Otoe County 4-H Wednesday What-Nots
March 17, 2021
New Livestock Classes for the 2021 Otoe County Fair!!!!
- Turkey
- Jr. Breeding Heifer
- Purebred Breeding Gilt (Berkshire, Chester, Duroc, Hampshire, Hereford, Spot, Yorkshire, Crossbred ,and All Other Breeds)
- Purebred Market Barrow or Gilt (Berkshire, Chester, Duroc, Hampshire, Hereford, Spot, Yorkshire, and All Other Breeds)
Hog exhibitors can now show (3) Market Hogs and (2) Breeding Gilts and companion animal exhibitors can show (2) Companion Animals.
4-H Volunteer Training
Thursday, March 25, 2021
7:00 p.m.
Kimmel Event Center Syracuse
This annual training is for ALL 4-H volunteers, parents and leaders. More details to come!
For more information and to register, please call the Extension Office at 402-269-2301 or email otoe-county@unl.edu by Monday, March 22, 2021.
March Clover Bag Kits are now available!
Youth in Action
Summer 4-H Camp Registration is OPEN!
Want to spend a week of your summer enjoying the outdoors, trying new activities and making new friends?! Join us at Nebraska 4-H Camps for summer 2021! Our summer camp is located in the middle of the Sandhills in the beautiful Nebraska National Forest near Halsey. Our week-long overnight camp programs are open to all youth ages 8-15. You do not need to be a member of 4-H to attend camp (invite all of your friends to join!). We also have leadership opportunities and jr. counselor positions available for ages teens ages 15-18. A typical week at 4-H Camp includes a variety of outdoor adventure activities such as canoeing, zipline, high ropes course, archery, crafts, campfires and more! Charter bus transportation options will also be offered select weeks from UNL East campus in Lincoln or Raising Nebraska in Grand Island.
For more information and full camp descriptions please view the electronic 4-H Camp brochure: https://4h.unl.edu/documents/2021%20Brochure%20Final.pdf
Please reach out to the Camp Program Director, Katie Zabel, with any questions! Kzabel2@unl.edu
State-level volunteer recognition nominations are now open!!
Deadline has been extended to April 1, 2021 for Governor's Ag Excellence Application
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 April 5th at 10:00 am or 1:00 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.
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.
Book your group rate for State 4-H Horse Show
The State 4-H Horse Program would like to notify 4-H families to book your hotel reservations soon if you plan to attend/participate at the 2021 Fonner Park 4-H State Horse Expo. This year the Horse Expo (July 10th - 14th) is scheduled on the same dates as the National Jr. Angus Show. Since both events are happening at the same time, there may be limited hotel availability during the state horse show. We would like to give plenty of warning so you are not struggling to book hotels closer to our event.
We have blocked off a limited number of rooms with the Fairfield Inn hotel for 4-H families.
Below is the link to make reservations online. You are also more than welcome to call hotel directly at 308-381-8980.
Book your group rate for State 4-H Horse Show
You will find the information for your online reservation link below. If you have questions or need help with the link, please do not hesitate to ask.
State 4H Horse Show
Start Date: Sunday, July 11, 2021
End Date: Thursday, July 15, 2021
Last Day to Book: Friday, March 19, 2021
Hotel(s) offering your special group rate:
- Fairfield Inn & Suites Grand Island for $120 per night
Online Horticulture Judging Contest
Do you know what it takes to pick the best fruit and vegetables out at the grocery store? Or do you know what judges are looking for when they judge your plants at the county fair? Have you ever wondered, what plant is that!?! We are excited to offer the opportunity to learn these and other important horticulture skills through the Online Horticulture Contest. The contest will be available June 4-21, 2021 at: https://go.unl.edu/21onlinehortcontest.
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 details at: https://4h.unl.edu/online-horticulture-judging-contest
More information about the Nebraska State contest can be found in the Fairbook https://4hfairbook.unl.edu/fairbookview.php/contests/45 .
New Livestock Classes and Divisions for the 2021 Nebraska State Fair!!!!
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.
4-H Volunteer Resources
2021 4-H Virtual Horse Judging Workshop
We've gone VIRTUAL! Come learn from the best! We are excited to announce our annual 4-H Judges Certification & Training will be virtual this year!
This workshop will include Equine Industry experts, University faculty, and carded judges going over our various topics (Ranch Pleasure, Showmanship, Western Riding, and Hunt Seat Equitation). For the month of April, our virtual meetings will be held at 6:00pm CT on April 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th. AND participants will receive Judging Kits! Sign up today for only $40 to learn from experts and receive your judging essentials! Deadline to receive kits in time for our workshop is March 22nd!
To Register: https://forms.gle/QEbD8NEfTebA2hNP7
For more information: https://animalscience.unl.edu/horse-judging-school
Our Experts
Clay Cavinder- Mississippi State University
John Pipkin- West Texas A&M University
Kathy Anderson- University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lena Luck- University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Sarah Schobert- Texas A&M University
Big Red Camps
Big Red Camps registration is almost ready! In the meantime, please visit the website for updated information, cost, and scholarship possibilities! https://4h.unl.edu/big-red-camps
Volunteer Screening- if you haven't completed it yet, please get it done!
4-H Volunteer/Leader Screening - Required in 2021
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension 4-H Volunteer Activity Application process includes a volunteer screening. All volunteers and staff who work directly with youth are required to complete the volunteer screening. Be assured the volunteer screening process is confidential.
Volunteers are screened in order to ensure a safe, positive and nurturing environment for all youth involved with Nebraska 4-H programs and provide protection for the child, volunteer, educator, 4-H Council, Extension Board, and UNL Extension.
Otoe County Leaders/Volunteers are asked to be screened every 5 years. We ask all club leaders, project leaders, and fair volunteers to take time to be screened. The application is online and can be completed very quickly.
- In order to complete the volunteer screening, please click or copy and paste the following link and follow all instructions: https://ecmp.nebraska.gov/DHHS-CR/CheckRequest/BeginOrgCheck/81102416. Please note that only applications started through this link will be verified as part of Nebraska 4-H. PLEASE COPY AND PASTE THIS LINK.
- After the screening is complete, you will receive an email from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) with the results of your screening. Please keep this file for your records. (You do NOT need to send this document to Nebraska 4-H. Your county will be notified when the screening is complete.)
- If you have any questions about the volunteer screening process, or encounter problems accessing the screening, please contact your local county office.
RETURNING volunteers are rescreened in a rotating process that rescreens by county every five years, 2021 is the year for Otoe County.
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.
Otoe County 4-H Clubs can Meet Using the Following Guidelines
Otoe County is now in the Yellow Zone for COVID. This is great news because Otoe County 4-H Clubs can now meet! Facial coverings are recommended. Please follow the guidelines below when meeting.
Clubs are still encouraged to meet virtually if possible. If your club needs help setting up a virtual meeting, the Extension Office is happy to help. Call (402) 269-2301 or email otoe-county@unl.edu for assistance.
Additional information can be found at: https://4h.unl.edu/documents/COVID-4H-Meeting-Guidelines-052820.pdf .
NEW 4-H Dog Achievement Program for 4-H youth!
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.
More information can be found at: https://4h.unl.edu/dog-achievement-program
For any questions, contact Grace Kim at Grace.kim@unl.edu
2021 Special Garden Project
The Special Garden Project is a way to offer 4-H members the chance to grow unusual and fun projects in their gardens. The 2021 Special Garden Project is focused on the tasty 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. Youth should enroll for the Special Garden Project through 4-H Online. Once enrolled through 4-H Online, youth are then to call their local office to let them know they enrolled for the project. By enrolling through 4-H Online, youth will have access to the educational materials including the growing newsletter & evaluation.
More details at: http://4h.unl.edu/special-gardening-project.
Contact the Extension Office if you would like to participate this year.
4-H Fund Raising Guidelines
· Money raised in the name of 4-H must be used for 4-H purposes.
· 4-H fund raising should only be conducted to meet a 4-H club goal. There must be a definite plan to account for funds raised.
· Due to the IRS, 4-H Councils and 4-H Clubs can now have in their treasury up to 1 1/2 times their annual budget. If you have a large treasury, it’s time to thoroughly consider ways to effectively utilize your dollars that were earned in the name of 4-H. Fund raising will also need to be curtailed if your checking account is too large.
· Generally, money raised during the year should be spent that same year, so there is no need for a 4-H club to have a savings account.
· All moneys received from 4-H fund raising programs, except those necessary to pay
reasonable expenses, must be expended to further the 4-H mission.
· Please check with the Extension Staff before putting the 4-H name or 4-H Clover on any flyer or item you intend to sell for profit.
Clover Kid Bucket Calf Rules
Bucket calves must be no more than six (6) months of age and weigh no more than 350 pounds. A halter must be used. Exhibition includes a short interview with the judge to discuss the youth’s knowledge of caring for and raising the calf.
Clover Kids who have participated in the Clover Kid Bucket Calf Show are still eligible to participate in the Bucket Calf project as a “regular” 4-H member. A 7-year-old Clover Kid who shows a Bucket Calf can keep the calf for the next year when the youth is a 4-H member and 8-years-old. The calf can be brought back as a Bucket Calf+ project. Please call the Extension Office with any questions.
Clover Kids must purchase and tag the calf, plus complete the Animal ID sheet by June 15th. These are available at the Extension office. Clover Kids do not need to do the YQCA training.
Regular Bucket Calf Rules
Entries must be an orphan or newborn calf; male or female; dairy, beef or cross; and fed on bucket or bottle. These calves must be born after January 1 and before May 1, 2021. By June 15th, the calf must be ear tagged with a 4-H EID tag and Animal ID sheet completed. 4-H members must complete YQCA training by June 15th.
4-H members can show in the bucket calf class as many years as they like but they can show only one entry per year.
Bucket Calf +1 Rules
A bucket calf may be kept and shown the following year as a Bucket Calf +1. All Market Bucket Calf calves must be tagged with a 4-H EID tag. 4-H members must turn in an Animal ID sheet and complete YQCA training by June 15th. A headshot photograph showing the entire calf head and the EID tag visible in the ear is required for 2021.
2021 Tractor Safety Training Date Set
Companion Rabbit Science
LEGO® SPIKE™ Prime Kits
NEW LEGO® SPIKE™ Prime Kits are now available for check out!
4-H Cake Decorating Kits
Companion Animal Challenge
Nebraska Extension in Otoe County
Deb Weitzenkampl, 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, NE
Phone: (402)269-2301
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nebraska-Extension-in-Otoe-County