Webster County 4-H Newsletter

Welcome to the Webster County 4-H Newsletter! This monthly newsletter contains information regarding upcoming 4-H events, reminders, and much more. We hope you enjoy this newsletter!

-Webster 4-H Team

• February 3rd: PASE Interest Deadline
• February 3rd: Fiber Arts 101 Workshop Registration Deadline
  
• February 4th: Special Garden Project Interest Deadline
  
• February 9th: Horse Stampede Organizational Meeting-Adams County Extension Office
  
• February 11th: YQCA in Bladen
  
• February 13th: Fiber Arts 101 & YQCA in Blue Hill
• February 14th: Youth Council Scholarship Deadline
• February 14th: Lyle Niemeyer Memorial Scholarship Deadline
  
• February 14th: Fiber Arts 101 & YQCA in Red Cloud
• February 17th: Office Closed in Observance of President's Day
• February 17th: YQCA Scholarship Deadline
  

Every year, Nebraska 4-H Month brings thousands of young people, parents, volunteers, and alumni together to celebrate all the ways in which 4-H helps youth find a place where they belong. Across the state, Nebraska 4-H invites community members to celebrate:

· 4-H Spirit Day on Thursday, February 6

· 4-H Volunteer Appreciation Day on Thursday, February 13

· 4-H Supporters and Donors Appreciation Day on Thursday, February 20

· Day of 4-H Service or Give Back to Your Community on Thursday, February 27

· Pop into 4-H – Get Enrolled on 4-HOnline on Friday, February 28

Webster 4-H will observe 4-H Month this year by participating in each week's special day, t-shirt design contest, and doing a 4-H wall in local businesses.

In addition to celebrating, youth are invited to join 4-H and complete the annual enrollment process during February. By becoming enrolled members, youth have the opportunity to join a club, exhibit projects at the county and State Fair, participate in contests, and apply for special awards and recognition.

4-H is Nebraska’s largest youth development organization – empowering nearly 140,000 across the state with the skills to lead for a lifetime. With the support of 12,000 volunteers, Nebraska 4-H helps youth develop and practice life skills through clubs, camps, school enrichment, afterschool, and special interest programs. In Webster County, more than 200 4-H members and 60 volunteers are involved in 4-H.

To learn more about how to get involved, visit https://4h.unl.edu.

4-H, the nation’s largest youth development and empowerment organization, cultivates confident young people who tackle issues that matter most in their communities right now. In the United States, 4-H programs empower six million young people through the 110 land-grant universities and Cooperative Extension in more than 3,000 local offices serving every county and parish in the country. Outside the United States, independent, country-led 4-H organizations empower one million young people in more than 50 countries. In Nebraska, 4-H is present in all 93 counties through clubs, camps, school enrichment, afterschool programs, and special interest programs.

Help us celebrate Nebraska 4-H Month by sharing your favorite memory, or what 4-H has done for you! You may download the clover here by clicking the button below, or stop by the Extension Office or local businesses below to pick yours up. They will be hung on the walls and located at

3 South Central State Bank (Locations - Blue Hill, Campbell, and Red Cloud), Timms in Bladen, Hometown Market in Red Cloud, Heritage Bank in Red Cloud, and the Webster Co Extension Office.

Interested in animal science? We would love to have you compete at PASE! Please fill out the form by February 3rd if you are interested. https://go.unl.edu/pase25

We are so excited to announce our first 4-H workshop of the year! Sign up by February 3rd. https://go.unl.edu/fiberarts101

Check out local 4-H scholarships available to high school seniors.

• Webster County Youth Council Scholarship- Deadline of February 14, 2025
• YQCA Scholarships - Deadline of February 17, 2025
• Lyle Niemeyer Memorial 4-H Scholarship- Deadline of February 14, 2025
• Adams/Webster County Farm Bureau Scholarship- Deadline of March 1, 2025
• Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce Scholarship- Deadline of March 1, 2025
• Cynthia Thomsen Scholarship- Deadline of March 15, 2025
• TJ Vance Memorial Scholarship - Postmarked by March 20, 2025.
• Roy Anderson Memorial/Webster County Youth Foundation Scholarship- Deadline of April 1, 2025
• Legacy Leaders 4-H Horse Program Scholarship- Deadline of April 1, 2025
• Little Blue Natural Resources District Scholarship Deadline of May 15, 2025
• Farm Credit Services of America - see website for application and deadline information
• National 4-H Youth in Action Awards see their website for current application and deadline information
• Please keep checking the website below as more will be available later on.

We are wanting to showcase the high school seniors who participate in Webster County 4-H! We would like to do a “senior spotlight” post on them on our Webster County Extension/4-H Facebook page and newsletters! If you would like to have us do a post, please send us the following:

· Name

· Senior Photo

· School they attend

· Projects they participate in 4-H

· Favorite part of being in 4-H

· What are their plans after graduation

We would love to spotlight all our 4-H Seniors! It doesn’t matter if you did shooting sports, showed livestock, exhibited static projects, participated in contests – we want to showcase you!

Be sure to watch for our posts on our Facebook page and newsletters once it gets closer to graduation. We also hang these in the hallway at the courthouse and in the hallway in the 4-H building during county fair week.

Any youth 4-H ages 8-18 showing livestock such as poultry, rabbit, swine, sheep/goat, and beef are required to complete YQCA by June 15th. You may sign up for an in-person training (you must ask me for a code first) by going here: https://yqcaprogram.org/

Share with your family and friends and get enrolled now! https://v2.4honline.com/#/user/sign-in If you have already made an account and forgot your password, PLEASE DO NOT make another account, just reset your password.

Volunteers, please enroll too!

Check out our Facebook pages for weekly updates about Webster County 4-H and more!

The Nebraska Women in Agriculture program will award up to 15 scholarships to students to attend the 2025 Nebraska Women in Agriculture Conference. Any student attending a four-year college/university, two-year college, a vocational/technical school, or a 4-H or FFA member may apply for a scholarship to attend. Applicants will need to prepare an essay that answers the question: “Why do you want to attend the Nebraska Women in Agriculture Conference?” The essay response is limited to 3,000 characters. Applications must be submitted online by February 1, 2025.

More information can be found at: https://wia.unl.edu/conference/

Check out Horse Stampede for a variety of horse focused events. From horse drawings, speeches, to team events – there is something to spark your interest. An Organizational Meeting for Adams & Webster youth will occur on February 9th at 4:00 pm. Please reach out to Beth if interested in participating. All teams must be formed and finalized by February 26th to ensure online entry by February 28th. https://4h.unl.edu/statewide-events-opportunities/horse-program/horse-stampede/ Check out the updated schedule as the event is now a two day event of March 29th and March 30th.

The 2025 Special Garden Project will focus on the Goldie Husk Cherry. This old-fashioned fruit from the tomato family has sweet berries inside golden husks. The fruits have many uses and can be eaten raw, dried, frozen, canned, or made into tasty treats like pies, desserts, or preserves. Check out more information here:

https://4h.unl.edu/special-gardening-project

Please let the office know by February 4th at noon if you are interested in ordering seeds.

Through the Nebraska 4-H Livestock Achievement program, youth can receive recognition as Members of Excellence for engaging in various project-related activities. Members as young as eight will be able to participate. Applications are due June 15, but why wait? Visit https://ow.ly/FjRk50UqVfX to get started.

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 in. The project allows 4-H members interested in agronomy to grow something fun, new, and different. This year, we will be exploring a crop that can be marketed different ways depending on the variety.

In the fifth year of the special agronomy project, youth will explore sunflowers! There are two types of sunflower production in Nebraska. There are those grown for oil production, and those grown for human food consumption referred to as confectionery seeds. A portion of the oil seed production is used in the bird seed industry. Sunflowers are grown throughout the state of Nebraska with the greatest concentration in western Nebraska. The variety we will be growing is a high oleic hybrid. Its oil profile combined with a nice black seed color ensures multiple market options.

Be eligible to enter an exhibit at the County and/or State Fair in the agronomy project area.

Enroll for the 2025 Special Agronomy Project through 4-H Online by enrolling in the Agronomy project and contacting your local Nebraska Extension Office to order packets of seeds. The local Extension Office will order and distribute the seeds to members. Please have your order placed prior to March 1st.

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

The 2025 What’s the Buzz? season of the Nebraska State 4-H Camp will share the importance of pollinators in Nebraska- why they’re important, how they impact agriculture, and what youth can do in their own communities to support the various native pollinators we have in Nebraska. From bees and butterflies to hummingbirds and bats- it’s going to be a week full of learning and fun!

The Nebraska State 4-H Camp is returning to Chadron and Burwell for summer camp 2025! Youth new to camping can attend a shorter camp session designed to let them experience all the best parts of summer camp in a 3 day/2 night session. Choose from one of two 5 day/4 night sessions for youth 10-14 years old and returning this year is the Leaders in Training camp for high school youth 15-17 years old! Campers will focus on developing leadership skills with an opportunity to put those skills into practice by volunteering at one of our other camp sessions!

Registration is now OPEN! More information on sessions, dates, and the link to register can be found at 4h.unl.edu/camp.

February 8, 2025: Horse Judges School held at the UNL Animal Science Complex in Lincoln, NE

• Youth: Great opportunity for youth planning to compete in the horse judging contest at Stampede to learn more about judging and get in some practice judging
• Adults: Learn what goes into becoming a 4-H Horse Show Judge as well as the opportunity to recertify as a 4-H judge

Check out what's happening in UNL Extension here: https://secure.smore.com/n/jpa97

Office Manager

Alexa Pedersen is the Office Manager for the Webster County Extension Office. Alexa provides help in assisting clientele with questions that can be forwarded to a specific educator. She assists educators in programs that are put on in Webster County, such as pesticide training, and beef programs. She also provides knowledge in the 4-H world by helping families with any 4-H questions that come in. She is skillful in 4-H Online, ShoWorks, and helps prepare for 4-H programming, county fair, and state fair. Alexa is also a part of the 4-H Data Dream Team for Nebraska 4-H as well as the State Fair 4-H Beef Team.

Email: alexa.pedersen@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Location: 621 North Cedar Street, Red Cloud, NE, USA
Phone: 402-746-3417
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebsterCoExtNE

4-H Assistant

Katie Bolte is the 4-H Assistant for the Webster County Extension Office. Katie provides programming in school enrichment, after-school programs, and 4-H workshops. She is knowledgeable when answering any 4-H questions that comes in and helps prepare for programs, county fair, and state fair.

Email: katie.bolte@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Location: 621 North Cedar Street, Red Cloud, NE, USA
Phone: 402-746-3417
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebsterCoExtNE

4-H Youth Development Extension Educator in Adams/Webster Counties

Beth Janning is a 4-H Youth Development Extension Educator. She provides programming in school enrichment, after-school, and traditional 4-H Programs. Her topic areas include but not limited to animal science, science, engineering and volunteer development.

Photo and Bio from UNL Extension

Email: elizabeth.janning@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Location: 2975 South Baltimore Avenue, Hastings, NE, USA
Phone: 402-461-7209
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebsterCoExtNE

Livestock Systems Educator, DVM

Lindsay Waechter-Mead is the Livestock Systems Educator in Webster County and serves surrounding counties in this region. She is excited to bring her interests surrounding cow/calf health and preventative medicine to the Beef Team. Her current work involves looking at environmental effects on neonatal calf immunity and colostral transfer. She is also passionate about rural agriculture and what the veterinary profession can do to positively influence rural communities to ensure that generations can continue to enjoy the life that she loves.

Email: lindsay.waechter-mead@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/webster/
Location: 621 North Cedar Street, Red Cloud, NE, USA
Phone: 402-746-3417
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebsterCoExtNE/