4-H CLOVER CONNECTION

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1 4-H CLOVER CONNECTION Brenda Medick CHEROKEE COUNTY EXTENSION County Youth Coordinator Well it doesn t look much like Spring outside of my office window today, but the weatherman assures us that Spring is coming. We have even seen and heard some of the first signs of the seasons. This is my favorite time of the year, as everything old is new again. I love hearing and seeing all the new little animals, bird watching, and the flowers and trees that will start budding. WHAT S INSIDE: Bucket of Junk Youth Conference Beef Feeding Workshop FSQA spring dates As always, be sure to read your newsletter as there are many good ideas and articles for the upcoming month. Since it is March and the month that everyone claims to have even just a wee bit of Irish blood in them, I hope you will be able to find your lucky 4 leaf clover, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and most of all May the sun shine warm upon your face! Brenda Tip Sheets Sheep Weigh-in Swine Project Info Animal ID s MORE! Important Fair Information! We have just learned that the East exhibitor parking area will be torn up and re-seeded this spring. Watch future newsletter for more information on where exhibitor parking will be moved to for the 2014 Fair. We are also anticipating that in the April newsletter will be the finalized 2014 Fair Schedule and other important fair dates. You won t want to miss it! 209 CENTENNIAL DR., SUITE A, CHEROKEE, IA Iowa State University Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.

2 There is only a ONE bucket left.... Do you enjoy welding, or would like to learn how to weld? This year at the Cherokee County Fair, we have a new and exciting project for you to work on with an adult. The Bucket of Junk rules are listed below. To reserve your bucket, please call the Extension Office after Monday, February 17th. The buckets of junk will be available for pick up beginning May 1st. There will only be 10 buckets available, so if you sign-up please be sure that you want to participate in the project. To sign up, simply be one of the first ten callers to the Extension Office, letting us know you want to participate in this contest. Rules: 1. Each team should have at least 1 4-H member and 1 adult. This can be a group/club project. 2. Each team will get one bucket. Each bucket will have similar junk. 3. There will only be 10 buckets available. The first 10 members to contact the Extension Office will be given a bucket of junk. 4. The goal is to use the items in your bucket to create a sculpture or lawn art piece. 5. You may clean, sand, weld, glue, cut, bolt, fasten, bend, shape, paint, or finish the items provided. No other pieces may be added. 6. Each team must use at least 75% of the materials provided. 7. Entries will be judged on artistic merit, technical merit, and the 4-H write up. 8. Entries will be judged in the 4-H building on the day of regular 4-H judging. 9. All 4-H Exhibit Building rules apply to this project. These projects will not be eligible to advance to the State Fair. Iowa 4-H Youth Conference June 24-26, 2014 Every June, close to 1000 teenagers converge on the campus of Iowa State University for 3 days full of speakers, workshops, mixers, dances, a banquet, and community service activities. If you ve completed 8th grade, you re eligible to attend. You don t even have to be in 4-H to attend this conference! You will get to experience campus life, and meet new people from across the state! You will be having fun while learning by doing, dancing the nights away, and serving the community. You will get to learn new things to take back to your community and school, and in the process you might even discover something new about yourself! There are even opportunities for you to share your talents with the rest of the delegation through small group discussion, the Conference Chorus, and a Talent Show! If you have a specific interest in animal science, you might want to look into becoming part of the ROUND-UP track! We ll also have a special track devoted to agronomy, called CSI: Crops. Cost is $175 and includes a tshirt, 2 nights lodging, 7 meals, 3 keynote speakers, 2 dances and more! Scholarship aid is available. Make plans to join us in June! MISSION STATEMENT 4-H EMPOWERS YOUTH TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL WORKING AND LEARNING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CARING ADULTS

3 LOCAL 4-H NEWS BEEF FEEDING WORKSHOP To produce beef efficiently, cattlemen need to know the importance of feeding their animals nutritionally balanced feed rations. The amount and kind of feed needed varies by the year, and by the needs of different cattle. If you would like to know more about the difference between the feeds, join us on Thursday, March 13th when Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Beef Specialist Beth Doran comes to Cherokee to answer your questions and help our Production Beef exhibitors. We will begin the late afternoon meeting at 5:15PM and should last around an hour. We will have a light supper for those attending. Please call to RSVP for supplies and food. STATE 4-H NEWS Up coming FSQA Training dates Announced! Saturday, May 10th 10 AM to 11:30AM Cherokee Extension Office ALL youth exhibiting swine, beef, sheep, dairy, rabbit, poultry, and meat goat at the Cherokee County Fair, Clay County Fair, Iowa State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben MUST be certified in the 4-H FSQA program. When 4-H members meet the 4-H FSQA certification they have also met the Beef Quality Assurance and the Pork Quality Assurance certification as well. Listed below are your options: * If you are in grades 4, 5, or 6 - you MUST attend a workshop. * If you are in grades 7, 8, or 9 - You may either attend a workshop (good for one year) OR make arrangements with Brenda to take a test (good until you are in 10th grade). * If you are in grades 10, 11, 12 - You may either attend a workshop (good for one year) OR make arrangements with Brenda to take a test (good until you are 19 at which time you will need to take adult certification) You can call Brenda at the Extension Office (712) to set up a time to take the test. If this date doesn t work for you, there will be a Last Chance training on Thursday, June 12th from 7 to 8:30 PM. Training/testing needs to be completed before June15th! OUR VISION A WORLD IN WHICH YOUTH AND ADULTS LEARN, GROW, AND WORK TOGETHER AS CATALYSTS FOR POSTIVE CHANGE

4 My 4-H, My Commitment The annual 4-H ers for 4-H campaign begins March 1. The campaign is conducted by members of the State 4-H Council and their theme this year is My 4-H, My Commitment. The goal is to raise $30,000 by asking every 4-H club to consider a donation of $2.50 per member. Some of the projects to be funded include new mattresses for Oak cabins at the Iowa 4-H Center, improvements to the 4-H exhibit displays for the Iowa State Fair; and financial assistance to help youth attend 4-H camp or state conference. The State 4-H Council would appreciate everyone s commitment to help make the best better for all Iowa 4-H ers. Project Tip Sheets and Hot Sheets Don t wait until July! This is the perfect time of year to be making goals and working on projects you plan to show at the Cherokee County Fair in July. Visit for project ideas, tips and find out what the judge will be looking for. SHEEP/MEAT GOAT WEIGH IN The Cherokee County 4-H Sheep/Meat Goat Weigh in will be held on Saturday, May 3rd from 10:00AM to 11:30AM at the Cherokee County Fair Grounds. All market lambs and commercial ewes to be shown at the 2014 Cherokee County Fair must be weighed in that day. The sheep and meat goats showing at the Iowa State Fair and Ak-Sar-Ben will need to have their Retinal Image taken or DNA pulled. For more information, please contact the Cherokee County Extension Office at or Kyle Schmillen at There will not be a Special Sheep Project in H PLEDGE I PLEDGE MY HEAD TO CLEARER THINKING, MY HEART TO GREATER LOYALTY, MY HANDS TO LARGER SERVICE, AND MY HEALTH TO BETTER LIVING, FOR MY CLUB, MY COMMUNITY, MY COUNTRY, AND MY WORLD.

5 Swine Project Reminders As swine project members begin looking for animals to purchase for the 2014 Cherokee County Fair, the superintendent s are asking that you refrain from purchasing Canadian-born hogs. In light of the COOL legislation, several packers are not accepting Canadian-born animals. Exhibitors will be asked to sign an affidavit that states that your hogs do not originate from a Canadian-based herd. State Fair Swine Exhibitors: If you are thinking about exhibiting at the Iowa State Fair for the 4-H Swine Show, your pigs need a special DNA tag that can be purchased at the Extension Office for $8 a piece. Animal ID s Don t wait until May 15th to get your animal ID s turned in! All ID s will be done thru the 4HOnline system again this year. If you do not have access to a computer, paper ID s will be accepted at the Cherokee Extension Office until May 10th! The 4HOnline system will be locked down at 11:59PM on May 15th and no late ID s will be accepted! The Extension Office staff will be out of the office for professional development on May 14th, so please plan accordingly. Remember if it isn t ID d by May 15th, it CANNOT be shown at ANY 4-H show in 2014! Plan Ahead... Start taking an inventory... Purchase those items you might need for the fair. Those things like feed tubs or concrete feed pans, halters, lead ropes, combs, brushes, show sticks, padlocks, and more. Save yourself (or your parents) STICKER SHOCK! 4-H PLEDGE I PLEDGE MY HEAD TO CLEARER THINKING, MY HEART TO GREATER LOYALTY, MY HANDS TO LARGER SERVICE, AND MY HEALTH TO BETTER LIVING, FOR MY CLUB, MY COMMUNITY, MY COUNTRY, AND MY WORLD.

6 Creative Spirits Workshop April 21st The newest trendiest entertainment to hit the area is coming to Cherokee! Get ready to amaze yourself, as the artist from Creative Spirits of Okoboji guide you through the step by step process of recreating one of their original works of art. By the end of the session you will have had a fabulous time and will be able to take home a work of art painted by YOU! Kid s workshop from 2-4PM and is $25 Adult workshop from 6:30-9PM and is $35 Workshop will be held at the Cherokee Community Center, so there is plenty of room for all your friends! WATCH FOR MORE REGISTRATION DETAILS IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE! Communications Events at the Fair The Communication Department is designed to provide an opportunity for youth to select a method by which they might develop their personal communications skills in sharing talents, knowledge, or information with others. There are several areas you can choose to participate in. They include: EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS Educational presentations are talks or demonstrations, given in front of an audience, about some topic that interests the 4-H er. The idea is to teach the audience about a topic or to demonstrate how to do something. Educational presentations are a formal kind of communication. They should include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. It is also helpful to have posters or other visual aids to help the audience understand what you want them to learn. WORKING EXHIBITS Working exhibits are 4-H presentations where the audience gets involved. 4-H ers can teach the audience to make an item. Working Exhibits are scheduled for 30 minutes and in a location where people can stroll by and participate. SHARE THE FUN Share the Fun is a time for FUN! Members share their artistic talents by playing an instrument, singing a solo or as a group, performing an original skit, or any other way that a 4-H member can show an audience how fun 4-H is and how fun the fine arts are. All of the above Communication events may be given by one or more 4-H ers. Teams consisting of youth of mixed grades will be entered in the class of the member in the highest grade level. 4-H ers are encouraged to wear appropriate clothing representative of the 4-H Youth Program and/or the topic of the presentation. Look for the entry form on our website, at the Extension Office or in the May newsletter. Entries are due on June 27th! 4-H PLEDGE I PLEDGE MY HEAD TO CLEARER THINKING, MY HEART TO GREATER LOYALTY, MY HANDS TO LARGER SERVICE, AND MY HEALTH TO BETTER LIVING, FOR MY CLUB, MY COMMUNITY, MY COUNTRY, AND MY WORLD.

7 2014 Pride of Iowa Theme Snack Attack The Pride of Iowa Contest at the county fair is a competition that helps to acquaint 4-H ers with products grown or produced in Iowa. This class also serves as a first step in communications exhibits. At this contest, participants prepare or demonstrate how to make their own selected recipe. The recipe is of their own choosing, but must contain one of the commodity products produced in Iowa. Examples would be: beef, pork, turkey, dairy, soy, corn, garden vegetables and fruits. The recipe should be relatively simple to prepare and should be appropriate to the age and skill of the members. You can participate solo or with 2 or 3 of your closest friends as a team. The member(s) are not required to narrate or give a verbal presentation. However, they should be prepared to answer questions from fair goers and judges. You will need to make enough of your recipe to share as samples. Use your imagination! Decorate your table! Dress up your team! Have some FUN!!!! Calendar of upcoming events: MARCH 2014 APRIL 2014 MAY Tilden Tillers meeting 9 Country Pioneers meeting Cavaliers meeting 10 Production Beef records due 13 Beef Workshop 16 Quimby Clovers meeting County Council meeting 17 Youth Committee meeting 20 Jr. Chefs business meeting Mill Creek Valley meeting 22 Jr. Chefs meeting 6 Tilden Tillers meeting 10 Production Beef records due 12 Cherokee Clover Kids meeting 13 Country Pioneers meeting Cavaliers meeting 17 Jr. Chefs business meeting Mill Creek Valley meeting 19 Jr. Chefs meeting 20 Cavaliers riding practice County Council meeting 21 Creative Spirits workshop Youth Committee meeting 3 Sheep/Meat Goat weigh in 4 Tilden Tillers meeting Cavaliers riding practice 10 FSQA training Cherokee Clover Kids meet Production Beef records due 11 Cavaliers riding practice Country Pioneers meeting 15 LIVESTOCK ID S DUE Jr. Chefs business meeting Mill Creek Valley meeting 17 Jr. Chefs meeting 18 Cavaliers riding practice Quimby Clovers meeting County Council meeting 4-H IS BASED ON RESEARCH