Otoe County 4-H Wednesday What-Nots
May 5, 2021
Congratulations to our 4-H Seniors as they prepare for Graduation!!
What lies behind us, and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
AnnaMarie Stukenholtz - NC
Autumn Cary - SDA
Burton Brandt - SDA
Deryk McCown - NC
Griffin Goering - SDA
Hope Kuenning - SDA
Jami Gabriel - Palmyra/Bennet
Joshua Gress - NC
Justine Clifton - SDA
Kirsten Bischoff - SDA
Lauren Davis - Norwalk, IA
Logan Jording - SDA
Mia Ortiz - SDA
Suzanna Shanks-SDA
Sydney Wellsandt-SDA
The 2021 Otoe County Fair 4-H Fair Book is now available at:
https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/otoe/2021%20Fair%20Book%20Final%20Copy.pdf
The 2021 Otoe County Fair FFA & Open Class Fairbook is now available at: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/otoe/Open%20Class%20%26%20FFA%20final%202021.pdf
Copies of the fair book are available at the First National Bank in Bennet, Palmyra Memorial Library and the Syracuse Extension Office
4-H Summer Workshops
Date has been set for the Let's Learn to Paint Workshop
The summer workshops can be viewed at https://www.smore.com/e3hwq. Sign up today as spots will fill up fast. You many mail/drop-off payment to the Extension Office or send money the day of the workshop. All checks should be made out to UNL.
REMINDER- District and State Horse Show entry & Horse ID Forms Due May 7th
County Horse ID forms are due to the Extension Ofice on May 7! ID sheets can be found at https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/otoe/2020%20Horse%20Affidavit%20-%202.pdf.
District & State Horse show Entries are due online MAY 7TH!
Here is a step-by-step video on how to register: https://youtu.be/W6NO6BrVhTg
District and State Horse Show Webpage: https://4h.unl.edu/state-horse-expo
2021 Otoe County 4-H Animal Updates
Beef update: https://www.smore.com/xzpfr
Clover Kid Animal Caretaker update: https://www.smore.com/h25rn
Companion Animal update: https://www.smore.com/gndwu
Dog update: https://www.smore.com/4c71y
Goat update: https://www.smore.com/y0ntm
Horse update: https://www.smore.com/4ntpbPoultry update: https://www.smore.com/8yjt3
Rabbit update: https://www.smore.com/69f1hp
Sheep update: https://www.smore.com/1rxk6
Swine update: https://www.smore.com/usgdw
It’s 4-H Enrollment Time!
It’s time to enroll and re-enroll in 4-H! All youth and leaders will need to enroll and re-enroll in Otoe County 4-H through 4-HOnline at https://ne.4honline.com. 4-HOnline is the web-based enrollment system that allows families to enroll and re-enroll in 4-H on their personal computer or mobile device. You will complete all of the information necessary to join or re-enroll in 4-H online, including 4-H Code of Conduct forms. PLEASE NOTE: When signing up as an Independent 4-H member, you must have at least one parent enrolled as a 4-H leader.
You are strongly encouraged to re-enroll by May 1 or you may miss out on communications such as project specific letters, the monthly TIPS newsletter, Wednesday What-Nots, etc. New members and fair projects may be updated through June 15 according to new Nebraska State 4-H policy.
This year, Nebraska 4-H is implementing a new statewide enrollment deadline of June 15th for any youth interested in exhibiting at county or state fair. However, we recommend getting it done as early as possible!
4-H Youth Leadership Conference
Register for the *NEW* 2021 4-H Youth Leadership Conference (YLC)
High School students (ages 14-18)! We are inviting you to join us for the Youth Leadership Conference, July 1-3, 2021, at the Nebraska State 4-H Camp in Halsey, NE.
Register here: https://go.unl.edu/ylc2021 by June 1st to claim your spot in this amazing experience. The cost for YLC will be $200. We’ll be taking advantage of some traditional camp activities while integrating leadership workshops and speakers to bring together and develop the leaders of Nebraska 4-H!
Nebraska 4-H Livestock Achievement Program
We are excited to announce a new opportunity for 4-H youth participating in livestock projects! The Nebraska 4-H Livestock Achievement Program is designed to promote all educational aspects of 4-H livestock projects including selection, production, leadership, and exhibition by recognizing youth striving to improve in their livestock project knowledge and leadership.
The program recognizes Members of Excellence across all 4-H livestock project areas, including: beef, sheep, meat goat, swine, dairy cattle, dairy goat, rabbit, and poultry.
The program consists of two levels that require 4-H members to plan and report a broad range of age-appropriate and project-related accomplishments. For each level, the Livestock Achievement Program provides a list of accomplishments from which 4-H members choose their goals. Each accomplishment is worth a specific number of points. Intermediates, ages 10-13, must complete 100 points worth of activities to receive the distinction of Intermediate Member of Excellence. Seniors, ages 14-18, must complete 150 points worth of activities to receive the distinction of Senior Member of Excellence. The Plan and Reports, linked on the webpage, show examples of the project related accomplishments they can choose or they can identify their own with approval of their local educator.
Youth completing the achievement program and receiving member of excellence recognition in the various species will be recognized during the Parade of Champions, 4-H weekend at the Nebraska State Fair.
For more information, go to: Livestock Achievement Program | Nebraska 4-H (unl.edu)
Special 4-H Discount for Calibraska
Erica Larsen-Dockray was born and raised in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and is the Founding Director of the Calibraska Arts Initiative. This initiative aims to connect youth and adults from Nebraska with west coast artists and professionals in the arts and entertainment industries through arts education.
The Calibraska Arts Initiative is offering a variety of online and/or in-person summer classes in the arts taught by teaching artists and professionals in Los Angeles, California, and beyond. There are classes in Animation, Acting, Comedy, Costume Design, Hip Hop Dance, and a LOT more! While the opportunities are primarily for youth, there are classes for adults, too.
Right now, a special 4-H Discount is being offered for Calibraska courses. Use the code 4H15% to receive 15% off a whole order of classes. The code has unlimited use by any 4-H'er. More information about Calibraska can be found at http://calibraska.org.
More details at: http://calibraska.org
Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA)
Nebraska 4-H requires all youth enrolled in livestock projects to complete annual quality assurance certification through Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA). YQCA is a national multi-species quality assurance program focused on three core pillars: food safety, animal well-being, and character development.
YQCA certification is required for all 4-H members enrolled in any of the following projects:
- Beef (bucket calf, feeder calf, breeding beef, market beef)
- Dairy Cattle
- Goat (breeding meat goat, dairy goat, meat goat)
- Poultry
- Rabbit
- Sheep (breeding sheep, market sheep)
- Swine
Nebraska 4-H members ages 8-18, who are enrolled in any of the livestock projects listed above are required to participate in an annual YQCA training. Annual training requirements may be satisfied by completing either an online web-based training course or a face-to-face instructor-led training course.
Web-based annual training is available through the YQCA learning management system. The online YQCA course costs $12 per individual regardless of age and in-person course costs $3 per individual. Please see the YQCA Login & Course Completion Instructions for more information.
The next in-person trainings will be held May 25th at 6:00 pm at the Otoe County Fair Center. The deadline to complete the annual YQCA training or to test out of annual training is June 15th.
4-H members who exhibit at the Nebraska State Fair will need to have their YQCA training requirements also met by June 15th.
UNL College Students: Paid Summer Opportunities with the State for Nebraska 4-H
Do you know of a UNL College Student who is looking for a way to make a difference in the lives of young people this summer while getting paid? The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has launched the Husker Afterschool and Summer Learning Opportunities (HALO) program, which offers hands-on, youth-centered programs to school-age youth in Nebraska communities. HALO brings together UNL students to support local 4-H programs across Nebraska in developing and delivering educational experiences. Programs experiences (anything from leading virtual workshops to supervising programs at camp), locations (all the way from Scottsbluff to Omaha and everywhere in between), and content (biomedical engineering to environmental ed), are diverse! Learn more about working with Nebraska 4-H this summer at https://4h.unl.edu/pyd-student-opportunities and apply before April 18, 2021!
Big Red Camps Registration
Ear Tags Available at the Extension Office
YQCA must be completed by June 15th to be eligible to show livestock at the Otoe County Fair for all 4-H’ers over 8 years old.
MANDATORY – a photo of the visual tag in the ear and the entire head of each of the animals identified on the ID sheet must be submitted before June 15th– photos can be emailed to otoe-county@unl.edu.
ID sheets can be picked up at the Extension Office or downloaded from https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/otoe/4h/.
Nebraska Extension in Otoe County
Deb Weitzenkamp, Unit Leader, Extension Educator, deb.weitzenkamp@unl.edu
Erin Steinhoff, Extension Assistant, erin.steinhoff@unl.edu
Cheryl Goff, Office Manager, cheryl.goff@unl.edu
Email: Otoe-County@unl.edu
Website: www.otoe.unl.edu
Location: 620 1st Street, Syracuse, Neb, USA
Phone: (402)269-2301
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nebraska-Extension-in-Otoe-County