April 4-H Information

From an email sent to Club Leaders on April 4, 2016

INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS / VOLUNTEERS

County Project meetings are happening:

• Dog Project meetings (2nd and 4th Wednesday, 6:30pm) at the Llama Barn at the Fairgrounds.  This month’s meetings are April 6th and April 20th.

• Contact Julia Kolb with questions.

• Poultry Project meetings (3rd Tuesday, 6:30pm) have been going for a couple months.  This month’s meeting is Tuesday, April 18th (at the FAIRGROUNDS).

• Contact Laura DeNitto with questions.

• Goat Project meetings (3rd Wednesday, 6:30pm) started up again in February.  The next meeting is Wednesday, April 20th.

• Contact Stephanie Frank or Denise Rummel with questions.

• Western Heritage Project meetings (3rd Friday, 4pm) have been going on for a couple months.  This month’s meeting is Friday, April 15th.

• Contact Lora Hall or Laurie Prati with questions.

• Rabbit Project meetings (4th Thursday, 6:30pm) started in February.  This month’s meeting is Thursday, April 28th.

• Contact Wendy McDaniel or Carla Voss with questions.

New Facebook Header image from MSU Extension - featuring 2 Missoula 4-H members at 4-H Camp a few years ago.

 
Market Animal Quality Assurance: April 8th

• The last Quality Assurance workshop will be April 8th. This is for 4-H members planning to sell a market animal (steer, lamb, hog, goat, meat pen of poultry or rabbit) at the Western Montana Fair this summer. You have to attend once as a Junior member (4-H ages 8-13) and once as a Senior member (4-H ages 14+).

• Campbell will email a list this week, but if you want to check to see if you need to do QA this year, feel free to email him.

Montana 4-H Week of Service: April 10-17

• The 4-H Ambassadors challenge everyone to do something service-oriented during this week. More information is online here.

Missoula 4-H Livestock Judging Contest: April 16th

• The annual competition, a qualifier for Senior age members who want to compete at 4-H Congress, will be held at the Ag Ed Center, starting at 8:30am

• A registration form with details is available online here.

Market Hog Tagging: April 21st

• Just like last year, we will tag market hogs for the 2016 Western Montana Fair at the Missoula County Fairgrounds, starting at 4:30pm.

• Information with details and directions will be emailed directly to market hog project members.

Consignment Tack Sale: April 23-24

• The Frenchtown Valley 4-H club will be holding a consignment tack sale in the commercial building at the fairgrounds Saturday, April 23, 10-4 and Sunday, April 24, 10-2.  Consignments will be taken starting at 9 am on Saturday. The cost to consign is 10% of what you sell your item for.   In addition, tack donated to the Frenchtown Valley 4-H club by a local horse owner will be available for sale.

• They are not only taking tack but also any items related to showing any species of livestock - like show clothes, brushes, blowers, buckets, clippers, prep day items like sprays, show sticks, halters, etc. 

• Any items donated to the club to be sold for Frenchtown Valley 4-H club are greatly appreciated. This is a fund raiser for the club where the money goes towards our community services like the senior luncheon and shopping for families in need, which we do every year. Contact Missy Miller with any questions 406-240-3450.

Gardening Project: Soil Testing workshop April 23rd 

• Starting at 9am at the Missoula Extension Office, come learn about soil testing, to get the best out of your garden spot.

• Contact Sandy in the Plant Clinic to register (no cost): 258-4213 or email.

Add/Drop Date: May 1st

• If you want to add or drop projects, please do so by May 1st, by contacting Colleen at the Extension Office: 258-4201 or email.

4-H Extravaganza: May 5th

• This is the largest 4-H event of the year, outside of the Fair, will be held again at the Ag Education Center on South Ave, west of Big Sky High School, starting w/ check-in at 5:15pm.

• The Club with the most members present (and club w/ highest % present) will receive $100 from the 4-H Council.

• BBQ dinner will be provided by the Chamber of Commerce’s Agri-Business Committee, starting at 5:30pm.

• Workshops will focus on animal care, feeding, fitting, showmanship and nutrition, as well as horse skill-a-thon, state contests, record sheets, a dance workshop and more, starting at 6pm.

Horse Project: Mandatory May Clinic: May 8th

• For members who are new to the Horse project, who have a new horse, who are entering a new project area, or who want to skip a level.

• This clinic will be held at the Missoula Equestrian Park from 2-5pm.

• More details will come from the Horse Committee (yes, they realize it’s Mother’s Day).

4-H Drama Festival: May 15th, 2pm in Potomac

• There’s still time!  If your club has talked about doing a play for the 4-H Drama Festival (this is the 70th Annual 4-H Drama Festival), there is still time. We had to push it back until May this year, so there’s plenty of time.  A flyer with tips and resources is available here.

Pig Camp: May 21-22 in Hamilton

• This is a national-level market hog prep course, sponsored by Axmen, organized by Heidi and the Bear Creek Buckaroos 4-H Club.

• Everything you need to know about nutrition, fitting, showmanship and more.

• Held at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds (not Missoula).

County-wide 4-H Demo Day: May 31st

• Starting at 6pm at the Missoula Extension Office, this is the county-level competition for Demonstrations, Illustrated Talks and Public Speaking.

• This is the qualifying event for members who want to compete at 4-H Congress in July.

Shooting Sports Leader Trainings

• Contact Campbell or Colleen for information and forms.

• May 6-7 in Billings for: Rifle, Archery, Pistol, Hunting, Shotgun, Muzzle-loading, Coordinator – Due April 27th.

• May 15-16 in Missoula for the Western Heritage Project (4-H Cowboy Action Shooting) – Due May 9th.

 4-H Grows True Leaders - New National Marketing Campaign

Shooting Sports Project Reminders

• You must be at least 4-H Age 9 to enroll in a shooting sports project.

• To enroll in the Western Heritage Project, you must be at least 4-H Age 12.

• To enroll in any 4-H project, you must have a certified 4-H instructor for that discipline (archery, air rifle, shotgun, etc.) to work with (either in your club, in another club that will let you shoot with them, or at county-wide meetings).

New 4-H Record Sheets

• There are new 4-H record sheets developed by the State 4-H Office available online. You can use these if you like. They’re online here. (Under Record Book Forms)

4-H Calendar Online 

• Reminder: County-level and many State-level 4-H events are included in our Missoula 4-H Calendar online.  Go to the 4-H Homepage and click on the “4-H Calendar of Events” link.

Other 4-H info Online

• Forms
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Blog

INFORMATION FOR CLUB LEADERS

$5 per Member 4-H Foundation donation – Due May 1st

• Each year, the Montana 4-H Foundation asks Counties to contribute $5 per member to help their efforts to support Montana 4-H. This includes financial contributions to 4-H Congress, 4-H Leaders Forum, The Clover project guide, Rec Lab, etc.

• The Missoula 4-H Council voted a couple years ago to ask the Clubs to come up with this $5 per member – either through club dues, member contributions or club fundraisers.

• Please contact Colleen at the 4-H Office if you have questions about how much is due from your club.  258-4201 or email.  Thanks!

MONTHLY MEETINGS AND OTHER UPCOMING DATES

Save the Date:

• 4-H Lamb/Goat weigh-in – May 19th at (location TBA) 5-7pm
• Shooting Sports Camp at Loon Lake – May 20-22 (form) – Due May 1st
• Cloverbud Camp at Loon Lake – June 10-12 (form) – Due June 1st
• Multi-County 4-H Camp at Loon Lake – June 14-17 (info to come)
• Montana 4-H Congress in Bozeman – July 13-16
• Missoula Fair 4-H Ranch Horse Project competition – July 17th
• Missoula Fair 4-H Dog Show – July 23rd
• Missoula Fair 4-H Horse Show – July 30-31

Monthly 4-H Committee meetings

• Any adult or youth member is welcome to attend any of our monthly committee meetings.  These aren’t project meetings (those will be announced as they start up for the year), but these are where decisions are made that impact the 4-H program.

• 4-H Council Board: 1st Wednesday, 6pm at the Extension Office
• 4-H Horse Committee: 2nd Wednesday, 7pm at the Extension Office
• 4-H Livestock Committee: 2nd Thursday, 7pm at the Extension office
• CHANGE: 4-H Shooting Sports Committee: 4TH Wednesday, 6pm at the Extension Office. Next meeting: April 27th.