Morgan County. INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 News and Events 2 4-H Information Awards 9 NEW Fair Board Livestock Rules 10 Extension News 11 Calendar

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1 Morgan County December ENROLLMENT EARLY RE-ENROLLMENT DEADLINE WILL BE DECEMBER 30, 2016 Enroll Online today! Go to: Colorado.4honline.com Morgan County early enrollment deadline is December 30. Members must still pay their enrollment fees to the Morgan County Extension by that date to get the early re-enrollment fee of $25 per youth. Cloverbud fees are $15 for ages 5-7 year olds. From December 31 st through March 1 st the enrollment fee is $35 per youth for re-enrollees. While youth can enroll in 4-H throughout the year, to participate in the 2017 fair, they must be enrolled by March 1, If you do not have access to a computer with internet please call Jamie to set up a time to get enrolled. Fair Board Vacancy There are 4 potential vacancies; each would serve a three year term (ending 12/31/2019) on the Morgan County Fair Board. Address letters of interest to Board of County Commissioners, c/o Jody Meyer, PO BOX 596, Fort Morgan, CO stating your qualifications and why you wish to serve. Deadline is December COUNTY FAIR DATES Official fair dates are August 4-10, 2017, BUT prefair activities will begin earlier including Interview Judging which is Wednesday, August 2. Extension Office Hours! 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. Please call to schedule an appointment after hours! 2017 NATIONAL WESTERN STOCK SHOW The National Western Stock Show will be January 7-22, H Day at the National Western Stock Show is Friday, January 13th. Group tickets are only available if they are purchased early. All Colorado 4-H families and invited guests are eligible for discounted prices on reserved seating. Discounts are not available at the Stock Show Box Office. For a complete schedule, visit Youth Fest Youth Fest is a leadership camp for 4-H members 9-13 years old and is scheduled for February 10-12, More information will be in January s newsletter. Join us for Virtual Maker (e-textiles and electricity), December 7, 3:30 pm. Sign up by December 2. Cost is $5 for all of your supplies. Go to the Colorado 4-H Facebook page and find out more about the activity: Post is from November 18. INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 News and Events 2 4-H Information Awards 9 NEW Fair Board Livestock Rules 10 Extension News 11 Calendar Colorado State University Extension, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Colorado counties cooperating. Extension programs are available to all without discrimination.

2 4-H Information The annual Leadership Development Conference (LDC) will be held January 28-30, 2017 in Denver. LDC is a fun, educational weekend promoting leadership development and community service. The event is open to youth 14 and over and registration is typically around $ (plus lodging). This conference is in conjunction with the annual 4-H Day at the Capitol where members can be present during the Proclamation for Colorado 4-H Day. Tours of the state capitol will be available. Interested youth can register in 4-H Online, December 5 January 9. Western Region Leaders Forum 2017 The Western Regional Leaders Forum will be held in Edmonton on March 16-17, 2017, as part of 4-H Alberta s centennial celebrations. Information will be available soon. Colorado 4-H Foundation Scholarships To apply for most of the scholarships offered through Colorado State University for the academic year, applicants should complete the Colorado 4-H Foundation Scholarship Application available online at: By submitting this one application form, students will be considered for all appropriate scholarships at the University level. The online application process will begin on January 6. Take time during your vacation days to see what scholarships that you may be eligible for. CSU Scholarships Available at: Horse and Dog ID Forms All Horse and Dog ID Forms must be done on an annual basis through 4-H Online. If you identified a horse or dog last year, you must activate each animal account. For the Dog ID, you will need to update and upload new vaccine information. Signing up for Shooting Sports Members interested in Shooting Sports must enroll in each discipline that they are planning to shoot in addition to the discipline they want to do their 4-H project on. This helps with record keeping, safety tracking, and ensuring that all members are enrolled correctly for their different projects. Shooting Sports Leader Training The 4-H Shooting Sports Leader Trainings have been scheduled. The scheduled trainings are listed below. Efforts will be made to offer all disciplines at each training. Registration for the trainings will be via 4-HOnline. Notice will be sent out when registrations become available for each training. 4-H Shooting Sports Leader Training Dates and Locations: Pueblo County, March Mesa County, March 31 April 2 Larimer County, April 7-9 Eagle County, April 28-30

3 Judging Opportunities for 4-H Members Judging is a great opportunity for 4-H members to improve decision making, communication, problem solving, and time management skills in a fun, team-oriented setting. Members do not have to be involved in any specific project to take part in judging programs. Some potential benefits of judging include college scholarships, opportunity to travel, personal and team awards. Check out one or more of these judging opportunities! Consumer Choices Judging & Consumer Bowl Did you know that you are a consumer judge every time you buy something? Come join us and learn fun ways to become the smart and savvy shopper you know you are! In Consumer Choices Judging you will learn standards of quality for goods such as backpacks, toys, clothing, food, and much more, and then practice making comparisons. The State Consumer Choices Judging Contest is held in Fort Collins in conjunction with the State 4-H Conference in June for senior members. There are opportunities for senior members of top placing teams to travel to national level contests. Consumer Choices is open to all senior 4-H members and in any project. For more information contact Jennifer at jennifer.cooney@colostate.edu. Interest will determine meeting dates and times, however, we'd like to start early in Livestock Judging Workouts for Livestock Judging normally start in early March. Generally, the team will also compete in several county contests prior to the State Contest in June, held in conjunction with the State 4-H Conference in Fort Collins. Team members will learn livestock evaluation skills for beef, goats, sheep and swine. Top placing teams have the opportunity to participate in national level contests. For further information contact Marlin at or marlin.eisenach@colostate.edu. Parli Pro Parliamentary procedure provides a framework that encourages all members to have an equal voice in their club. The 4-H club model provides an excellent forum for youth to experience, practice, and effectively use life skills that will allow them to be successful in living productive and satisfying lives. Leading or participating in a club business meeting gives members an opportunity to plan, evaluate, discuss ideas, and set goals all important life skills. The members of the Morgan County Parliamentary Procedure Team will compete at the State Conference in June 2017 where they will conduct a mock meeting and demonstrate their knowledge of correct Parliamentary Procedure. For more information or if you are interested contact Aimee at aimee.kanode@colostate.edu. Practice dates and time will be determined based off interest but will begin early in COUNTY Member in Good Standing POLICY Just a reminder that Morgan County and Colorado 4-H have a Member in Good Standing policy. As written in the state policy manual, a member in good standing; abides by the 4-H Code of Conduct, meets deadlines, attends a majority of club and project meetings, and completes at least one project. To complete a project, members are required to 1. Participate in a 4-H related (subject matter or audience) demonstration or other speech-arts presentation. 2. Participate in a 4-H sponsored community service activity, and 3. Complete any county level requirements such as a record book, exhibit, etc. While this state policy has always been in effect, the county has really had no way to determine a member s level of participation. Effective October 1, 2015, all club leaders are required to sign off on every member s participation before county fair and at the end of the 4-H year. All members must meet county/state policy as well as club policy (if applicable). Members not in good standing may not be able to participate in certain county, state or national events.

4 Members: If you are planning to transfer to another club, please do the following: 1. Call your current Organizational Leader to let them know you will be transferring clubs. 2. Call the Extension Office at H Membership The 4-H year runs from October 1 to September H age is the age of the individual on December 31 of the current 4-H year. Cloverbud: 5-7 years old; junior member: 8-10 years old; intermediate member: years old; senior member: years old. Leader Requirements Recognized leaders may hold 4-H functions, are covered by 4-H insurance, and may serve as chaperones in the name of 4-H. Everyone interested in becoming an Organizational Leader is required to visit with the 4-H Agent, even if you are already an approved project leader. If your club is dissolving or if you are considering changes in leadership, call the Extension Office at In order to be recognized as a volunteer 4-H leader in Morgan County, all NEW leaders must complete the following requirements: 1.Complete a volunteer application through 4-H Online and receive two positive references. 2.Complete a 4-H enrollment form through 4-H Online 3. Complete leader training 4.Pass a background check 5.Interview with 4-H Agent (All organizational leader applicants or as requested). Considering New Projects for 2017? The new State 4-H Project requirements will be available soon. It will be posted at the following website: All the requirements to complete FCS and general 4-H projects will be listed in this online booklet. The Morgan County Fair Book will follow those guidelines. Morgan County will be offering Cats as a new 4-H project in The guidelines below are tentative guidelines guidelines will be found on the website referenced above. For questions, please call. Tentative Cat Guidelines: A. A completed Companion Animal e-record presented in a sturdy binder/notebook. B. A display board illustrating a topic investigated during the project year. The standardized display board size of 4 ft. x 3 ft. is to be used with 4-H projects. No additional items may be included in front of display board. C. Project will be evaluated on the quality of the information completed in the e-record (25 percent) and quality of the exhibit (75 percent). What is a Self-Determined Project? The self-determined project is designed for 4-H members who have an interest in a topic that is not included in the 4-H Project List. Self-determined projects include these county projects that are not offered as state projects: Crops, Model Horse, Pocket Pets and Weeds. If you wish to re-enroll in a self-determined project, use the project name next to self-determined. For example: Self Determined/Pocket Pets. County projects are not eligible to qualify for state fair.

5 Colorado 4-H Horse Show Rule Book Cover Art Contest Please submit your 4-H Horse related drawings or sketches via no later than January 1, Make sure that your image can be printed in black and white should it be selected as the winner. The winning artwork will be placed on the cover of the updated edition of the Colorado State 4-H Horse Show Rule Book. The winner will also receive a $ Scholarship to be used towards registration fees for one of the following: State 4-H Horse Show, State 4-H Conference, 4-H Leadership Development Conference, Colorado 4-H Leadership Camp or 4-H Youth Fest. The $ prize must be used by the winner within 12 months of notification and will be paid directly to any of the above listed events. The $ Scholarship prize is non-transferable. No money will be issued to the contest winner directly. Please make sure that entries are 4-H appropriate. Entry Requirements: High resolution gif or jpg digital files of pencil or black ink drawing / sketch. Entries should be no larger than 8.5 x 11 when printed. 4-H appropriate horse related images only. Please entries and questions to Sam Lowry at sam.lowry@colostate.edu MORGAN COUNTY 4-H COUNCIL MEETING No meeting scheduled for December. Next meeting is January 16 at 6:45 pm. MORGAN COUNTY 4-H EXCHANGE MEETING No meeting scheduled for December. Next meeting is January 15 at 5 pm at the Morgan County Fair Grounds, 4-H Building. Council Corner- During the November Morgan County 4-H Council Meeting members listened to reports from each other on the activities within their clubs, and Makenna Carlock gave an update from the State Officer Team. A fundraising update was given, the meeting dates and times were discussed, and the members talked about what activities they would like to work on in the coming months. The activity for the meeting was creating decorations for the Christmas float that the council is putting together. In place of holding a regular meeting in December, the County Council will have a float in the Christmas Parade on Thursday, December 1. The parade starts at 6:30 and the exact meeting location and time will be sent out to all families as soon as more information is available. Even if you aren t a part of council, you are welcome to join us for the parade on the 1 st! County Council currently has 4-H Grows t-shirts available for pre-order at $10 each until December 1. 4-H Grows metal signs, 4-H window decals, and thank you cards are available for purchase at the Extension Office now, decals and thank you cards are $10, and metal signs are $15. Show your support for your 4-H members and support the Council in fundraising at the same time! If you have any questions about the Morgan County 4-H Council please contact Aimee at

6 Family and Consumer 4-H News Larimer County Fiber Fun Fest - February We don't have a date for this event yet, but this event is open to anyone, but would be of special interest for 4-H members enrolled in a Heritage Arts project. The day features a wide range of fiber arts workshops including some which teach beginning skills and others which are new techniques using fiber and fabric. In addition, there are vendors with fiber arts supplies and demonstrations throughout the day. You can learn a lot just by visiting the exhibit hall. If you want to attend the workshops, pre-registration is required on the Larimer County website beginning in early January at select the 4- H button and then Fiber Fun Fest. The workshops fill up fast, so don't wait to register. Clothing Construction - The Clothing Construction/Sewing workshop in June was a good start to help youth learn construction techniques. But, rather than trying to do it all in 1 day, this year we plan to set up a series of workshops with each one focusing on 1 or 2 specific skills. This will let youth actually work on a garment for their project. Here is what I need to know from you to get this planned.?? - When would you like a 2-hour session: after school, evening, Saturday??? - Do you have a sewing machine you could bring to Extension Office or 4-H Building OR would you like to meet at Sew 'n' Vac in Brush and use their machines??? - What skills do you need help with? PLEASE - Call me at or (jennifer.cooney@colostate.edu) to let me know what you want and need. MARK THESE FAIR DATES Here are the tentative dates events related to the General and Family and Consumer Projects. Fashion Revue - Monday, July 31 st Judging 1-4 pm Public Revue at 6 pm Creative Cooks Thursday, August 3 rd at 3 pm Demonstration Contest - Thursday, August 31 st Will begin shortly after Creative Cooks is completed (approx. 6 pm)

7 Livestock Veterinary Feed Directive On January 1, 2017 the Veterinary Feed Directive will take effect. This will impact the way your common animal husbandry practices are handled. To read more about this important topic please visit the following links to learn more Beef Camp Save the date: April 21-April 23 for Morgan County 4-H Beef Camp! This hands-on three day event with Kirk Stierwalt will be held at the Morgan County Fair Grounds. We will be covering Feeding and Nutrition, Showmanship, Fitting and Clipping. Space is limited, so watch for registration information. Please contact Marlin with questions; 2017 HORSE ID S Due APRIL 3, 2017 All Members with Horses are required to fill out ID s in 4-H Online, yearly. Three views of Horse are required. Primary Care of the Horses begins April 3, This includes leased horses. Check with Marlin if you have questions. 4-H Open Horse Riding 2017 APRIL 6, 13, 20, 27 MAY 4, 11, 18, 25 JUNE 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 JULY 13, 20 4-H Horse Show July 8 th Save the dates, for the 2017 Meat Quality Assurance/ Pork Quality Assurance Programs: Monday, May 15, 2017, 4-6:30 pm Tuesday, May 16, 2017, 4-6:30 pm Guidelines according to the State 4-H Office: anyone with a market livestock or breeding project who has not attended a training must do so, including poultry, rabbits and goats; anyone who was a intermediate last year and moving to senior (14 years old before January 1, 2017 or born in 2002) must also attend a training. Those individuals in the Market Swine project have different guidelines that are set by the National Pork Producers Council. Everyone enrolled in a market livestock or breeding project must sign a quality assurance statement on a yearly basis. This includes all new 4-H members with livestock projects. Members that don t meet these requirements cannot participate at the County Fair, State Fair, National Western, or any other major show. NO EXCEPTIONS Fair Board is requiring that all 4-H/FFA Members meet this requirement in order to show at the Morgan County Fair.

8 New Fair Board Livestock Rules Fair Board Changes For 2017 Identification and Weigh-In Dates 2017 Species Primary Care Begins Weigh-In I.D.'s Beef March 4 March 4 Horse April 3 April 3 Breeding Animals (Sheep, Goats) May 1 Dairy (Cattle) May 1 May 1 Breeding Beef May 1 May 1 Sheep/Goats (Market) May 6 May 6 Swine (Market) May 8 May 8 Rabbits & Poultry (Breeding) June 1 Pen of Meat Rabbits June 26 June 26 Pen of Meat Poultry June 26 June 26 FUTURE FAIR DATES: August 3 9, 2018 August 2 8, 2019 July 31 August 6, 2020 COUNTY FAIR DATES AUGUST 4-10, 2017 RULE CHANGES SWINE Body hair minimum length of 1/2 inch, excluding the head neck and tail. GOATS/BREEDING SHEEP All Breeding Sheep and Breeding Goats, and Non-Sale Goats must be out of barn by 5 pm, Saturday, August 5 th. POULTRY In the Market Poultry division an Exhibitor can enter and weigh only one pen per division (Chickenseither Fryers or Broilers, not both) and cannot show in more than two divisions. 8

9 Livestock Fair Schedule

10 Extension News OUT REACH REACHING YOUTH WHERE THEY ARE! MORGAN COUNTY YOUTH TO AGRICULTURE SCHOOL PROGRAMS FOR 3 RD GRADERS DECEMBER NATIONAL WESTERN STOCK SHOW TRIPS WITH 3 RD GRADERS JANUARY Tentative Schedule- January 9 Beaver Valley Elementary January 10 Pioneer Elementary January 11 Baker Elementary, Green Acres Elementary and Weldon Valley January 12- Trinity Lutheran, Riverview Christian and Columbine Elementary THANK YOU!!! TRANSPORTATION IS PROVIDED BY MORGAN COUNTY CATTLEMEN S ASSOCIATION & FORT MORGAN YOUNG FARMERS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION Also Thanks to the National Western Stock Show for providing FREE admission!! Order Trees & Shrubs NOW!!! The Colorado State Forest Service and Colorado State University Extension partner each spring to bring the residents of Morgan County, seedling trees grown at the seedling tree nursery in Fort Collins. The Seedling Tree Program was established as part of the Soil Bank Act of 1956 to help eliminate soil erosion. The CSU Forestry Service grows nearly 150 varieties of trees from seed in one of two ways; either bare root or grown in small containers. The nursery produces nearly 2.2 million bare root and 700,000 container grown seedlings on 180 acres in Fort Collins each year. Beginning in 2014 the nursery introduced small perennials and grasses to help with soil erosion and beautification of the prairies and eastern plains grasslands. The minimum acreage requirement of years past is gone, and now the only requirement for participating in this program is participants must use their seedlings for conservation purposes only and cannot resale them. For more information on how you can participate in this program, please contact the Extension Office or visit for the order form. Orders placed before March 1, 2017 will be delivered free of charge to the Extension Office tentatively on April 5, Horticulture Presentations coming this Spring! In the spring the Extension Office will be offering presentations on horticulture related topics. Currently the schedule includes a presentation over caring for new trees after the first year. This presentation will be held at the East Morgan County Library in Brush tentatively on February 21. Other topics looking to be covered include drip irrigation, straw bale gardening, raised bed gardening, and much more. More information will be available on these presentations soon.

11 2017 A Healthier Weigh Challenge Start on the road to "A Healthier Weigh" in 2017 and take part in our 12- week health and fitness challenge. The challenge begins with team weighin in January. A team is any 4 adults (18 or older) who will help motivate team members to set goals and take action to become healthier in Get your team together! This challenge involves weighing as a team (NO individual weighing unless there is a schedule conflict with weigh dates), measuring waist circumference, and recording activity with a pedometer, and weekly online updates on health and fitness. We ONLY weigh the team at the beginning and the end. The focus is on setting personal goals and strategies that will help you be successful, increasing activity to burn extra calories, and making wise food choices. This should result in a weight loss of approximately 4% of the team's beginning weight during the 12 weeks. The online updates for 2017 are totally new and are based on adaptations from a Healthy You. The registration for 2017 is $40/person or $160/team. At the conclusion of the challenge, teams earn CASH prizes for weight loss (based on percentage of original team weight), percentage loss of waist inches, and miles of activity recorded. AND, for those who have done the challenge before, we are working to adapt all components of the challenge, including the online educational series. Contact Jennifer at for information or registration form. Preserve@Home Do you want to learn how to safely can, dry or freeze your garden s bounty? Enroll in Preserve@Home, an online food preservation class to teach individuals how to safely preserve a variety of food products. Participants learn how to produce high-quality, preserved foods and the science behind food preservation and food safety. The registration deadline is Monday, January 17, The first lesson of the 6-week course opens online on Thursday, January 19 at 1 pm MST. Topics to be covered include: Food borne Illness causes and prevention, Spoilage and Canning Basics, Canning High Acid foods, Canning Specialty High Acid Foods pickles, salsa, jams, jellies, etc., Canning Low Acid Foods, and Freezing and Drying. Supplemental materials will include materials on planting varieties for food preservation, cold storage and root cellaring. The registration cost is $ Many of the supplemental materials are available free, online. Class size is limited. For more information, contact Jennifer Cooney at jennifer.cooney@colostate.edu.

12 Calendar of Events DECEMBER 1 - NWSS Catch it Calf Application Deadline 1 - Deadline for MCCA Heifer or Steer Applications 1 - Morgan County 4-H Council Float for Christmas Parade 7 - Virtual Maker (e-textiles and electricity), 3:30 pm, EO 14 - Morgan County Shooting Sports Leader Meeting, 5:30 pm, EO 15 - Deadline for Morgan County Fair Board Applications 15 & Agriculture Programs for Morgan County 3rd Graders 26 - HOLIDAY, Extension Office Closed 30 - Early Re-Enrollment Deadline JANUARY 2 - HOLIDAY, Extension Office Closed National Western Stock Show, Denver, CO Field Trips to NWSS with Morgan County 3rd Graders Leadership Development Conference, Denver, CO FEBRUARY Youth Fest, Ponderosa Camp 15 - Holiday, Extension Office Closed MARCH 1-4-H Enrollment Deadline to participate in the 2017 Morgan County Fair Janice Dixon Extension Agent, 4-H/Youth Colorado State University Extension Morgan County PO BOX E Railroad Ave Fort Morgan, CO 8070 Phone: (970) Fax: (970) coopext_morgan@mail.colostate.edu Web Page: Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.

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