Webster County 4-H Newlsetter
April 2022 Edition
Happy April!
Hello, spring! We are finally into a consistency of nice weather. A lot of things happened in March, but we are looking forward to all of the fun events happening in April! Be sure to check the newsletter from time to time as new items are added weekly. Have a great month of April!
-The Webster County Extension Staff
Important Dates & Events
April 1: Virtual Companion Animal Challenge Registration Due
April 5: Blue Hill 4-H Afterschool
April 8: Intern Applications Due
April 11: Webster County 4-H Open House
April 11: 4-H Public Speaking Registrations Due
April 11: Virtual 4-H Companion Animal Challenge
April 15: Early 4-H Enrollment Deadline
April 19: Office Closed- Extension Staff Programming in Zone 10
April 24: Webster County 4-H Public Speaking Contest
April 26: Blue Hill 4-H Afterschool
April 29: Office Closed in observance of Arbor Day
May 2: Animals Inside & Out Program (4th Grade Field Day)
May 6: Horse IDs (district/state only) and District/State Horse Show Entries Due
2022 4-H Calendar of Events
Emails
If your email ends with @GTMC.NET, please let Alexa know what your new email is as GTMC will no longer be available.
Intern
Webster County 4-H Open House
Please join the office staff in a 4-H Open House at the Webster County Extension Office on April 11th from 2:00-6:00 pm. Stop on in and:
- Enjoy some 4-H Popcorn & Kool - Aid
- Color 4-H Coloring Book/Activity
- Make a Smoothie on Our "Blender Bike"
- Enroll for 4-H
- Grab a water-bottle, I Belong yard sign, and treats!
4-H Online - Early Enrollment Deadline April 15
Enroll by April 15th and receive a FREE Webster County 4-H water bottle!!
This new system is much more simple for both you and our office. You will use your same account log in and password from last time. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions. We encourage you to go through the steps of enrollment below as this is totally different than the old system. Parents who are volunteers only will enroll. Do not enroll if you are just a parent that does not volunteer (club leader, superintendent, project leader, etc.)
Volunteer Lunch & Learn
YQCA
The new YQCA program is up and running! Thank you all for your patience with the shutdown and change. For the youth who have completed YQCA already this year and plan to go to state fair or AKSARBEN, you will need to go into the new system, create an account, and upload your certificate from this year that you completed. You can do that here: https://yqcaprogram.org/
Save the dates and times for the upcoming in-person trainings.
- May 23rd – Adams County Extension Office at 1:00 pm (New Date & Time)
- May 24th – Webster County Fairgrounds at 1:00 pm (New Date & Time)
- June 7th – Adams County Extension Office at 6 pm (Original Date & Time)
- June 9th – Webster County Fairgrounds at 6 pm (Original Date & Time
*For in-person trainings, please ask the office for the code to waver the fee. Online trainings are $12 and codes are not valid.
2022 Beef Ambassador Contest
Below is the information for the 2022 Beef Ambassador contest to be held on June 9 in Valentine. This is a great program and offers opportunities for students to become stronger advocates for the beef industry.
If you have any questions please contact the NE Cattlemen’s office (ncw@necattlemen.org)
Livestock Contests & Events
We are excited to get going with Livestock Contests and Events for 2022. To assist in knowing who is interested in the following events – call the office or complete the online form (https://go.unl.edu/22livestock). Practices are starting to come together.
- South Central Livestock Judging Clinic & Contest – Open to youth ages 8 to 18 Save the date of Thursday, June 2, 2022 – More Info to come
- Premier Animal Science Events – Open to youth ages 8 to 18 Dates are Wednesday, June 22 & Thursday, June 23 on UNL, East Campus. Events are Livestock Quiz Bowl, Livestock Skill-a-thon, Poultry Judging, Meats Judging, and Livestock Judging.
Livestock Achievement Program
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.
Applications/Sign up are due June 15th through the application form link on the website. Plan and Reports, as well as Project Records will be due August 10 via the completion form on the website. 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 or to apply, go to: Livestock Achievement Program | Nebraska 4-H (unl.edu)
Ashley Benes ashley.benes@unl.edu
Brett Kreifels brett.kreifels@unl.edu
Cole Meador cmeador2@unl.edu
Animal Science Discovery Day
Nebraska 4-H Opportunities
2022 District 4-H Horse Shows
We are excited to announce that Webster County is a location for one of the District 4-H Horse Shows for 2022!
2022 Districts Dates and Sites:
June 6- Chadron, NE
June 7- Guide Rock, NE
June 8- Albion, NE
June 9- Raymond, NE
June 10- Kearney, NE
REMINDER of changes!
• New age group/classes
o Elementary Ranch Pleasure (10-11 years old)
Individual work will not be used as a trial basis for the 2022 year (Please see webpage for district procedure details): https://4h.unl.edu/horse/district-shows
We are excited for the 2022 year!
4-H Horse Levels
As of 2020 for Webster County, levels for the county 4-H horse show are recommended, but not mandatory for level 1. If you are participating at districts or state, all other levels must be completed by the time ID sheets are due (May 6th). All other levels and ID sheets for county only may be completed by June 15th.
Husker Judge's School
April 30th , 2022 from 1-5pm
Lincoln, NE- East Campus – Animal Science Complex
Register: https://cvent.me/LbvEzN
Participants in this workshop get discounted prices for the judging contest the next day!
Virtual Companion Animal Challenge
2022 Webster County 4-H Public Speaking Contest
NIFA-Governor’s Agricultural Excellence Awards Application Details
Projects should fit within at least one of seven 4-H program areas: College and career readiness, healthy living, STEM, Food supply confidence, community development, leadership development, and/or entrepreneurship. Projects should strengthen the educational experience of the county and/or state’s 4-H youth and adult volunteers.
Priority consideration will be given to clubs who integrate community engagement and educational components into their projects while furthering the mission of Nebraska 4-H to empower youth to reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults.
Consider avenues to address youth issues within your communities while promoting positive youth development and being and advocate for 4-H. Projects should have a potential for increasing life skills, reaching expanded youth audiences (at-risk, low income, diverse, disabled, etc.) and increasing new audiences in ongoing 4-H programming.
Applications must include:
- Description of the project/activity to be completed. Including content area of focus and why it is important to your club and community. Define any youth concerns in your community that will be addressed by this proposal (use statistics, numbers, how do you know it is an issue etc.):
- Goals and anticipated outcomes of the project. Describe actions to be taken to achieve goals and/or objectives. Include estimated number of people who will be impacted as a result of the project.
- How do you anticipate the community benefiting from the completion of this project? What is the impact/change on your community?
- How will this project grow club members as leaders and develop their skills?
- What is the timeline (start to finish) of this project to be completed?
- Provide an itemized anticipated budget for the entire project.
- Identify one additional community resource you can connect with to assist with the project (speakers, additional youth, materials).
- Evaluation: How will you know your project had an impact?
- A written letter of support from your county 4-H educator.
- Include:
- Club name,
- county,
- contact information (adult and youth; email, phone, address)
- Number of club members
- Have you ever received a Gov. Ag grant previously? What year?
At the conclusion of the project, please submit a report to the Nebraska 4-H Foundation. All reports due October 31. The report should include:
- Club name and county
- Club members names
- Narrative of the project. Include how goals and outcomes were achieved.
- What did club members learn? Specific skills developed/gained.
- What was the community impact? How did your community change or grow as a result of the project? Number of people impacted? How did you assess the impact or what tools did you use to evaluate your impact.
- How were you an advocate for 4-H, help carry on the 4-H mission.
- Did you utilize any additional community resources to complete your project?
- Please include photos of the project
- Signature from the club’s county 4-H educator
Guidelines:
- All grants must be turned in on time. Any grants submitted after the date listed, will not be considered.
- Items that assist in maintaining a previous project or exhibition of the project will be considered.
- Grants are not to be used for purchasing awards, parade materials, booth decorations, project books, project supplies or items that would be used in 4-H or fair competition.
- Generally, snacks for refreshments, give-away items, e.g. t-shirts, etc. and building rental are not approved expenditures. Monies cannot be used for capital equipment or hardware (defined as items and material with a life expectancy of greater than five years) or building drives.
- We ask that items to be purchased are such that can be used by future members and passed on and not one time use items. If a member or leader choses to discontinue the project(s), please find another member to pass the item on to for continued use. Items purchased shall remain with the club.
- Please be creative and thoughtful when answering the questions giving as much information for the committee to evaluate.
- Clubs who have previously received an award but have not submitted a report at the conclusion of the project will not be considered for future awards.
- Not all grants will be funded. Please include, if applicable, other funding opportunities available.
In order to be considered for the award, applications must be completed/submitted by April 1. Please direct any questions to Lindsay Shearer by email lshearer2@unl.edu or by calling 402.472.9019.
NAYI
Youth Leadership Conference
Summer Camp & Big Red Camp Registration
Registration is now open for 2022 Nebraska 4-H Summer Camps! See the full schedule of camp sessions and register now at 4h.unl.edu/summer-camp-schedule.
Big Red Camp registration is open! Explore the University of Nebraska–Lincoln while investigating a potential college major, career, or topic of interest alongside faculty and peers. Find session, scholarship, and registration information at BigRedCamps.unl.edu
Webster County Youth Council is now sponsoring 10 youth at $100 each to attend. You must show completed registration of the camp. First come, first serve.
UNL Extension in Webster County Newsletter
Michelle Henkel - Winner of the Lyle Niemeyer 4-H Scholarship
Happy Birthday to those celebrating in April!!
The Webster County Extension Office and courthouse will be closed Friday, April 29th in observance of Arbor Day.
Meet Our Team!
Alexa Pedersen
Office Manager
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
4-H Programming Assistant
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 Extension Educator in Adams/Webster Counties
Beth Janning is a 4-H Youth Development Extension Educator. She provides programming in school enrichment, after-school, and traditional 4-H Programs. Her topic areas include but not limited to animal science, science, engineering and volunteer development.
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
Dr. Lindsay Waechter-Mead
Beef Systems Educator, DVM
Lindsay Waechter-Mead is the new Beef Systems Educator in Webster County and serves surrounding counties in this region. She is excited to bring her interests surrounding cow/calf health and preventative medicine to the Beef Team. Her current work involves looking at environmental effects on neonatal calf immunity and colostral transfer. She is also passionate about rural agriculture and what the veterinary profession can do to positively influence rural communities to ensure that generations can continue to enjoy the life that she loves.
Email: lindsay.waechter-mead@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Phone: 402.746.3417
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCBeefExtensionUNL