SHERIDAN COUNTY NEWSLETTER

Mar 3: Clover Buds - Hay Springs School - 4:00-5:00 pm

Mar 6: Panhandle Best Shoot - Ogallala

Mar 7: Shooting Sports Practice - Rushville Legion - 3:30-7:00 pm

Mar 8: Clover Buds - Rushville Elementary - 3:30-5:00 pm

Mar 10: Cabin Fever Workshop - Extension Office - 5:00-6:00 pm

Mar 10-11: Horse Advancement Study Class - Extension Office - 1:00-3:00 pm

Mar 11: YQCA training - Extension Office - 9:00-10:00 am

Mar 13: Panhandle Best Shoot - Chadron

Mar 14: Shooting Sports Practice - Rushville Legion - 3:30-7:00 pm

Mar 14: Sheridan County 4-H Council Meeting - Extension Office - 6:30 pm

Mar 18: Sew Fun - Hay Springs School Cafeteria - 1:00-4:00 pm

Mar 19-20: State BB Gun & Air Rifle Championships - Mitchell

Mar 21: Sew Fun - Extension Office - 1:00-4:00 pm

Mar 21: Shooting Sports Practice - Rushville Legion - 3:30-7:00 pm

Mar 22: Clover Buds - Rushville Elementary - 3:30-5:00 pm

Mar 28: 4-H 101 Club Meeting - Extension Office - 6:00-7:00 pm

Mar 29: Clover Buds - Gordon Elementary - 3:30-5:00 pm

Mar 31: YQCA training - Hay Springs School - 4:15-5:15 pm

Mar 31: Adult Sew Fun Clinic - Extension Office - 6:30-8:00 pm

- April 24

· Speech Contest

- May 22

· Pig, Market Sheep, and Goat Weigh-In at the Fair Grounds

- June 1 Deadline:

· 4-H Online enrollment

· YQCA Certification

· Horse Level 1 Completion

· Animal Ownership Affidavits, Horse ID, Rabbit ID, Cat ID, Dog ID, Dairy Goat ID, & Dairy Cow IDItems not turned in by June 1, will have a late fee of $50 per exhibitor until June 15. After June 15, youth will not be allowed to exhibit in that year's county fair.

- June 25

· Sheridan County Progress Show

- July 1 Deadline:

· Fair Project Entry Forms

- July 16

· Sheridan County Horse Show

- July 22

· Sheridan County Style Review & Music Contest

- July 24-30

· Sheridan County Fair

New!! Hands-On Safety Day: Tractor and Equipment Safety for Young and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers: Young and beginning farmers, ages 13 and older are invited for a day of hands-on equipment demonstrations and tractor driving (14 years of age and over to drive).

May 24, 2022 – West Central Research and Education Center in North Platte

May 26, 2022 – Raising Nebraska in Grand Island

Annual Tractor and Equipment Safety Certification Training Course for students 14 years of age and older: Successful completion of a one-day in-person training (driving exam) paired with an online learning module will result in certification for 14 and 15 year old youth to be employed on farms and ranches.

May 25, 2022– North Platte

June 6, 2022 – O’Neill

June 7, 2022 – Gering

June 8, 2022 – Broken Bow

June 9, 2022 – Hastings

June 10, 2022 – Weeping Water

Further information and details to follow in 2022!

Youth who are interested in participating in a livestock animal project including rabbit, poultry, swine, beef, sheep, and goat; must complete the Youth for Quality Care of Animals training prior to June 1st. After families enroll online at v2.4honline.com, they can visit https://yqca.learngrow.io/Account/Login and log in with their 4-H Online account information. Youth have the option of completing the training in person or online. The online training costs $12 per person and the in-person training only costs $3. In-person training will be held:

- March 11th, 9:00-10:00 am - Sheridan County Extension Office (please have certificates printed by March 23rd)

- March 31st, 4:15-5:15 pm - Hay Springs Public School

Youth will need to go online to register for the training prior to this date. For help, you can email help@yqca.org or contact Marie Nelson at mnelson82@unl.edu.

We are getting closer to good weather, but while the weather is wintery lets put our time to getting the studying done.

1. You can go to 4H.unl.edu/horse-study-courses. There are some great resources online to prepare you for the written and riding test for Horse Advance levels 1—4.

2. March 10th and 11th from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Wendy Andersen will host a study class to help pass your horse advancement tests from 1:00—3:00 p.m. This will be held at the Sheridan County Extension Office at 800 S. Loofborrow. Call to sign up 308-327-2312.

3. Tips for working with your horse on the ground: Every interaction with your horse should be meaningful. Last month we talked about carrying the halter with you every time you did chores or just checking on your horses. This month carry the halter and a treat in your pocket. Stand along the outside of the fence. Call or whistle to your horse. When he comes to you, reward him with a scratch or treat. If you feel safe to stand in the corral, try putting the halter on your horse. Once the halter is on, reward your horse. You can scratch your horse or give them a treat. Remove the halter and give your horse a big scratch. Your horse will think being haltered is the coolest thing ever.

Beginner sewers have the opportunity to learn how to use a sew machine and create many projects!

March 18 will be in Hay Springs in the cafeteria.

March 21 will be in Rushville at the Extension office.

4-H enrollment for the 2021-2022 4-H year is now open, please visit the new website at:

https://v2.4honline.com/#/user/sign-in. You will use the same login and password as you did in the old system if you have enrolled in 4-H in the past.

There is a $5 membership fee that can be paid online or at the Extension Office. If you will not be in Rushville, feel free to mail the payment to the 4-H Council at PO Box 23 Rushville, NE 69360.

Helpful Resources:

• NEW 4-H Member Enrollment Guide
• RETURNING 4-H Member Enrollment Guide
• Adding NEW Member to EXISTING Family Account Guide

Reminder - youth have until June 1 to enroll in Sheridan County 4-H to be eligible for the county fair. Ages 8-18 as of January 1, 2022 will have a $5.00 fee and ages 5-7 as of January 1, 2022 are free.

- Rushville Clover Buds will be on March 8th and 22nd at Rushville Elementary starting at 3:30 pm.

- Gordon Clover Buds will be held on March 29th at Gordon Elementary at 3:30 pm.

- Hay Springs Clover Buds will be held on March 3rd at Hay Springs School starting at 4:00 pm.

Clover Bud members are youth between the ages of 5 and 7 as of January 1st, 2022. Upon participating in these workshops, youth will have Clover Bud projects to display at the 2022 Sheridan County Fair. To register your child for these FREE events please contact the Nebraska Extension Sheridan County office at (308) 327-2312.

The Nebraska 4-H Horse Stampede will be held Saturday, March 26! This event offers a variety of contents that do not involve live animals, including public speaking, demonstration, art, photography, and horse bowl. Learn more at https://4h.unl.edu/horse-stampede

The Speech and Public Service Announcement (PSA) contests provide 4-H'ers the opportunity to learn to express themselves clearly, organize their ideas, and have confidence. This is open for all age divisions from Clover Kids to Seniors.

NEW IN 2022 - 4-H Council's have discussed how combining contests will be beneficial for youth to see more youth give their speeches. Dawes and Sheridan will combine alternating locations each year and Box Butte and Sioux will combine alternating locations each year. April 24th at 2:00 pm in RUSHVILLE is set for the Dawes and Sheridan 4-H Public Speaking Contest. Dawes and Sheridan will have separate awards.

Contact the office by April 18th with youth's name and title to their speech at mnelson82@unl.edu or 308-327-2312.

A guide and score sheet with time limits can be found here: https://4h.unl.edu/documents/guidetomakinggreatspeeches.pdf

Marie Nelson, 4-H Extension Assistant will be starting up a 4-H 101 Club for new 4-H families! The club is open to families who are new to 4-H or have only been in 4-H for 1-2 years. The club will meet the fourth Monday of every month from 6:00-7:00 pm at the Sheridan County Extension Office. Each month will have a new topic related to better understand 4-H and focus on a project area. In March, the club will be learning about 4-H basics, enrollment, and doing projects related to Healthy Lifestyles!

Please let Marie know if you are interested in the club by March 25! You can call her at (308)327-2312 or mnelson82@unl.edu

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.

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.

AMSA is hosting their annual virtual meat judging spring series for youth with $5,000 in scholarships available.

Participants will compete in four contests in three months. Each contest will consist of:

- 6 placing classes

- 2 questions classes

- Quality grading (6)

- 40 Retail Identification.

To learn more and register visit: https://bit.ly/VirtualSpringSeries

This is an awesome opportunity for students to hone their judging skills and potentially receive some scholarship funds. NE students have done an outstanding job representing at state and national contests, and I have no doubts that many could do well with this opportunity.

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.

PDF Attached below.

The Sheridan County 4-H Council is sponsoring a $500 scholarship to be awarded to a senior of Sheridan County who has been involved in 4-H. The application for this scholarship is due on April 15th via email to Marie Nelson at mnelson82@unl.edu or mailed to the Extension Office at PO Box 329 Rushville, NE 69360. Interested participants need to complete a simple two-page application answering questions about their 4-H experience. The scholarship application can be found at: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/northernpanhandle/scholarship-opportunities-sheridan-county/. For more information, please contact the Extension Office at (308) 327-2312.

The Sheridan County 4-H Shooting Sports has started competing in the Panhandle Best series with several members doing well. At the end of the Panhandle Best Series, a complete list of results will be posted in the newsletter. Competition results can be found at Orion Results Center.
Panhandle Best 2022 Dates

• Mar 6 Ogallala
  
• Mar 13 Chadron
• Mar 19-20 State in Mitchell

Congratulations to all the Shooting Sports members and best of luck as you continue learning about and enjoying this lifetime sport!

Apply now to attend one of the biggest youth agriculture outreach events in the state—the Nebraska Agricultural Youth Institute (NAYI). NAYI brings together high school juniors and seniors to learn more about Nebraska agriculture, network with agriculture leaders and discover the many careers available in agriculture. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) helps sponsor and coordinate NAYI every year.

NAYI will be held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus July 11–15, 2022. Applications for NAYI are available at https://nda.nebraska.gov/nayi/ and must be submitted online. Current high school juniors and seniors interested in attending have until April 15, 2022, to apply. This year’s theme is “Cultivating Connections.”

NDA selects students to attend NAYI based on their leadership skills, interests and involvement in agriculture. Students attend NAYI free of charge due to generous donations from numerous agricultural businesses, commodity groups and industry organizations.

Both teams had their personal bests in the robot game! Hawks scored 290 and Titanium Monkeys 255. They did an awesome job answering judges’ questions where they received great feedback about all the hardworking they put in their notebooks. So proud of all our Sheridan County teams. #NebraskaFLL

Please come to the office to pick out your prize!

University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln 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.

Copyright ©2021

Email: mnelson82@unl.edu
Website: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/northernpanhandle/educational-programs/northern-panhandle-4-h/
Location: 800 S Loofborrow Street, PO Box 329 Rushville, NE 69360
Phone: 308-327-2312
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNLSheridanCounty
Twitter: @SheridanCounty