Nobles County Clover Digest

Kennedy started as the Interim 4-H Program Associate in Nobles County on January 13th. Kennedy is a graduate of South Dakota State University with her Bachelors Degree in Animal Science and double minors in Agricultural Business and Agricultural Marketing. In addition to Kennedy’s academic background, she was a summer intern for Murray County and grew up in the 4-H program showing livestock and general exhibits. Fun facts about Kennedy: she is getting married in August, has an Australian Shepherd, loves spending time with family and friends, and going to the lake during the summer. Please welcome Kennedy to Nobles County.

The Extension Office will be closed on Monday, January 20 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Fundraiser packets will be available at the January Federation Meeting. Packets will be mailed to members who are unable to attend the Federation Meeting. The fundraiser will begin on Tuesday, January 21 and end Thursday, February 6.

Nobles County 4-H and New Vision Co-op are excited to offer the co-op calf program again in 2025! All youth are invited to participate in this educational beef project. The application and payment is due March 7 to the Extension Office.

The Indian Lake Progressives are hosting Cloverbuds on January 27 at 5:30 pm in the Farmers Room in the Nobles County Government Center.. Registration is now open in 4-HOnline. Cloverbuds is for all youth in grades K-2.

Ear tags for the 2025 animal ID season are now available at the Extension Office. New this year, tags are available at no cost to Nobles County 4-H members. All market beef IDs must be in 4-H Online by February 18, 2025. All other IDs are due on May 15, 2025. All distributed tags must be accounted for in 4-H Online and tags that do not show up in 4-H Online must be returned to the Extension office. To order tags ahead of time for pick up, please complete the order form.

See the Market Beef Identification Letter for steps that must be followed to identify your market beef animals in 4-H Online by February 18, 2025.

The January Federation meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 21 at 7:00 pm at the Farmers Room in the Nobles County Government Center. The annual fundraiser packets will be distributed at this meeting.

We are seeking passionate and motivated young individuals to gather ideas for a potential agriculture learning area at the fair. If you are interested, please send Kerstin an email, thoms531@umn.edu.

Thank you for your involvement in Minnesota 4-H! In order to remain enrolled, you will need to show your family’s intent to participate by logging in to 4-H Online and reviewing, updating and submitting the following information:

• Your family's contact and demographic information, including club, school and grade.

• Each family member's health and emergency contact information.

• Project areas of interest for this coming year.

• Parental consent required for youth participating in shooting sports/wildlife programs.

You can log in to 4-H Online here to complete the re-enrollment process. This guide has more information.

The 2025 Andrea Ruesch 4-H Scholarship is now accepting applications. To learn more and apply, visit the Extension 4-H scholarship website. Applications are due March 1, 2025.

The Agribusiness Committee of FORWARD Worthington is partnering with the Nobles County Corn & Soybean Growers Association, the Rock Nobles Cattlemen, and Nobles County Farm Bureau for a scholarship opportunity. All four organizations recognize the fact that education and living costs have gone up. Therefore, we have decided to increase our scholarship amount to $1,500 per scholarship we give away. The objective is to create scholarships for high school graduates entering college in an agricultural related field.

Any high school graduate can apply for the scholarships that fulfill the following:

• 2024 graduating senior;

• Nobles County resident;

• Attending any two- or four-year college for an agriculture or bio-science related field of study.

If you have any questions concerning the scholarship program, please contact the FORWARD Worthington office at 507-372-2919. The deadline to submit the application is February 1, 2025. All completed applications should be sent or dropped off to

FORWARD Worthington, 700 2nd Avenue, Worthington, MN 56187.

Looking for a fun way to meet new people and learn leadership skills? Check out the Building Leadership and Understanding (BLU) leadership workshops hosted by the Minnesota 4-H State Ambassadors! BLU is for youth in grades 6 and up. Learn more and register at z.umn.edu/4-HBLU!

Let’s Talk About Disability is a five-session series designed to provide a safe place for youth in grades 6-12 to have important conversations about disability. This series demonstrates to youth with disabilities that they are valued and welcomed by 4-H and gives all youth the tools to be supportive and effective allies. It also serves to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and ideas related to disability inclusion and access in the 4-H program. Learn more at https://z.umn.edu/Letstalkaboutdisability.

4-H Camp Counseling is a great opportunity to grow as a leader and have fun outdoors! 4-H Camp is held at Shetek Lutheran Ministries on the shores of Lake Shetek; youth who are current 9-12 graders can choose to counsel at one camp session (two nights/three days) or both sessions (four nights/five days). This multi-county 4-H Camp located in southwest Minnesota will include four one-hour educational tracks. In addition, camp activities include swimming, canoeing, kayaking, outdoor games, campfire, and more! Camp counselors are expected to connect with campers throughout the entire camp experience. Applications can be found at z.umn.edu/CampCounselorApp-Shetek. Application Deadline is January 31, 2025. Selected Camp Counselors will be notified by February 21, 2025.

Games, crafts, friends and more are found at summer camp! All youth in grades 3-6 (completed in May 2025) are invited to 4-H Camp at Lake Shetek in June 2025. No prior 4-H experience is required for 4-H summer camp.

Are you part of a livestock or animal science PDC in your county? Do you want to learn and gather ideas from others across the state? If so, join us on Jan. 23 from 7 to 8 p.m. for a livestock PDC kickoff webinar to get your county animal science committees off to a great start. Learn more and register.

The 4-H Poultry Pathway is a 4-part virtual educational program designed to help poultry enthusiasts in grades 5+ improve their skills and prepare for poultry shows. Sessions will take place on the first Monday of each month (Feb. 3 - May 5) from 7 to 8 p.m. This series offers valuable insights for poultry care and exhibition at every stage of the competition process. This program is free! Register in 4-H Online by Jan. 27. Learn more and register.

Intro to 4-H video is an online course for beginners in grades 3+. Sessions will take place weekly for three weeks. This is a great place for the curious young person to start, or to improve basic skills! The workshop will focus on storytelling, how to film, shots and camera angles, editing, and incorporating music and sounds when editing. It's also a great opportunity for youth to connect with other young video creators from across the state. Youth will use tools that they have on hand at home like phones, tablets, etc. Dates: Jan. 27, Feb. 3, and Feb. 10 from 5 to 6 p.m. via Zoom. Learn more and register.

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