster County Extension Office & Courthouse CLOSED for New Year's Day
- January 18: Webster County Extension Office & Courthouse CLOSED for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- February 15: Webster County Extension Office & Courthouse CLOSED for President's Day
- February 27: Last Beef Weigh In
Best Wishes To Sydney!
Our Beef Educator, Sydney O’Daniel, has accepted a different position outside of Nebraska Extension. Her last day will be January 15th. We will miss Sydney and we wish her the best on her new adventure!
Beef Weigh In
Thank you to all who attended our first beef weigh in that was December 20th! Our last beef weigh in is Saturday, February 27th, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. It will also be held at the Red Cloud Animal Health clinic.To be eligible for the Rate of Gain contest, you must bring your market animal to your county weigh in.
Thank you to all who have helped at our first weigh in and Keri for letting us use the clinic!
New Youth Council Members
We are very excited to announce our youth members of the Youth Council board! Congratulations to the following:
- Carter Auten
- Samantha Bonifas
- Kassi Jones
- Abigail Meyer
Thank you to all of the youth that were on the voting ballot!
Scholarships
Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce Scholarship
4-H Calendar
Innovative Youth Corn Challenge 2.0: Registration Open
This program continues to evolve and has exciting changes planned for the 2021 growing season with IYCC 2.0. A citizen scientist component will encourage youth to connect with researchers on a real problem facing corn growers and assist in collecting data or designing a tool to solve a real-world problem.
The IYCC 2.0 will also feature an agricultural literacy piece which will help others understand corn production practices and highlight teams’ efforts. This will allow youth to promote their own work through creative works such as a video or other multimedia tool. Nebraska Extension will execute this evolving, innovative and in-depth program in 2021, which will be the tenth year creating agricultural, science-informed graduates in the agricultural industry.
Prizes for participation in this project include 1st place - $1,000, 2nd place - $500, 3rd place -$250, “Extra Mile” Award $200, CORN Communications Award $200 and $50 for completion of the project. In addition, each team receives a crop scouting kit valued at over $200, plot sign and the opportunity to engage with UNL agronomic professionals through “ask an agronomist” sessions.
For more information about this program and to register, go to https://cropwatch.unl.edu/youth/cornchallenge. Registration is due March 15th. Contact Brandy VanDeWalle at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu or (402) 759-3712 for details about this program.
Create with Me: To Go!
Enroll for 4-H!!
4-H Now!
4-H Enrollment is now open! Please do these easy steps to get re-enrolled for the 2020-2021 4-H year!
- Log-In at 4honline.com or click on the link provided below
- Update all contact information that has changed
- Select your projects
- Verify the number of years that you have been in 4-H- this must be accurate!
Each member, leader, and direct volunteer must re-enroll in 4-H every year. Log in with the email that you created the account with. If you forgot or do not remember your password, please click on " I Forgot My Password" and a temporary password will be sent to your email. If you have further problems, please contact the Extension Office.
4-H Ages (As of January 1st)
CloverKid: 5-7
4-H Age: 8-18
Spotlight on 4-H
4-H Horse Stampede & District Horse Shows
- Entry forms are due to county offices by March 5, 2021.
- Art and Photography Exhibits will also be due to county offices by March 5th. Exhibits must be labeled with youth's information on the back of the exhibit.
- Photography exhibits must have proper matting along with their personal data tags attached to the back of the exhibit.
- Demonstration, public speaking, and Horse Quiz bowl is planned for in-person (March 27th) unless health restrictions change. They may be altered to a virtual option that will be held live over zoom on March 27th.
- Horse Bowl is currently planned for in person on March 27th, 2021, but may be postponed due to health restrictions and guidelines.
- Districts and State Horse Entries Due May 7, 2021
- Horse ID forms are due to the county office by May 7, 2021
- Horse Advancement Levels must be completed by May 7th to compete at a District and/or State Horse Show
- Hippology and Horse Judging Entries are due June 15, 2021
Nebraska Equine Webinar
- January Webinar (share between December 15th – January 11th) Tune in January 11th! with Equine Specialist, Dr. Lena Luck! Topic: Changes to the 4-H Horse Program for 2021. To register in advance for the webinar please go to: https://4h.unl.edu/horse/webinar-series The webinar will also be recorded if you cannot attend in person and you will be able to find it along with all the previous webinars at: https://4h.unl.edu/horse/webinar-series If you have participated and/or watched previous webinars please fill out a short survey so that we can better meet your needs in the future and provide a better experience. https://goo.gl/forms/INFcpHyaupMh7xNS2
What to Know Wednesdays!
National Western Catch a Calf
Youth Masters of Beef Advacocy Learning Cohort
To register, go to the following link: MBA Cohort Registration. Once registered, you will get information about logging into both Zoom sessions and the MBA site. For questions, contact Brianna Buseman, Youth Meat Extension Educator, at brianna.buseman@unl.edu
Youth who join this statewide learning cohort will gain tools and resources for being a beef advocate, work as a group to become a strong ambassador for the beef community and be able to answer tough questions about beef and raising cattle. The group will meet initially on December 16th to introduce the program, get to know their cohort and learn more about the beef industry as a whole. During the cohort time frame, youth will complete the Masters of Beef Advocacy program online through National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. In addition to completing the online program, youth will have the opportunity to continue discussion with their cohort through a series of discussion boards, additional learning resources and activities to help put what they learn into action. Youth will then log-in on January 6th for a celebration webinar to mark their completion of the program, learn more about beef in Nebraska and discuss careers in the beef industry.
CWF Trip
Citizen Washington Focus Educational Virtual Meeting
Tuesday, January 12th – 6:30pm
Registration: go.unl.edu/clayadamscwf
Every summer, high school students from across the country travel to Washington, D.C. to participate in Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF), 4‑H’s premier leadership and citizenship program for high school students. CWF is more than a Washington, D.C. field trip – it’s an opportunity for 4‑H’ers to learn how to be citizen leaders and make a difference in their communities.
Join Julie Ochsner, Adams County Assistant, and Beth Janning to learn about the Clay/Adams/Webster CWF Experience. Youth and Parents will have a chance to learn about our local program, future trips, and fundraising opportunities.
I encourage you to join in to learn and ask questions. This is a an experience of a lifetime! If your child is young and years away from this opportunity, you can still sign up now and start fundraising!4-H CWF Trip
Hastings Museum Pen Pal Program
Does your mail make you smile? The Hastings Museum believes that it should, and so does 4-H! The Webster County Extension Office is helping spread the word about the Hastings Museum Pen Pal Program. This would be a great way to spruce up your snail mail and make someone else’s day. We also believe there could be a 4-H exhibit or two in the future based on this project. To learn more about the program, visit https://hastingsmuseum.org/penpal-program/
4-H Winter Fun Pack
Looking for ways to keep the young people in your life engaged this winter? Check out the 4-H Winter Fun Pack - a collection of activities that youth can do on their own at home! Each recorded session of Living Room Learning is led by a Nebraska 4-H Youth Development professional. Getting started is simple: gather supplies, click the recording and let us do the teaching.
The materials required for this resource are all things you can find at home! This resource was created with all areas of 4-H in mind, including: Family Consumer Sciences, Environmental Education and Earth Sciences, Healthy Living, STEM, Communication and Expressive Arts and more!
Access the resources here and let the fun begin: https://4h.unl.edu/winter-fun-pack
Hello Friends of 4-H Camp!
- We are planning an IN-PERSON event at the Nebraska State 4-H Camp in Halsey, NE. This event will take place from Saturday, January 16th to Monday, January 18th. See the beautiful Nebraska National Forest during wintertime and have a blast at camp! We will enjoy sledding, snow-people, hot chocolate and more! Transportation option from Lincoln or Omaha is available! *All CDC recommendations will be followed including: social distancing, masks and enhanced sanitizing procedures. Ages: 8-14
For more information on either of these events and online registration please visit this site: https://4h.unl.edu/camps-centers/school-year-camps
New Year… New 4-H Maker Goose Chase Challenge
2021 Special Garden Project
The Special Gardening Project lets 4-H members try their hand at growing unusual vegetables and flowers. The project allows experienced 4-H gardeners to grow something fun, new, and different while letting those new to gardening get their feet wet in this project area.
The focus of the 2021 project is the Hakurei Turnip. These are not your grandmother’s turnips. Hakurei is a white salad turnip that is smooth, round and at its best when harvested under 2”. The roots can be eaten raw or cooked, and the tops can also be cooked.
Special Agronomy Project
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.
To kick-off the inaugural year of the special agronomy project, youth will explore teosinte. The plant looks and is very similar to corn, in fact it is believed to be the wild ancestor of today's corn!
Teosinte produces stalks that produce several small ears with a cob and hard, trapezoidal kernels. Being related to corn, the care is very similar so we will plant and fertilize like corn. Plant the seeds 1-2 inches deep, 8 to 12 inches apart. Teosinte is a tropical grass, so wait till soils are warm before planting. Teosinte can take up to 180 days to mature but we can still admire it's similarities to corn! For more information, go to https://cropwatch.unl.edu/special-agronomy-project.
UNL Extension-Webster County Newsletter
Youth in Action
The Webster County Extension Office and courthouse will be closed Monday, January 18th, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Contact our 4-H Team!
Alexa Pedersen
Email: alexa.pedersen@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Location: 621 North Cedar Street, Red Cloud, NE, USA
Phone: 402-746-3417
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebsterCoExtNE
Katie Bolte
Email: katie.bolte@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Location: 621 North Cedar Street, Red Cloud, NE, USA
Phone: 402-746-3417
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebsterCoExtNE
Beth Janning
4-H Youth Development Educator
Adams/Webster Counties
Email: elizabeth.janning@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Location: 621 North Cedar Street, Red Cloud, NE, USA
Phone: 402-746-3417
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebsterCoExtNE