Morril County Newsletter

October 6th-12th - National 4-H Week: BEYOND READY

October 14 - Columbus Day (Office Closed)

October 17 - Animals Inside and Out - Bridgeport (office closed)

October 23 - Achievement Applications due in Office

November 3 - Morrill County Awards Celebration - see below for more details!

Morrill County Fair Dates 2025 have been set for July 19th-26th

The Extension Office will be moving to a new platform as the primary communication method for 4-H. This new communication app is called sportsYou, and the goal is hopefully have this be more of a user-friendly and efficient way to communicate between families! We will continue to use newsletters and FaceBook, but we encourage you to use this year to navigate and familiarize yourself with this platform so that we can use it more efficiently! Remind will no longer be used after November 3rd. Sarah will do a demo on how to use SportsYou at the Awards Celebration.

To Get Started:

1. The app can be downloaded on your mobile device from your App Store (apple) or Google Play Store (android).
2. Once you have the app downloaded, you will need to Create an Account.
3. In order to join a team (Morrill County 4-H), you will need to put in the access code: RAFEHYGF

If you need more of a step-by-step, here's a How To Video to help you!

The app will allow you to directly talk to one of the coaches or staff members within the Extension Office, post a question, get notifications about the latest updates, see a shared calendar with due dates and upcoming events, shared photos, and easily access forms that you will need for 4-H projects and the county fair. Of course, if you have any questions, we are always here to help!

The 2024 Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island had it’s highest recorded attendance since 2017 and we had 18 youth participate from Morrill County 4-H and 3 youth participate as part of Bayard FFA Chapter. In all 3,813 youth participated from across the state with thousands of projects on display in both the static building and the livestock barns. While we only had one youth participate in the live events this year, Morrill County represented very well in the static building.

Below are the results for the Morrill County 4-H participants at State Fair.

Amy Albro – Crochet Item – granny square tote – Purple; STEAM 3- Dress/Formal– green prom dress – Blue

Nathaniel Barker –Cooking 401- Foam cake – apple angel food cake – Purple and Special Recognition; Photography Level 3: Freeze the Moment- football on fire - Purple

Henry Dueker - Design Decisions- Accessory 3D – Origami star– Blue; Forestry Poster – Blue: Vet Science – Small Animal Display – Dog Game – Blue; Woodworking – foot stool - Red

Nolan Dueker – Woodworking – Tool Box - White

Demetria Lapaseotes - Heritage-Family Genealogy Book – Purple; Seeing i2i – Walk of Life poem – Purple; Quilt Quest – Large Pieced Quilt – John Deere – White and Medium Pieced Quilt – Christmas - White

Dixon Leisy –Photography Level 2: Creative Compositions- Highlander cow – Purple and selected to be displayed at the Animal Science building at UNL East Campus; Candid photo: Little girl with donut– Purple; Visual Arts- Mixed Medium – Ballee Love the Game – Purple and Special Recognition; Visual Arts – Original Fiber Art – Dyed Fabric B-ball - Purple

Tessa Little – Quilt Quest – Large Quilt – Blue; Steam 2 – Textile Accessory – Grunge Backpack - Blue

Livie Miller – Visual Arts Medium – Donkey scratch art - Red

Preston Miller – Intermediate Rabbit Showmanship – Blue; Breeding Rabbit- French Lop Sr Buck – Purple

Lucas Newhoff – Woodworking – Chinese Checkers game board - Blue

Delaney Pohl – Photography Level 3- Portfolio – Purple; Advanced Technique/Lighting – rainbow drops – Purple; Advanced composition – eye - Purple

Laurel Pohl – Photography Level 2 – Portfolio – Purple; Expression through color – Bubble –

Emma Safford – Cooking 201 – Healthy Baked Product – pumpkin bread- Purple; Safety – First Aid Kit – Blue

JaneLee Sparks – Beyond the Needle – Cow Earrings – Purple: Vet Science – Large Animal Poster – “Bovine Leukemia Virus” – Purple; Visual Arts – Themes – Clay Plant Worms – Blue

Ezekiel Terrell – Floriculture – Fairy Garden – Red

Nolan Terrell – Special Agronomy Project – Sugar Beet Poster - Blue

Kelton Whitney – Design Decisions – Accessory Outdoor – Bull Rider exhaust cover – Purple and Accessory made from metal – Wire Bull on Horseshoe - Purple

Marlee Wiggins – Design Decisions – Accessory Outdoor – “Wiggins” yard sign – Purple; Visual Arts – Original Acrylic – Bull Rider – Blue and Original Pottery – Spur Jewelry Dish – Blue; Welding Art – Rose – Red

FFA participants also had some static projects:

Addisyn Dalbey (Bayard FFA)– Crops – Sugar beets – Purple

Josh Henkel (Bayard FFA)– Crops – yellow corn – Red

Kelton Whitney (Bayard FFA)– Production – Hay Forks – Purple

We need SPACE to sort awards which means if you have not picked up your State Fair Projects, they are in the way!!! Please COME PICK UP YOUR STATE FAIR PROJECT ASAP!!!

The theme of 4-H for the next 5 years is BEYOND READY! Our programs work to prepare youth to be ready for an ever-changing world. Watch for more information about this new theme and some ways to get more involved!

Want a great way to summarize your year, get in some great practice for scholarship writing in the future, and an opportunity to get some statewide awards?

THEN COMPLETE THE ACHIEVEMENT APPLICATION!!!

Background Info:

The primary purpose of Achievement Applications at that state level is to select youth participants to serve as National 4-H Conference Representatives and National 4-H Congress Members as well as earn college scholarships. Free trips and money to college - can't go wrong! If you are 15 years or older and are interested in either of the above opportunities, please reach out.

In order to prepare youth for future needs, like scholarship and college applications, we use these applications at the county level to acknowledge the efforts of 4-H members. Morrill County recognizes top winners in each age category - Junior, Intermediate, and Senior. Juniors (8-10 years old) and Intermediates (11-13 years old) fill out the Junior Application and ALL Seniors (14-18 years old) fill out the Senior one. (I know the website says 14 fills out the Junior but it makes it easier to grade if all seniors do the senior one! Thanks for understanding!)

Morrill County Achievement Applications are due on October 23rd. To find the applications and more information, go to https://4h.unl.edu/achievement-application. If you wish to go on the next level, we will review and submit those to the state in January. Please submit to our office directly - either hard copy or digital copy to spaisley3@unl.edu by Wednesday, October 23rd.

We cannot make this program work without volunteers. Whether you are an adult or a youth, there is a place for you!! Join the team and make difference.

4-H Council - meets every other month and works to get awards, make decisions around 4-H programs and the fair, and helps and advises the Extension Office throughout the year. WE have TWO positions open this year. Please, call the office if interested.

Council will be meeting after Awards Celebration to begin discussing next year. Please join us to see what these groups do!

Calling all volunteers to join us either virtually or in-person for the annual Volunteer Road Show!

This is a great opportunity to gather fresh ideas! Check out the flyer below for more information including how to register. Make sure you register before November 12th!

Interested in helping out with the Shooting Sports program? You will need to become a certified instructor. Visit with Dean Cline or Sarah Paisley if you are interested. The next training in Western NE is being offered in Trenton, NE on November 2nd. You must register by October 23rd.

More information about the training:

A Nebraska 4-H Shooting Sports Instructor Certification Workshop is scheduled for early November in Trenton, NE. It will be held November 2-3 in Trenton. The early bird deadline to register for the workshop is October 23rd.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to become certified as an adult (21 years and older) or apprentice (14-20 years old) leader. Five project areas will be offered at the Trenton Workshop – rifle, pistol, shotgun, muzzleloading, and archery.

There is a minimum number of participants required to offer these disciplines at the workshop. Workshop participants will learn under expert instruction from members of the Nebraska State
4-H Shooting Sports Training Team.

More details at: https://4h.unl.edu/shooting-sports

4-H Online will be down from September 30th to October 15th while our State Extension team works on doing their annual clean up of the site and getting it ready for our 2025 4-H Year. It will be up and running again around October 15th in which you will then be able to register your youth for the next year of 4-H. Please wait for further instructions before you try to sign your child up for the next year!

If you registered your child last year, you still need to register on 4HOnline for this year!

For returning families, please do not create a new account; instead, use your log-in credentials for 4HOnline used in previous years. Instructions can be found here...

Enrollment instructions for new families can be found here...

Project Selection is NOT required when registering, but it does help us get a good idea of what projects you are interested in! However, if you are doing SHOOTING SPORTS or HORSE, you need to select those projects so you can sign an additional Parental Consent Form. If those forms are not signed, youth will not be able to practice until they are signed!

It is important that you put your youth's t-shirt size when enrolling them! Please remember to do this during the registering process.

After submitting your youth's enrollment, it would be good to periodically check your email to see if it was approved or sent back. Sometimes there is something missing in the registration and we need extra information before approving it, and once we send the enrollment back, we can't see it. If you are ever in question of whether your youth's enrollment got approved or sent back, feel free to call the office.

This is a fantastic trip! Sarah will be taking a group from the Panhandle in June 2025. If you are interested, you need to reach out to Sarah. The anticipated cost for 10-11 days is $3,000 so we need to start doing some fundraising sooner than later! If you have questions or are interested, reach to Sarah at spaisley3@unl.edu or 308-750-8513.

Ready to branch out and try a new project area??

Projects provide the basis of the 4-H program by offering various educational experiences. Carrying out a project will help the member "learn by doing" as well as learn "why" things happen the way they do.

There are over 200 project areas that youth can enter a project under for the fair. From showing an animal to growing produce in a garden, the opportunities are almost limitless! For more information and some ideas for future projects, click on the button below.

Go to the Bridgeport or Bayard Public Libraries and check out these really cool learning opportunities for youth. Backpacks have books and supplies to do your own scientific investigations at home. Below are just some of the options we have available!!

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Morrill County Staff are here to serve you!

Use our website below as a valuable resource for information on Beef Systems, Community Environment Community Vitality, Crop and water systems, Food Nutrition and health, and The Learning Child.

Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the United States Department of Agriculture.

The 4-H Youth Development program abides with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Email: spaisley3@unl.edu
Location: PO Box 490, 514 Main St., Bridgeport, NE 69336
Phone: 308-262-1022
Facebook: facebook.com/MorrillCounty4H/