Hello Ford County 4-H!
Thank you to each one of the 4-H’ers
that participated in our local 4-H Club Day and good luck to all of our
Regional 4-H Club Day participants! Each one of you should be proud of the work
you accomplished!
March is a great time of the year to
get your KAPS organized…or started for the year! If you haven’t written your
project goals, do that now! Make a list of photos you’d like to take each month
or update certain sections to make sure your information is current.
With Spring Break around the corner,
why not tackle a few of those 4-H projects! Even though “4-H is a Family Affair,” we encourage parents to let their child ‘make their own decisions’ when it
comes to projects. Sure, a parent can help their child ‘perfect’ their project;
however, the child will not ‘master’ the skills. The goal of a 4-H Parent is to
let their child learn by themselves with adult guidance when necessary. It is okay if your child fails, they will
learn and grow from their mistakes – 4-H is a safe place to fail!
A former 4-H’er once said: “4-H isn’t about the ribbons and awards. It’s about the JOURNEY. It’s about the TRIALS and TRIBULATIONS. It’s about the FRIENDSHIPS and MEMORIES made!”
With that being said, are you fairly
new to 4-H and may be lost and confused? Don’t worry! It takes about 3 years to
fully understand the 4-H Program. Stick with it and you will start to see the
benefits! And if you have questions or need help, don’t be afraid to ask.
In 4-H
Spirit,
Molly
Trausch
Ford
County 4-H Youth Development Agent
4-H Council & Community Club Leaders Meeting
Community Club Leaders will meet at 6:30pm and 4-H Council will meet at
7:00pm at the fair building on Monday, March 25th.
Flea Market
The Exchange Trip group will be hosting a spring
Flea Market on Saturday, March 23 from 9:00am – 1:00pm at the fair building. Shopping
not your speed? Come on out and have a bowl of soup, a slice of homemade pie
and cinnamon rolls! Proceeds to benefit the 4-H Exchange Trip program. If you
are interested in having a table at the Flea Market, call the office for more
info or to reserve a spot. Also, if you have any items you’d like to donate to
the ‘Exchange Table’ to sell, please contact an Exchange member to pick up your
items for extra points towards their trip. J
4-H AMBASSADOR/EXCHANGE MEETING
The next Ambassador/Exchange meeting will be
Monday, April 22nd at 7:00pm at the Fair Building. We will be
preparing for Massachusetts to arrive in June. PLEASE make sure you attend this
meeting.
Agent
Visit @ Club Meetings
Throughout
the month of March, Molly will be making a visit to your 4-H Club Meeting! Be
sure to attend and meet your 4-H Agent! The VIP Orientation will also be
offered at your meeting if you haven’t taken it or would like to! Molly will be
at the following meetings:
- DIY Jrs. - Monday, March 11th
- Lucky Clovers - Monday, March 18th
- Prairie Schooners - Sunday, March 10th
- Valley Boosters - Monday, March 4th
- Wilroads Gardens - Sunday, April 14th
- Wright Wonder Workers - Sunday, March 10th
Regional Club
Days will
be held on Saturday, March 2nd
at 8:00 am at the Dodge City Middle School. If you received a top blue (purple ribbon) at
the Ford County Club Day, you are eligible to compete at the regional event. Good
luck to all!!!
Consumer
Lifeskills Judging Contest
Good job to everyone who took a stab at the Consumer
Lifeskills Judging Contest at our County Club Days. You all did great! If you
would like to see your scores, stop by the office! We will be having our 2nd
Judging Contest at Regional Club Days on March 2nd from 8:00am until
10:00am. Classes/Categories will be different so come and check it out! Each
time you participate in the Judging Contest increases your chance of competing on
the Ford County’s Consumer Science Judging
Teams at the state fair! Contact the
Extension Office if you have any questions.
Foods
Judges Training
Wednesday,
March 13th, Dodge City. Please contact Christine McPheter at
620-873-8790 with questions or to register.
Fashion
Frenzy
Fashion Frenzy has been cancelled for
this year. Our condolences to anyone who was wishing to participate. Be on the
lookout for it next year!
Ford County 4-H Foundation Scholarships
The Ford County 4-H foundation will be
offering several scholarships for the 2013-2014 school year. Information and applications have been sent
out to graduating seniors and past 4-H’ers.
Information will also be posted on our website. Applications will be DUE April 1st.
Project
Information/Show Book
Every
year we receive information on project activities from other counties across
the state who are holding photography workshops, geology workshops, livestock
shows, judging contests, skill-a-thons, sales, etc. All of this information is organized in a very
large notebook. Stop by the office and
check it out!
Livestock Quality Counts
A priority of the 4-H livestock projects
is to teach members the proper animal husbandry methods and ethical practices
when raising and showing livestock. QUALITY COUNTS TRAINING IS MANDATORY FOR
ALL COUNTY 4-H’ERS WHO WILL BE SELLING A MARKET ANIMAL AT THE COUNTY FAIR
LIVESTOCK SALE.
Andrea has will have three trainings scheduled for your
convenience. The first one is set for Thursday, March 14 at 4:00 p.m.
at the Extension Office. Please call the Extension Office to RSVP one day
prior to the training date. The other sessions will be scheduled on a
weeknight and weekend.
Ford County Fair Book Cover
Contest
It that time of
year! We are looking for entries for the
County Fair Book Cover Contest! Entries
must be drawn in dark pencil, black marker, and/or black pen or designed on the
computer.
Entries must be
on a half sheet of paper (4 ¼ width x 11 inch length). Allow at least a ¼ inch margin on all
sides. You must include the following in
the design: Ford County Fair” and leave a spot to add dates in later. This year there is a theme you may use. It is
“Barn
to be Wild.”
Prizes will be awarded by the Ford County
Fair Association: 1st place-$25; 2nd place-$15; 3rd
place-$10. Entries are due by FRIDAY, MARCH 29th to the Extension Office.
County Fair Superintendents
The Ford County Fair needs YOU! It will take several volunteers to make sure
the 2013 Ford County Fair is a success. Please consider signing up to help by
being a superintendent. All adult
leader/parents and junior leaders (ages 12 and older) are encouraged to
volunteer and sign up during your next club meeting! (If you are in a livestock
project, please do not sign up as a superintendent of that species.)
County Weigh-In Dates:
The ownership and weigh-in dates for the 2013 Ford County Fair are:
Beef Weigh-In (includes Market Steers
and Heifers, and 2nd Year Bucket Calves, Commercial Heifers) Registered
Heifers must have Registration papers in name of 4-H’er by this date also.
Thursday, March 7, 2013 4-6:30pm
@ Winters Livestock
Small Animal Weigh-In (includes all
Goats, Sheep, Swine and 1st year Bucket Calves)
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 4-6:30pm
@ Ford County Fair Building
Animal Sciences Leadership Academy
KSU will host the fifth annual
K-State Animal Sciences Leadership Academy June 5-8 for young livestock
industry leaders in Kansas. The program, hosted by the Department of Animal
Sciences and Industry, focuses on increasing participants' knowledge of the
Kansas livestock industry, as well as enhancing leadership skills. Students
must apply by Friday, March 15. Candidates have to be enrolled in high school
as of January 1 and able to participate in the entire academy.
Kansas Junior
Meat Goat Producer Day will be
held Saturday, March 23 at Kansas State University's Weber Arena in Manhattan,
KS. This interactive workshop is for all ages and skill levels. All
participants will receive a T-shirt, complimentary lunch, and a Meat Goat
Showmanship Guide. Participants with registrations after the March 8 Early
Registration deadline are not guaranteed a T-shirt. Cost is $15/person by March
8 or $20/person after March 8. Visit www.youthlivestock.ksu.edu
for registration.
Fort Hays Judging Contests
will be held on March 23 in Hays at Fort Hays State
University. Open to ALL 4-H and FFA members. There will be six contests -
Crops, Entomology, Horticulture, Life Skills, Livestock and Photography. There
is a $3 entry fee per participant that will be collected the day of. This is a
great opportunity to test your skills and learn something new! For moreinformation, please visit www.ellis.ksu.eduunder the 4-H tab.
Camp Headquarters
(Full details about Camps will be
in the April Newsletter)
Discovery
Days
May 28th-31st
The most anticipated event in Kansas 4-H is almost here! Registration will be opening
Friday,
March 1st and will close April 15th. Classes will fill up fast, so be sure to register
soon! Discovery Days is held in Manhattan,
Kansas on the Kansas State University campus. It is open to ALL youth 13
to 18 years old by January 1, 2013. For complete details, check out kansas4h.org.
4-Clover Camp
JUNE 5-7, 2013
@DCCC
Looking
for a summer camp closer to home?
4-Clover Camp is the camp for you! 4-H youth ages 7 to 12 years old are
invited to attend this 3 day 2 night camp for only $40! This camp is
packed with activities such as: geocaching, fishing, swimming, crafts, new friends
and all things Kansas!
GUNSMOKE 4-H
DAY CAMP
JUNE 11, 2013
Ford County Fair Grounds
Calling all kids of Edwards, Ford and Hodgeman
Counties! All children who have completed
Kindergarten through 3rd grade are invited to experience the annual
Gunsmoke 4-H Day Camp. Mark your calendars and register early…space is
limited! A $10.00 camp fee includes
snacks, lunch and activity materials. You do not need to be a 4-H member to
attend day camp!
Heart of Kansas 4-H Camp
June 17-20
Rock Springs 4-H Center
Mark your calendars and plan to send your children
to 4-H Camp! For only $100, your child can experience a lifetime’s worth of
memories: campfires, swimming, fishing, horseback riding, crafts, games, new
friends and much much more! The Heart of Kansas 4-H Camp is located at the Rock
Springs 4-H Center south of Junction City. All youth who have
completed 3rd thru 8th grades are welcome (Counselors are
14 and older).
Camp
Counselors
We are
looking for responsible youth who would like to serve as a camp counselor for
any of our summer camps. Youth must be 14 years and older and VIP certified.
Applications will be available soon and will be due May 1st.
Save the Date!!!
Watch the April Issue of the Newsletter for more
information about a Ceramics
Workshop! We are currently working on details with the DC
YMCA!
4-H CAMPFERENCE
This event is focused on
youth ages 12- 14 (before January 1, 2011), and will be held June 17-20,
2013, at Rock Springs 4-H Center. Participants will experience the feel of
a conference, while enjoying the “camp” activities Rock Springs 4-H Center has
to offer. This is a great transitional opportunity, as these tweens go from
being a camper to attending educational conferences. Campference will feature
workshops about opportunities in the 4-H program, healthy living skills
and how to better interact with others. Participants will meet other youth from
around the state of Kansas. Registration materials will be available on
the State 4-H web page in March, with registrations due in early May.
State Clothing Camp
A
Clothing Camp will be conducted by the FCS Action Team at Rock Springs near
Junction City, June 26-29, 2013. The camp is designed for 10-13 year olds
around the theme of "Bunches of Fun"! Watch for details and
on-line registration information soon.
Shutterbugs in
the Garden
Join
the State 4-H Photography Action Team on Saturday May 4, 2013, at the Botanica
Gardens in Wichita. All 4-H’ers, Leaders and Parents are invited to attend.
Your only cost is admission. The day will begin at 9:00am and will conclude
around 1:30pm. Session topics will be: Bubbles, Flowers, Angles,
Butterflies, Kaleidoscopes and Mirrors, Evaluating pictures and Camera
Questions and settings. For more info, visit kansas4h.org.
Horse Judging
Camp
Beginners
Section (June 17, 2013)
This
camp is designed for youth that have had very little experience judging horses
and would like to learn more about note-taking and oral sessions. Emphasis will
be placed on the placings of classes commonly seen in Kansas judging contests.
Advanced
Section (June 13-14, 2013)
This
camp is designed for youth that have had some experience to learn more about
note taking and oral reasons. Emphasis will be placed on the placings and
reasons of classes commonly seen in Kansas judging contests. Participants will
receive a camp souvenir,
Both
camps will be held at Kansas State University's Weber Arena in Manhattan, KS.
Registration for both sections are due May 1, 2013 with no late entries
accepted. Camp will be limited to the first 30 participants for each. For more
information and registration, visit the website www.YouthLivestock.KSU.edu
National 4-H Congress
Ford County is allowed to send ONE
4-H’er to National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, Georgia, Nov 29 – Dec 3, 2013. You
will be considered a ‘Centennial Delegate’ and will be responsible to pay the
full amount of $1,150 to attend.
To be eligible, delegates MUST:
- Have never attended National 4-H Congress.
- Be enrolled in Kansas 4-H.
- Have a genuine desire to attend.
- Be available to attend 2013 National 4-H Congress in its entirety.
- Be at least 14 years old but not yet 19 years old before January 1, 2013.
- Remain committed to attending 2013 National 4-H Congress once they accept the trip.
- Agree to follow the prescribed code of conduct, realizing failure to do so may result in the loss of privileges during the event and/or in the future.
If interested, please write a 500 word essay on ‘What 4-H
has Given Me,’ and turn it into the Extension Office by April 26th.
Essays will be reviewed and one 4-H’er will be selected as the Ford County
delegate for National 4-H Congress. For more info about National 4-H Congress,
visit: http://national4-hcongress.com
Please NoteSeveral of the Camps listed are made affordable by financial assistance from the Ford County 4-H Foundation and Ford County 4-H Council. (i.e. Heart of Kansas 4-H Camp is really $145 to attend. Thanks to their donations, it only costs you $100.) Take a few minutes out of your day to thank them.
County Wide Project Leaders
- Aerospace/Robotics – Jaden Fleener
- Beef – Draper Family, Grace Fulton
- Clothing/Buymanship – Naomi Harrold
- Exploring 4-H – Jolene Brauer
- Entomology – Alan Eaton, Dakota Derstein
- Fiber Arts – Jenni Latzke
- Geology – Steve Harrold
- Horse – Jeff & Lisa Rumbaugh Family
- Photography – Holly Martin
- Poultry – Jake Fulton
- Shooting Sports – Delbert Downey, Chris Kinkelaar, Gerald Miller, Joe Vogel
- Swine/Livestock Judging – Eric Martin
These
CW Project Leaders are VIP certified, caring and highly knowledgeable adults
& junior leaders who would like to share their skills and talents with our
youth! If you need help with your projects, contact our office and we’ll get
you connected with them! (If you’d like to be a CW project leader, contact the
Extension Office!)
What if my project doesn’t have
a project leader? No
problem!
Contact the
Extension Office and we will guide you along your project journey. We have
connections with experts across the state who can help you out.
**Project Resources Available**
The Extension Office has National 4-H
Curriculum Project Guide Books for all 30 project areas! These books are jammed
packed with activities! These are great resources if you are new to the
project. We also have several learning lab kits for the livestock projects. If
you would like to check any of them out, please stop on by the office!
Project Meetings
Beef
If you need any help with your beef
project, please give County Wide Project Leader, Neal Draper, a call at
620-338-5286.
Clothing Project Meeting
County
Wide Clothing Project Leader, Naomi Harrold has planned a ‘Buttonhole Workshop’
for Saturday, March 30th from 10:30am-11:30am at her house, 2411 5th
Ave., Dodge City. Open to all
4-H’ers in the Clothing and Buymanship Projects. Youth will also be
working on a Mother’s Day Project! Please RSVP to Naomi at (970)443-7592.
Fiber
Arts
This
year’s County Wide Fiber Arts Project Leader is Jennifer Latzke. If you are in
need of project ideas or help, feel free to give her a shout at: jlatzke @ hpj . com
, 620-227-1807(work,) or 620-338-5534(cell.) A project meeting will be
scheduled for late March/April.
Geology
Are
you curious about the geology project but do not know where to start? Contact
our County Wide Project Leader, Steve Harrold at 620-253-5348! It’s not too
late to enroll in the project! The State Geology Field Trip is coming up soon.
Horse
If you
need to test out of Levels 1 or 2, please contact Project Leader Lisa Rumbaugh
at 620-682-5103. They will be scheduling a couple of riding times depending on
the weather.
Horse Info.
Each 4-H member must complete a
Horse ID Certificate for each horse they wish to show at county, district, or
state shows. The form is due by May 1,
2013 to the Extension Office. New forms
are available online, however you can use the same form from previous years if
it is the same horse.
2013
District Horse Show
Save
the date for June 25, 2013 @ the Finney County Fairgrounds, Garden City.
Shooting
Sports
It’s
that time of the year again! The 2013 Shooting Sports program will begin their
Sunday trap shoots in March, with their first shoot on March 3rd.
Each practice will begin at 1:30pm at the Dodge City Gun Club – located at the
intersection of 112 & Garnett Road (correction line.) Our Shooting Sports
program in Ford County is nationally ranked! If you have any interest or
questions, please give our project leader Joe Vogel a call at
620-338-2362.
Space
Tech Project Day
Southwest
Kansas 4-H will be hosting a Space Tech Project Day on Saturday, April 20th
at the Finney County Fairgrounds in Garden City from 9:30am-3:30pm. Open to ALL
youth and adults. Workshops will be on Beginning($8) and Advance Rocketry, Junk
Drawer Robotics, Lego Robotics, GPS/GIS, and Astronomy. This is a FREE event!
THANK YOU!!!!
- Holly T, Heather T, Lauren S, Connor M, Andres B, Monica B, Tania B, James E, Michael E, and Charmayne A for being Door Monitors for County Club Days.
- Ethel Schneweis for providing the Consumer Lifeskills Judging Contest at County Club Days!
- ALL of the Parents and Family members who came out to support our 4-H’ers in their Club Day Events.
- ALL of the Club Leaders who helped our club members practice their skits and events!
- Exchange Members and Parents who helped serve at the Conservation Dinner.
- ALL the 4-H Members, Parents, and Community Members who attended the Fair Association’s Meeting. It’s nice to see how passionate everyone is about 4-H & the Fair!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
To ALL of our top blue ribbon
winners at County Club Days! Good Luck at Regionals on March 2nd!
4-H Newsletter Information
If you have information about a
county-wide project meeting or special event your club is hosting that you
would like in the newsletter, please email Molly at mtrausch@ksu.edu by
the 20th of each month so we can include it in the next newsletter.