Kimball-Banner CO March Newsletter

4-H has updated the website they use for enrollment. The new enrollment website can be found at: https://v2.4honline.com. It is the same process and your login information will still work from past years. They have just updated the user interface to hopefully make a more streamlined process. I have attached an enrollment guide to the county website so take a look if you are having any problems (Kimball County 4-H Website). We can also help walk you through it at the extension office. We would love to hear your feedback of the new system!

Kimball YQCA (***UPADATE***): April 22- Kimball 4-H Building from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm

Banner County YQCA: TBD

County Speech Contest: April 20 - 4-H Building

Horse ID Sheets: Due to Extension Office May 6

Sheep/Goat Weigh-Ins: Tuesday, May 24 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm @ Kimball Fairgrounds

Breeding Animals: Breeding animals are NOT required to be county fair tagged or attend a weigh-in. All you have to do for breeding animals is enroll them with your Pre-Fair Entries. If you need 4-H tags for progress shows you can pick them up at the extension office any time.

County Livestock Judging Contest: June 7 - Kimball Fair Grounds

Swine Weigh-Ins: No Swine Weigh-Ins due to biosecurity risk. Pictures with tagged pigs will be due to the extension office no later than June 15

4-H Enrollment Deadline (4H Online): June 15

County Presentation Contest: June 21 - 4-H Building

Pre-Entry Deadline: July 8 - All entries due to the extension office.

County Fair: August 8 - August 15

Shooting Sports Instructor Training: March 19th and 20th at 8:00 am at the Cheyenne County Fairground. Click the link below or contact Steve Pritchard at 402-395-2158 for more information and training schedule.

https://uofnelincoln.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/UNL-IANR4-HYouthDevelopment/EXmjHnUFs99JvHxDVinXJRcBVCobogjliPeRoEqnK0wzTA?e=LUL4OK

State 4-H Shooting competition is scheduled for March 19th & 20th and is being held in Mitchell, NE. at the Scottsbluff County Fairgrounds. BB Gun competition will be on Saturday, March 19th and Air Rifle competition will be on Sunday, March 20th. Good Luck to all the shooters!!

Stay tuned for information on start dates for the Deadeye Shooters Archery season.

The Great Plains Livestock Judging Circuit is a lineup of contests held throughout the state giving youth the opportunity to perfect their skills in preparation for the Nebraska 4-H Premier Animal Science Event (PASE). Qualifying youth must attend a minimum of two contests in addition to the PASE livestock judging contest in order to be eligible for awards and scholarships. The top 5 individuals in the Senior and Intermediate divisions will be recognized as part of the All-State Team during the Grand Drive at the Nebraska State Fair.

Click the link below for a schedule of contests. For more information please contact Blaine French at 402-472-3571 or email bfrench6@unl.edu

o Great Plains Livestock Judging Circuit | Nebraska 4-H (unl.edu)

The Panhandle 4-H group is teaming up this year to make April our service month. Each county is competing to see who can volunteer and serve their community the most.

How the competition will work:

Starting April 1st and lasting until April 30th, we will keep track of how many hours 4-Hers serve their community. For example if 10 4-H members pick up trash for 2 hours we will have recorded 20 total hours of service.

For fiscal community service projects, like collecting pop cans, we will convert the amount of money raised to hours by dividing the total dollars by Nebraska's minimum wage of $9/hr. For example if a club raising $900 and donates it to a good cause that would amount to 900/9 = 100 hours of service.

The goal is to reach at least 3000 service hours in the month of April across the Panhandle. The county that earns the most hours will receive a traveling 4-H trophy and bragging rights as the most community oriented 4-H county in the Panhandle. There will be a running scoreboard throughout the competition so others can see where each county is at!

As an added incentive, 4-H Council will provide the top earning Kimball/Banner County Club a Pizza party! Start brainstorming as a club on how you can serve your community the best! The extension office will also be putting out a couple different causes that individuals can work towards. Let's show the rest of the Panhandle how much Kimball/Banner Cares

The Nebraska Extension Special Agronomy Project gives 4-H members an opportunity to experience a crop that is grown, was grown or has the potential to be grown in Nebraska. Youth participate by receiving seed and resources to grow the crop, research traits of the crop and determine the viability of that crop in the part of the state they live. The project allows 4-H members interested in agronomy to grow something fun, new, and different.

The focus of the 2022 Special Agronomy Project is Broomcorn Sorghum. Broomcorn can be used for ornamental uses in floral arrangements or harvested for broom-use prior to seed maturity. To participate in the Special Agronomy Project, enroll in the project through 4-H Online.

There are three ways to complete this at the county or state fair. First, an educational exhibit that can be in a poster format can include what you learned. Secondly, let your creativity go wild and create a video-type presentation explaining what you have learned, showing the growing process, etc. Finally, you can enter the crop itself. To do this, cut 4 stalks at the ground level and bound-together with supporting information about the project.

We have ordered seeds and will send out a message once the seeds are available for pick up.

For project specifications and details, be sure to go to the Nebraska State Fairbook at https://4hfairbook.unl.edu/fairbookview.php/rules.

Nebraska 4-H is now accepting nominations for a new awards program to recognize the outstanding contributions of 4-H volunteers across the state. The Nebraska 4-H Volunteer Recognition Awards honors adult and youth volunteers, as well as and multi-generational families, who have provided meaningful contributions to Nebraska 4-H. One Outstanding Adult Volunteer Award and One Emerging Adult Volunteer Award winner will be chosen for each of the state’s 11 Nebraska Extension Engagement zones. One statewide winner will be named in the each of the youth volunteer and multi-generational family categories. “Our 4-H volunteers go above and beyond to serve Nebraska’s youth every year,” said Jill Goedeken, 4-H Youth Development Extension educator. “This volunteer recognition opportunity debuted in 2021 and we were thrilled at the number of outstanding 4-H volunteers nominated statewide. We are looking forward to another opportunity to recognize 4-H volunteers for their contributions to youth in Nebraska.” The nomination period runs through March 15. Nominations can be submitted by any 4-H member, family, supporter, or Extension staff member. Nominees must fit the award categories and can be a volunteer for any Nebraska 4-H experience. Some examples may include 4-H club leader, project leader, junior leader, county or State Fair volunteer, special interest volunteer, such as robotics or shooting sports, afterschool club volunteer or 4-H camp volunteer. More information, along with the nomination form, is available online at: https://4h.unl.edu/volunteer-recognition. Winners will be announced virtually the week of April 18, in which Nebraska 4-H will be celebrating the Week of the Volunteer. A special awards presentation will take place at the 2022 Nebraska State Fair. For more information, visit https://4h.unl.edu/volunteers/recognition

The University of Nebraska – Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center is pleased to announce the opening of the application period for its first annual Panhandle Research and Extension Center Student Scholarship.

Three scholarships of $1000 each will be awarded.

To be eligible, applicants must:

• Have attended high school in the Panhandle of Nebraska in one of these following counties:
• Banner, Blaine, Box Butte, Cherry, Cheyenne, Dawes, Deuel, Garden, Grant, Hooker, Kimball, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sioux, and Thomas
• Be attending any of the Nebraska University Campuses, including Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture
• Majoring in Agriculture, Agriculture Technology or a related degree emphasizing agriculture
• Be a graduating high school senior, or in the first or second year of undergraduate study.

Applications are available at https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/panhandle/2022-scholarship. Applications close at midnight MST, April 15, 2022.

If there are questions, please contact Coordinator Emily Stine at estine2@unl.edu or at (308) 632-1230.

Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/kimball-banner
Location: 209 East 3rd Street, Kimball, NE, USA
Phone: 308-235-3122
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNLKBExtension