4-H NEWSLETTER. us on Facebook! Swine Weigh-In March 31

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1 DUBUQUE COUNTY EXTENSION 4-H NEWSLETTER February- March 2012 DUBUQUE COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE West Ridge Lane; Suite 2 Dubuque, Iowa (563) us on Facebook! OFFICE HOURS: Monday - Thursday 9 AM 4 PM Save the Date! Project Day February 25 Dubuque County s Annual 4-H Project Day will be February 25 from 9:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Dubuque County Fairgrounds. Project Areas this year will include: Woodworking Visual Arts Clothing Science & Technology Horticulture Return the attached registration form and $10 project fee to the extension office by February 17. Hope to see you there! Greetings Dubuque County Extension Family! I m Brittany Orris and will be your new County Youth Coordinator! It s only been a few short weeks in the office, but I m excited to start gearing up for many of the upcoming 4-H events like project day, communication day, of course the Dubuque County FAIR! A former 4-H member myself, I grew up on a small farm outside of Monticello, and had experiences showing a wide variety of projects from cattle, hogs, and sheep to photography, citizenship, and nutrition. Presentations, camps, showing livestock, and going to the state fair are some of my favorites memories, but what I enjoyed most about 4-H was getting to meet amazing new people just like you! I m eager to get started and meet everyone! Feel free to stop in and introduce yourself. I ll be out and about at different extension events and look forward to a great year of 4-H in Dubuque County! Swine Weigh-In March 31 4-H / FFA Swine Weigh-in will take place March 31 at Western Dubuque High School. Watch your mail and for updates! Sheep Weigh-In April 21 4-H / FFA Sheep / Meat Goat Weigh-in will take place April 21 at the Dubuque County Fairgrounds. Watch your mail and for updates! -Brittany Communication Day April 28 4-H Communication Day will be Saturday April 28 at 10a.m. at the Dubuque County Extension Office. Members will be able to give presentations, working exhibits, or participate in extemporaneous speaking. Groups may put together a Share the Fun skit or members can simply showcase their 4-H Communication Posters. Plan now to participate in this fun event!

2 LOCAL 4-H NEWS FSQA Training FSQA training is required for ALL 4-H and FFA exhibitors showing Market and/ or Breeding Beef, Swine, Sheep, Dairy Cattle, Bucket/ Bottle Calf, Dairy Goats, Poultry, and Rabbits at the Dubuque County Fair, Iowa State Fair, and/ or AK-SAR-BEN. There are two ways to become FSQA certified: 1) Attend an FSQA Training Session. If youth attend an FSQA session their certification is good for one year regardless of age. Junior members (age 9-11) must attend a training session each year. -or- 2) Pass an FSQA certification test. Intermediate and senior exhibitors (ages 12-18) may use the test out option. If youth pass the FSQA certification test after their training session, their certification is good until they reach the next age category. If youth are years old and pass the test, their certification is good until age 15. If youth are and pass the test, their certification is good until age 19. FSQA test out option will only be available on the training dates. NO OTHER TESTING TIMES ARE OFFERED! FSQA Training Dates in Dubuque County Monday, February 20 6:30-8:30 PM Dubuque County Fairgrounds 4-H Building Monday, March 12 6:30-8:30 PM Dubuque County Fairgrounds 4-H Building Members can check their FSQA certification status at 4-H Online. You must pre-register for the session by calling Brittany at (563) ALL LIVESTOCK EXHIBITORS NEED TO BE FSQA CERTIFIED! Dates for other regional certification sites are available at 4-H MISSION STATEMENT 4-H EMPOWERS YOUTH TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL WORKING AND LEARNING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CARING ADULTS

3 STATE 4-H NEWS State 4-H Conference: Brighten Your World On June 26-28, over 1000 teenagers will come together at the Iowa State University campus for 3 days full of speakers, workshops, mixers, dances, a banquet, and community service activities. If you've completed 8th grade, you're eligible to attend and you don't even have to be a member of 4-H! Participants will get to experience campus life and meet new people from across the state! You will get to learn new things to take back to your community and school, and in the process you might even discover something new about yourself! There are opportunities for you to share your talents with the rest of the delegation through small group discussion, the Conference Chorus, and a Talent Show! If you have a specific interest in animal science, you might want to look into becoming part of the ROUND-UP track! For information on how to get involved with this incredible conference contact your leaders or the Dubuque County Extension Office. REGIONAL 4-H NEWS Regional Rodeo Events The Miss Rodeo Iowa board is hosting their annual queen clinic Saturday, April 14 and Sunday, April 15 in Winterset, Iowa. Young ladies can spend a weekend learning how become the girl to watch out for when competition time rolls around. There is much to offer girls of any age, experience level, or familiarity with the "world" of rodeo queening. Registration deadline is March 26. Contact the extension office for more information. The Dubuque River Rodeo Committee will be hosting their annual High School Rodeo in May, at the Dubuque County Fairgrounds. Free tickets to attend this event are available for 4-H members to any of their three performances May REGIONAL Intermediate Trip Wisconsin Dells Join other Intermediate 4-H members in grades 7th-9th, from Jackson, Clinton, Dubuque, Delaware, Jones, Muscatine and Cedar counties for two days of fun as we travel to Wisconsin Dells. The bus will begin in Cedar County with pick-up stops in Jackson and Dubuque Counties. When: March Cost: $90.00 Includes two meals, overnight stay at the Chula Vista Water Park Resort, Cave of the Mounds tour, Pet Resort tour, water park access, snacks, teambuilding activities and 4-H project ideas. Registration & fee due March 2. Space is limited. Registration forms can be found at OUR VISION A WORLD IN WHICH YOUTH AND ADULTS LEARN, GROW, AND WORK TOGETHER AS CATALYSTS FOR POSTIVE CHANGE

4 STATE 4-H NEWS Horse Jamboree Come and join the excitement March 24 & 25 in Ames of the Youth Horse Jamboree! This exciting opportunity will allow you to participate in a host of activities, from quiz bowl and horseless horse projects to hippology and public speaking. Projects will also include photography, visual arts, woodworking, creative writing, and others! Entry forms are due March 1 and are available online at livestock/jamboree.htm STATE 4-H NEWS Scholarships Available Over 80 scholarships are available through the Iowa 4-H Foundation for both incoming freshman and continuing college students. Information is posted at All application materials must be received on site or postmarked no later than March 1, The Iowa Cattlemen s Foundation annually awards $1000 youth scholarships. Eligible students must graduate from high school this year, and meet any of these criteria: received the Youth Beef Team training, completed the Masters of Beef Advocacy, OR served as a county Beef Queen/Princess/Ambassador Application guidelines can be found by visiting and must be ed or postmarked by March 15, H Lock In Mark your calendar for Friday, March 16 th / 17 th and make plans for a FREE night of fun! There will be games, movies, pizza, door prizes - something for everyone! The event is free for active 4-H members, but we request a donation of three nonperishable food items to be donated to the food pantry. The event will run from 7:00p.m. to 8:00a.m. We need ADULT VOLUNTEERS for this event, so please let us know if you can help! You can start off the night with us and go home at midnight, or stay for the graveyard shift The key here is WE WANT YOU! If interested please RSVP to Brittany at (563) x 23 or borris@iastate.edu. Photography Contest The Iowa Architectural Foundation and Main Street Studio are excited to announce Snapshot Iowa to youth in grades The theme of this year s contest is historic Iowa architecture. One $100 cash prize will be awarded to each of two categories: 7th 9th grade and 10th 12th grade. Each student may submit up to three unmounted, black and white, 8 x 10 photographs. Mail photos to IAF 400 Locust Street, Suite 100; Des Moines, Iowa Entries are due March 14th. Winners will be announced March 22. LOCAL 4-H NEWS Youth Action Committee Volunteers Dubuque County 4-H depends upon enthusiastic and engaged volunteers to keep our program moving for-ward and improving. All intermediate & senior youth and adult leaders should be involved on a committee, so please let us know which committee you d like to join. We need help on all the livestock committees (rabbit, goat, beef, dairy, etc), plus Communications Day, Junior Day Camp, Project Day, and Awards Banquet. For these events to succeed we need your input and leadership. To learn more you are welcome to the next Youth Action Committee meeting February 7 at 6:00p.m. or contact Brittany at (563) x 23 or borris@iastate.edu. 4-H PLEDGE I PLEDGE MY HEAD TO CLEARER THINKING, MY HEART TO GREATER LOYALTY, MY HANDS TO LARGER SERVICE, AND MY HEALTH TO BETTER LIVING, FOR MY CLUB, MY COMMUNITY, MY COUNTRY, AND MY WORLD.

5 LOCAL CELEBRATION West Dubuque FFA turns 50! West Dubuque FFA is celebrating 50 years of excellence here in Dubuque County! If you are a former FFA member, future FFA member, or just a FFA supporter please attend our banquet celebration on March 25 th at Western Dubuque High School. An open house will be held from 11:00a.m. to 12:00p.m. with a meal and presentation to follow. Special guests include both Iowa State FFA Officers and a National FFA Officer & door prizes will be given. A silent auction and raffle including a 1952 Farmall H. Past members and community supporters are encouraged to share any information they have about achievements and history of the FFA. During the banquet, three to five former FFA members from each decade will provide some input on what Agricultural Education and FFA was like during that time. If you would like to do this please contact the WD FFA and Matt Lansing. To mark your attendance at this celebration event please contact the Western Dubuque FFA at westdubuqueffa1962@gmail.com or Mr. Matt Lansing at x3044. Calendar FEBRUARY 4 Dubuque Co. 4-H Night at the Fighting Saints 7:00pm 7 Youth Action Meeting 6:00pm 7 Youth Leaders Meeting 7:30pm 13 Extension Council Meeting 7:00pm 20 FSQA Training, Fairgrounds 6:30pm 25 Junior Project Day 9:30am-2:00pm 27 Spring Leader Training 5:15pm / 7:00pm MARCH 1 4-H Scholarship Applications Due 12 FSQA Training, Fairgrounds 6:30pm 12 Extension Council Meeting 7:00pm 16/17 Youth Leader Lock-in, Fairgrounds 7pm-8am 24/25 - Intermediate Trip to Wisconsin Dells 24/25 Horse Jamboree in Ames 31 Swine Weigh-in APRIL 21 Sheep & Meat Goat Weigh - In 28 Communication Day 10:00am MAY 15- Livestock ID entry submission deadline 15 Last day to enroll for /25 Dubuque River Rodeo