4-H Friday NewsBlast for 04/10/2020

Click here for the 2020 Fair book! If you would like a hard copy please let us know! Each club will get 1 copy at no charge, they are $2.00 each for additional copies. Just give us a call or email and we will work out a pick up time for you!

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Companion Animal Challenge

Due to COVID-19, the University has taken measures to help protect the UNL community and broader community. To decrease large group gathering instances, we have decided to continue the Companion Animal Contest through remote means. Youth will need to re-enter if they were previously entered for Companion Animal Challenge by using the new entry form (online) through Google Docs.

The event will return to its regular format for 2021.

Companion Animal Challenge Entry Form: https://forms.gle/5oZdENZy63Xps8RA8

Entry Due Date: April 13th by 5pm

Skillathon- Cancelled for the 2020 year

Demonstrations

Participants will do Live Demonstrations through Zoom

Youth that sign up for Demonstrations on their entry form will be emailed a Doodle Poll link to sign up for a time slot on dates April 15th from 8:00am-10:00 or April 18th from 8:00am-10:00am (if none of the time slots listed work for you, please email Grace Kim at grace.kim@unl.edu).

First Come, First Pick- for time slots

“How to” use Zoom click here

If you do not have a camera for Zoom you are able to download the Zoom app on your phone.

For team demonstrations please pick one time slot and put down both names when registering on DoodlePoll

Essays, Art & Photography

Participants will upload a digital copy when they fill out their online entry form (via google form). Please have your item (essay, photograph, etc.) completed when you fill out the entry form. You will be asked to submit photographs of your art, take photographs that clearly show the entire work in good lighting.

Art and photography should be in jpg. Format when downloaded

Essays should be in Microsoft Word or Google Docs

Please label/save your art and/or photography with your first name and last name.

Ribbons, awards, & scoresheets

Entries will be judged by April 20th with results posted on the Companion Animal Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/unlcompanionanimal ).

Participants will receive their online ribbons, certificates, and scoresheets via email. No ribbons or plaques will be mailed out.

Developing a Personal Preparedness Plan can help relieve any worries you may have about getting sick and being unable to provide daily essential care for your horse(s).

We do an amazing job year round caring for our horses, and often go above and beyond the basic welfare standards to give them a very high quality of life. Unfortunately, this pandemic requires horse owners/operators to consider making arrangements for an alternative animal caretaker in the event that they become ill and need long-term care themselves.

Follow the list below to create your own emergency plan:

1. Identify who will care for your horse(s) in case of illness or hospitalization. Redundancy is encouraged – it is not enough to have only one person identified!

2. Identify each horse – do not assume that everyone can recognize who is who in a herd of similarly colored horses.

3. Create a detailed and specific list of daily care instructions for each horse. Identify and prioritize essential care, considering only what is necessary to maintain welfare standards. Supplementing with pictures or video can be helpful. You may want to create a simplified list of care instructions if your caretaker is less experienced.

   
   

   
   

   DEVELOPING A PERSONAL PREPAREDNESS PLAN

   For Equine Owners/Caretakers During a Pandemic

   
   

4. Make sure you have two weeks of feed and medication on hand for every horse.

5. Have electronic and written copies of the instructions in a conspicuous location.

6. In the event that you begin to feel ill, contact those on your emergency list to apprise them of the situation. Additionally, please minimize direct contact with your horse – if someone else needs to care for them, we must minimize their exposure to the virus.

For backup care providers:

1. COVID 19 does not appear to affect animals but can exist on surfaces, especially nonporous surfaces. Do not touch anything handled by the ill person without personal protective equipment (PPE).

2. Remember – the virus has not been proven to survive more than several days on any surface. If the horses’ welfare will not be compromised by minimal contact for five days, this would be preferred.

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Join Extension professionals every Tuesday at 11:00 a.m., CST as we go on-site to learn more about Science and Agricultural Careers across the state and beyond. Each location will offer a tour of the facilities, educational experience, and additional resources for teachers to use after the tour to further student engagement and learning experiences. Each week there will be new webinar link and information about the tour sent to you. Topics will include solar power, wind power, greenhouse propagation, tour of the Meat Animal Research Center and many more!

To participate, youth and teachers will have to register themselves for the webinar (each device will have to be registered in order to get a link). https://unl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pa61awSyTXGnk3eg_W5iPg. We will also be recording and posting the video online at https://4h.unl.edu/virtual-home-learning under Self-Paced Instruction the following day. However, we highly encourage you to be a part of the live tour so you can ask questions!

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Here is an excellent opportunity for 4-H members who are into photography. Nikon is offering their educational videos FREE during the month of April. To register, go to: https://www.nikonevents.com/us/live/nikon-school-online/

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There are three new project books and new classes for fair entries! A brief description of the classes are listed, more details will be listed in the Fair Book. If you would like to purchase a project book please give us a call or email the Extension Office and we will get them to you!

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A new Companion Rabbit Science Online Course is now available for 4-H youth. The target age is middle school, but could be done by other ages as well. The course overs anatomy, physiology, health, and nutrition as care of companion rabbits.

Here is a link to the webpage for the class:

https://4h.unl.edu/companion-rabbit-science

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Our educator has a brand new program for you during these unprecedented time:

Join us for our Take Five Friday series every week starting Friday, March 27th at 10:30 a.m. for Take Five Friday! We know there are plenty of AWESOME resources out there for your youth to learn their reading, writing, and arithmetic so we want to offer a time for your youth to exercise their social-emotional skills. During our new live stream series, Take Five Friday, youth will engage with their fellow 4-Hers LIVE for 30 minutes every Friday. We want this to be a time for youth to recharge in a fun, educational, safe, and socially distant way!

Youth must register in advance for this meeting. Youth must be enrolled in Cass County 4-H member for the 2019 - 2020 year to receive a registration invite.

So if you haven't yet, please enroll your 4-Hers at https://ne.4honline.com

As you know, The Cass County Extension office is dedicated to serving you and this community. That being said, your well-being is of the highest priority to us. Therefore the Cass County Extension Office will be serving you from a distance for the foreseeable future. The office will be closed to the public, but part of the staff will be at the office to answer phones, conduct business through digital means, etc.

Be on the lookout for at-home learning opportunities that we will share on our social media, via newsletters, and our website (www.cass.unl.edu. The UNL Extension community is working, as you read this, to develop some truly awesome on-line learning and activities for our 4-Hers and their families.

As always we are here for you!! Email the office at cass-county@unl.edu, or call 402-267-2205. Or contact our Unit Leader, Lauren Stohlmann, at Lauren.Stohlmann@unl.edu or call 402-409-0747.

For updates on Nebraska 4-H and the University of Nebraska- Lincoln’s evolving position on COVID-19, please visit https://covid19.unl.edu. They have also added a message to the 4-H page with messaging and updates on state level events (https://4h.unl.edu/covid-19).

Good news! The state 4-H office has given us some updates for completing YQCA when we can't do face-to-face trainings. Read all about it here, and get a coupon to save yourself some money.

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With the disruption in programming as normal, our corn challenge team wants to make sure you know that the corn challenge is still on and gearing up to be better than ever!

(NOTE: planning, etc. can be done virtually and we are here to help you make that happen)

New features to the program:

Once COVID-19 passes and things return to normal, our team is pleased to announce some NEW features to the Corn Challenge.

1. Teams will communicate with other teams for peer-learning opportunities. (Ideally, these would be face-to-face, but time will tell what is allowed at any given point.)
2. Corn challenge coordinators will make a site visit (when allowed) to obtain aerial imagery of your project.
3. Programming will include NEW unmanned aerial (drone) lessons and potential field day for participants.

If you’d like to participate, there is still time to sign-up!

9th Annual Innovative Youth Corn Challenge

Nebraska Extension and the Nebraska Corn Board are offering the ninth Innovative Youth Corn Challenge contest. This contest, open to 4-H members (age 10 & older as of Jan. 1st) or FFA members (in-school members), guides participants through all aspects of corn production, as well as agricultural careers related to corn production.

As a team (2 or more participants), youth will be challenged to implement a production practice different than normal to determine if they increased their yield. Economics and sustainability of the practice will also be considered. Yields, cropping history, and production information will be collected in the Corn Yield Challenge management summary.

Cash prizes and plaques are given. First place receives $1,000, second place receives $500, and third place receives $250. Sustainability, crop scouting and “extra mile” awards are also given as cash awards.

To participate in 2020, youth must register by April 15th to the Fillmore County Extension Office in Geneva, NE. Details can be found at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth/cornchallenge. For more information, contact Brandy VanDeWalle at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu.

Thanks,

Brandy VanDeWalle

Note: For more information about the Corn Challenge visit our website: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/youth/cornchallenge

State 4-H Shooting Sports Coordinators;
The National 4-H Shooting Sports Committee has had the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships
as well as the National 4-H Shooting Sports Teen Ambassador Training on our minds since the
outbreak of COVID-19. Having given much thought and consideration to existing circumstances, the
National Committee has made the decision to cancel the 2020 National Championships and to offer
some form of Teen Ambassador Training in an online format. We are following the guidelines of the
Center for Disease Control as well as the guiding principles issued by the National 4-H Program
Leaders Working Group as rationale for our decision.
Considerations include:
• The health and safety of our 4-H youth, families and volunteers is of highest priority.
• Information received from a survey of state 4-H shooting sports coordinators indicated that
at least 10 states have travel restrictions through the entire summer
• Many of the 200 plus volunteers who typically assist with the Championships fall into the
high risk category of severe implications from COVID-19
• Due to existing circumstances, many states are unable to conduct their state qualifying
events prior to the time we had scheduled the 2020 National Championships
• Current Stay at Home guidelines are affecting families financially
• If we were to hold the event, the quality of the experience would be diminished due to
severely limited participation.
In regard to The National 4-H Shooting Sports Teen Ambassador Institute, many youth typically
travel by air and to do this would put them at great risk. Additionally, the host campus site will
likely remain closed throughout the summer. That said, there will be no face to face Teen
Ambassador Training in 2020. Planning is in process to offer some form on online teen ambassador
leadership training with plans to be announced to state coordinators by May 1.
For now, it is our intention to follow current eligibility requirements as outlined by National 4-H
Guidelines for our 2021 events.
In closing, this is a decision that none of us wanted to make. However, in consideration of the
health and safety of our youth, families and volunteers, we feel that this is the right decision to
make at this time.
We are looking forward to returning to a traditional 2021 slate of events. In the meantime, we
hope that this course of action will help us all stay safe & healthy.
National 4-H Shooting Sports Committee

Coronavirus Update for Horse Advancement Level Update - March, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 situation and social distancing, there will be changes in 4-H horse Advancement Level Testing. In order to abide by social distancing recommendations, skills and demonstration testing are on hold.

We are encouraging youth to complete the written test, which will be offered online, and the reports/feed chart/healthcare charts as these pieces can be completed by youth at home. The goal is to offer the skills test and demonstration after May 9, 2020.

For 2020, we are also cancelling the District Horse Shows. All youth will be allowed to enter the Fonner Park State 4-H Expo without qualifying. Entries to the State 4-H Expo are due June 15 and the deadline for passing the advancement levels will be extended to June 15.

Dates to Note:

Written Advancement Tests Available On-Line: March 25, 2020

Skills and Demonstration Testing Available (depending upon social distancing recommendations): May 9

Fonner Park State 4-H Horse Show Entry Date - June 15, 2020 to the county office

Advancement Levels Completed Due Date for State Entries: June 15, 2020

Stampede Entries Due: June 15, 2020

ADVANCEMENT LEVEL TESTING PROCEDURES

LEVEL 1-3 REQUIREMENTS

• Written exam: (contact office for the link)
• Skills test: currently on hold. The hope is to make these tests available after May 9th. We will continue to monitor social distancing practices.
• Demonstration: Skills test: currently on hold. The hope is to make these tests available after May 9th. We will continue to monitor social distancing practices.

LEVEL 2 & 3 ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Written report and feed chart emailed to county office at time of completion. Youth are encouraged to complete these while we are all practicing social distancing.

LEVEL 3 – ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT

• Health care paper emailed to county office at time of completion. Youth are encouraged to complete these while we are all practicing social distancing.

LEVEL 4 – REQUIREMENTS

Demonstration, written report, and skills test – follow same protocols as above

4-H Horse Stampede – March, 2020

The 4-H Stampede is now moved to July 12, 2020 (the Sunday prior to the start of the State Expo). The contests will be held at Fonner Park in the Bosselman Conference Center starting in the morning. We will have the updated schedule posted on the website in the coming weeks. All youth will need to re-enter if they were previously entered for the March contest. Entries will be due with the entries for State on June 12th.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Attached is a document you can send out to your families regarding the changes.

Thanks,

Lena

Lena Luck

Asst Professor/Youth Horse Specialist

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Animal Science

4024729098

Zoom Link: https://unl.zoom.us/my/equine

As was stated before, UNL Extension is developing some great virtual and at-home learning opportunities. More and more will be coming.

To start, go to: https://4h.unl.edu/virtual-home-learning

You'll find: Living Room Learning, Boredom Buster Challenge, Self-Paced Opportunities, and various Activity Guides.

Due to guidelines from UNL to minimize the transmission of Covid-19, all clubs who hold their meetings at the Extension Office will not be able to meet there in April, May and early June.

Take a look at this website: https://4h.unl.edu/diamond-clover

Now, while kids are out of school, working on the Diamond Clover program, offered through r4-H, would be a great thing to do!

During these weeks when the Extension Office is closed due to the Coronavirus, we can still help you with diagnostic questions about plants, weeds, trees, flowers, insects, etc.

Homeowners, farmers, lawn care professionals, pest control operators and others can submit questions and photos through a UNL website. An expert panel of Extension professionals will promptly review and respond to your question.

To get started you will need to create an account so that our experts can review and respond to your question via your email address. Go to: http://digitaldiagnostics.unl.edu/

Current Calendar Changes ... The following are canceled for now. Please check back later for potential rescheduled dates:

1. Cancelled: Burlington Capital International Omaha Horse Discovery Zone - April 9-12, 2020
2. Nebraska Agricultural Youth Institute Application Deadline - April 15, 2020
3. Cancelled: School Year Camp at Eastern Ne 4-H Camp - April 18-19, 2020
4. Cancelled: Cass County 4-H Public Speaking Contest - April 20, 2020
5. Cass County Extension Office Closed for Arbor Day - April 24, 2020
6. Cancelled: Otoe County Livestock Judging Clinic - April 25, 2020
7. Cancelled: Loup Valley 4-H Horse Conference - April 25-26, 2020
8. Horse IDs - Deadline May 8, 2020
9. Level Testing, - Deadline May 8, 2020
10. Entry for District and State Deadline - May 8, 2020
11. Hayes County 4-H & FFA Livestock Judging Contest - May 12, 2020
12. 4-H Project Deadline for county fair - May 15, 2020
13. Cass County 4-H Council Meeting - May 18, 2020
14. Cass County Extension Office Closed for Memorial Day - May 25, 2020
15. Pawnee Fit and Feed Clinic - May 30, 2020
16. 2020 Winner Unlimited Livestock Judging Camp at UNL (one-day camp) - June 2
17. 2020 Winner Unlimited Livestock Judging Camp at UNL (multi-day camp) - June 3-5
18. YQCA Training in Cass County - June 4, 2020
19. Online Horticulture Judging Contest - June 5-22, 2020
20. Big Red Camps in Lincoln - June 7-12
21. New 4-H Member Enrollment Deadline - June 15, 2020
22. Cass County 4-H Animal ID Sheets Due - June 15, 2020
23. YQCA Certification Completion Due to Extension Office - June 15, 2020
24. District Horse Show information - June 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
25. PASE/Life Challenge Contest at UNL - June 22-24, 2020
26. 4-H Plant Science and Insect Contest - June 25, 2020
27. Tractor Safety Training - July 1-2, 2020
28. Cass County Extension Office Closed for Independence Day - July 3, 2020
29. State Horse Show at Fonner Park - July 12-16, 2020
30. County Fair Online Pre-Entries Due - July 15, 2020
31. Cass County 4-H Dog Contest - July 18, 2020
32. Cass County 4-H Council Meeting - July 20, 2020

1. Nebraska Ag Land Values Increase for First Time Since 2014
2. Horticulture Column ... with Sarah Browning

Lauren Stohlmann, Extension Educator and Unit Leader, lauren.stohlmann@unl.edu

Katie Kreuser, Extension Educator, katie.kreuser@unl.edu

Tracy Ensor, Extension Assistant, tracy.ensor@unl.edu

Tammy Cavanaugh, 4-H Support Staff, tcavanaugh2@unl.edu

Sandy Prall, Office Manager, sprall2@unl.edu

General Mailbox, cass-county@unl.edu

Email: cass-county@unl.edu
Website: www.cass.unl.edu
Location: 8400 144th Street, Weeping Water, NE, 68463
Phone: 402-267-2205
Facebook: facebook.com/UniversityofNebraskaLincolnExtensionCassCounty
Twitter: @UNLCassCounty

The Healthy N Fit Families Challenge starts on Monday, April 6th and goes through Friday, May 1st, 2020. One nutrition and one physical activity challenge will be posted each week. We will provide different ideas to complete each challenge. Weekly challenges include:

• Week 1: Smoothie Challenge and Walk Challenge
• Week 2: Oatmeal Challenge and Indoor Activity Challenge
• Week 3: Snack Mix Challenge and Strength Challenge
• Week 4: Tortilla Challenge and Yoga Challenge

Families who complete the challenge will have a chance to win a nutrition or physical activity prize thanks to the 4-H Healthy Futures grant. Winners will be randomly selected and announced each Friday by 5pm (CT).

Additional details for each challenge will be added to https://food.unl.edu/healthynfitfamilies