Sibley County 4-H Newsletter
May 2024
The deadline for dropping or adding projects for the current 4-H project year is Wednesday, May 15th. Members can go to 4-H Online to add or drop any projects. This is the same website that you enrolled for 4-H. Any projects that do not show up on a member’s enrollment after May 15th are not eligible for the state fair or for special awards at the county fair. All members are encouraged to double check the projects that they are enrolled in to make sure that the information is accurate. Please contact the Extension Office with questions.
The market livestock tagging procedure will be the same as last year. All tags needed for market livestock (and breeding animals) will be picked up by individual families at the Extension Office. Extension staff will monitor the ear tag inventory. A family – once assigned a series of ear tags – must either account for the used tags in 4-H online or on the ID worksheets or return all unused AND destroyed tags. Extension Staff may choose to randomly spot check ear tag compliance at any point between application and county fair. An Animal Identification letter was emailed out to families with additional information, including links to the Species Information Sheets, Animal ID worksheets, and Lease form on March 12, 2024.
Remember that all Animal IDs need to be completed and entered into 4HOnline by May 15, 2024 by 11:59 p.m. Here is a guide to help you get animals entered into 4-H Online. Or worksheets need to be turned into the Sibley County Extension Office by May 15. They may also be mailed to the Extension Office, but must carry an official postmark (no postage meters) dated May 15 or before. Any worksheets that are received after the May 15 deadline will be eligible for county competition only. This means that they can not receive a champion or reserve champion ribbon, a state fair trip or participate in the auction. If you have any questions about this process, please feel free to call Connie at the Extension Office.
This state deadline is strictly enforced, and late ID’s are not eligible for state fair or premiums.
Be sure to discuss the livestock ID dates at your club meetings. New members may not be informed of the importance of these dates.
February 15 - Market Beef and Dairy Steer ID's due
May 15 – Deadline to add/drop projects.
May 15 – ALL other livestock ID’s due (Beef Breeding Heifer, Cow/Calf, Prospect calves, Dairy, Dairy Goat, Dog, Llama, Horse, Market Goat, Dove and Pigeons, Rabbit, Sheep and Swine)
June 1 - Fair Entry opens to register for County Fair
June 30 – Fair Entry closes to register for County Fair
July 1 – Dairy Goat – Jr. Doe Kid
*Poultry (Chickens, Ducks, Geese and Turkeys) and Pets do not need to be entered into 4-H Online.
**Please remember: There are consequences for missing each one of these deadlines!
Livestock Leasing
Are you interested in showing livestock but don't have any or don't live on a farm? 4-H has several families interested and willing to lease animals to 4-H’ers to have the opportunity to be involved in livestock. If you are interested in showing Beef, Goats, Poultry, Sheep or Swine, they will mentor you to help you navigate the do's and don'ts of training, exhibiting, and showmanship about your animal. 4-H’ers would need to work with the leasing family on a schedule, weekly commitment to the project and cost (if there is one). Please contact the extension office to get contact information for leasing any of these animals.
IDing Cow/Calf and Calves
If you are ID’ing a beef cow/calf project in 4-H online and want to show the calf in its separate class at the fair, please make sure that you also create an ID for the calf (either a breeding heifer or prospect calf). If this is not done in 4-H online, you will not be able to create an entry for the calf in Fair Entry when it comes time to do that in June. Please contact the extension office if you have any questions about IDing your animal projects.
Livestock Premise ID's Required for Sheep and Swine
Animal health emergencies have shown that premises identification is an integral part of effective animal disease control and prevention. In the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak in the US, the NAIS will help animal health officials to trace potentially exposed animals quickly and efficiently in order to reduce the chance of a full-scale disease outbreak. Protect your animals, your interests and your investments! Contact the MN Board of Animal Health at 651-201-6816 or visit http://www.bah.state.mn.us/bah/nais/.
Sibley County Sheep Weigh-In and ID
Central identification for sheep will take place on SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. – noon at the Sibley County Fairgrounds. The inclement weather date is May 11, 2024! This Central Weigh-In and ID day is optional. If you choose to participate, please bring your completed Sheep ID worksheet with you. Ear tags will be available at weigh in. If you choose not to participate in Central Weigh-In, you will need to self ID. You will need to pick up ear tags at the Extension Office. ALL ID’s are due Monday, May 15! There will be a charge for ear tags ($2.00 a piece).
Llama/Alpaca Project Meeting
Sibley County will be hosting a Llama/Alpaca shearing event on Thursday, June 6 at 4:30 p.m. at the Andy Cohr's farm, 47024 180th Street, Glencoe. Brent Winslow from Chatfield, MN will be coming to shear, teeth trimming and hoof trimming. He is a hands-on teacher and has the kids helping while shearing. If you are interested in attending this event, please reach out to the Sibley County Extension Office.
Poultry 101 Workshop
Do you have questions about the basics and raising your birds, how to pick the best poultry exhibit to bring to the fair, about showmanship or Standard of Perfection? We will be having a Poultry Workshop for beginner poultry exhibitors to answer all your questions on chickens, ducks, pigeons, or turkeys on Saturday, June 22, 2024 starting at 10:00 a.m. Youth and adults with poultry experience will be presenting and answering all questions. We will have poultry available to demonstrate with, so no need to bring any with. Location: 68707 520th St, Fairfax, MN This event will be FREE and all cloverbuds and 4-Hers are welcome to attend.
Dog Project
The dog project will have practices on Thursday nights starting on May 2 at the County Fairgrounds in Arlington starting at 6:30 p.m. The first practice will be for 4-Her’s. Cloverbuds will not meet this week. If you are interested in participating in the Dog Project, please reach out to the Extension Office for more details.
ID’s are due May 15, 2024. Make sure you include a picture of your dog on the ID Form and it is COMPLETE with vet signatures! This form is required before you can participate in any practices.
The 2024 Dog Show date will be Saturday, July 20 at the Sibley County Fairgrounds in Arlington. Watch for more information in your emails and newsletters.
Horse Project
Practices will begin in June. Games practices will start on Monday, June 3 and Pleasure/Drill team practices will begin on Wednesday, June 5. If you are interested in participating in the horse project, please reach out to the Extension Office for more details.
ID’s are due May 15, 2024. Make sure to get a current Coggin's to upload with your animal ID in 4-H online. A Coggin's is required before you can participate in any practices.
Shooting Sports Update
Practices will begin in June:
- Trap - Mondays at 4:00 p.m. starting June 3
- Archery - Sundays at 6:00 p.m. starting June 9
- BB gun/Air Rifle - Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. starting June 12
- .22 and Black powder will depend if anyone signs up
We will be hosting a safety training day on June 5 at the Game Protective League in Gaylord starting at 5:00 p.m. We strongly encourage all 4-H members planning on participating in Shooting Sports to participate in this day.
Youth in grades 7 and up are invited to attend Youth Exploring Leadership and Learning Opportunities (YELLO) this June! YELLO is the statewide leadership conference and includes educational workshops, group networking experiences, inspiring messages from nationally-recognized speakers, field trips, and opportunities to contribute to the local community through service projects. To learn more and register visit https://z.umn.edu/4hyello.
The Minnesota 4-H State Ambassadors are excited to invite you to Youth Exploring Leadership and Learning Opportunities (YELLO) this June 12-15! YELLO is a 4-H leadership conference for youth in grade 7+ that prepares youth to learn and lead in their communities. To learn more about YELLO and register visit https://z.umn.edu/4hyello.
Invite your friends to “Exploring a Universe of Leadership” at Youth Exploring Leadership and Learning Opportunities (YELLO) this June 12-15! YELLO is a 4-H leadership conference for youth in grade 7+ that prepares youth to learn and lead in their communities. To learn more about YELLO and register visit https://z.umn.edu/4hyello.
This year’s YELLO will be taking place at the University of Minnesota Morris in southwest Minnesota. June 12-15. Cost: $300/per 4Her (Early Bird) and $325.00 after May10. Registration fee includes meals and lodging, and a t-shirt. Registration is open April 1 through May 17. To register, log in at https://mn.4honline.com. For assistance contact the Extension Office. Not re-enrolled? Re-enroll today. After your re-enrollment is approved, you will be notified and can return to 4HOnline to register for this event.
The State 4-H Office is offering transportation from various stops around the state. YELLO participants can sign up for a bus ticket and identify preferred stops during registration. Bus tickets are $50 round trip.
Sibey County offers to pay 90% of the registration fee for YELLO if it is your first time going and 75% if you have attended in the past.
Premium Books
The updated County Fair Premium Book will be available on the Sibley County Extension Website soon. They will not be printed out, unless requested. If you would like to request a printed premium book you may do so and stop by the office to pick it up. We will not be mailing them out. Remember -- Fair registration will once again be done ALL online through Fair Entry. REMEMBER - This process is separate from enrolling in 4-H and signing up for projects at the beginning of the year.
Demonstration Day/Food Show/Clothing & Quilting Judging
The Clothing and Quilting Judging Day along with Demonstration Day, Food Show, Performing Arts and Share The Fun will ALL be held on the same day this year, Monday, July 15. We will be starting in the morning with Demonstration Day and Food Show and Clothing Day will be starting around Noon. Judging for these project areas will take place at The Warehouse in Winthrop. Share The Fun, Performing Arts and Public Fashion Revue will be held in the evening at The Warehouse in Winthrop (next to Tanker's Bay).
Up Coming Meeting
On Monday, May 13, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. at the Sibley County Service Center we will be the final federation meeting before the fair. We will also be learning more about the Crop Scouting and Engineering Design Challenge. Sibley County would love to be able to send some teams for these challenges. We will learn more about how to get involved and what it is all about. This will be a great opportunity for us to learn lots more about these events. Below is a little bit more information about each challenge. Please feel free to reach out to the Extension Office if you have any questions.
4-H Engineering Design Challenge
The 2024 State Showcase theme is Prepare and Protect Against Extreme Weather Events
The Minnesota 4-H Engineering Design Challenge Showcase will be held in person on Monday, Aug. 12, at St. Cloud State University. A virtual state showcase will be offered on Monday, Aug. 19.
Youth in teams from across the state will showcase the machines they created that complete the following tasks:
Provide a warning of an extreme weather event that is about to occur.
Demonstrate an action to help protect against damages from that extreme event.
Find more information on the 2024 EDC at https://extension.umn.edu/projects-and-more/4-h-engineering-design-challenge
4-H/FFA Crop Scouting
Take on a challenge and form a 4-H or FFA crop scouting team! By being on a 4-H/FFA crop scouting team, you will learn skills like teamwork, communication, problem solving and predicting outcomes. All of these skills are what your future employers are looking for!
What is crop scouting? Crop scouting is a way to inspect crops for potential outcomes and risks. Scouts are people who make systematic observations and predict crop production while considering factors such as weather, inputs like pesticides and herbicides, and risks such as disease and pests.
To learn more about what a crop scouting competition looks like, view this link.
Sew Quilty Classes
Sew Quilty (quilt shop in Arlington) and Sibley County 4-H have partnered and are excited to offer a Quilt Camp on three Thursdays in June (June 6, 13 and 20) from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Participants in Grades 5 - 12 will spend three evenings learning quilting skills while completing their own quilt or Grab N’ Go Tote. Select your own personal fabrics and receive expert tips and tricks from the staff at Sew Quilty.
We will be having an informational meeting on Wednesday, May 22 to answer any and all questions and to see if this would be for you! All youth who have an interest in Quilting, Needle Arts, Clothing and Textiles, Crafts and Fine Arts, and/or related projects should attend this meeting and see what it is all about. If you attend this meeting, it does not commit you to the classes. The event is open to all youth grades 5 and up. No previous quilting or 4-H experience is necessary to participate.
County Fair Entry Day
Mark your calendars for TUESDAY, July 30, 2024! This will be the entry day for NON-LIVESTOCK projects. Please watch for upcoming correspondence and emails on how the day will run.
Events Through 4-H Online
There are many great events coming up that you can register for through 4-H online. Just log into your family profile and click on events. Scroll through all the options, I am sure there is something that you may be interested in. Remember if there is a cost to the event, that the Sibley County Federation has scholarships available to reimburse a portion of the cost.
Sibley County 4-H Records
The Sibley County 4-H Records are available online at Sibley County Extension click on resources. You should be able to print these and hand write them, or if you would like to type in the document, click File, Make a Copy. You will then be able to edit and type into the copied document.