4-H Family Newsletter Nebraska Extension in Stanton County 302 6 th Street Stanton, NE 68779 Phone 402-439-2231 Website: www.stanton.unl.edu Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stanton4h Meet our new part-time office manager. Hi, I m Donna Bloom. My husband Rich & I moved from South Dakota to Stanton last October. We have children & grandchildren in Stanton, Norfolk, Lincoln & Cheyenne, WY. We love our home & being in a small community. I m looking forward to making new friends. KICK UP YOUR HEELS IN 2015 Take the Challenge - participate in the 2015 Challenge. Booth Watch The schedule is as follows: Friday, August 21 9 am 1 pm Bloomin Bloosom Friday, August 21 1 pm 5 pm Friday, August 21 5 pm 9 pm Saturday, August 22 9 am 1 pm Saturday, August 22 1 pm 5 pm - Wildcat Saturday, August 22 5 pm 9 pm Sunday, August 23 10 am 1 pm Sunday, August 23 1 pm 4 pm Call the office to reserve your club s time. 4-H Auction Items for the auction are due to the Extension Office by August 1. July/August 2015 4-H Dates to Remember JULY 29 Style Revue entries due 30 Entry tags ready to be picked up AUGUST 1 Auction Items due to Extension Office 3 Livestock Leaders Meeting, 6 pm 5 Pre-Fair Judging Day including General 5 Favorite Foods Revue, 11 am 5 Companion Animal & Cat Show, 2 pm 14 Dog Show, 9 am 19 23 Stanton County Fair 19 Indoor entries judged, 8:45 am 19 - Poultry Herdsmanship Report due 19 Poultry Show, 3 pm 19 Rabbit Show, following Poultry Show 19 Exotic Show, following Rabbit Show 20 Sheep Show, 9 am 20 Goat Show, following Sheep Show 20 Swine Show following Goat Show 20 Bucket Calf Report due, noon 20 Horse Show, 3 pm 21 Beef Show, 9 am 21 Bucket Calf Show, following Beef Show 22 Livestock Judging Contest, 10 am 23 Style Show, 4 pm 23 4-H Auction, following Style Show 23 Awards Program following Auction 25 State Fair Exhibits (nonperishable) due in office, 10 am. 25 Perishable State Fair Exhibits (Food & Horticulture) due in office, 2 pm SEPTEMBER 9 11 Pick up State Fair exhbits at office
Livestock News Poultry Exhibitors REMINDER: No LIVE poultry at the county fair. All youth enrolled in poultry should have received the 2015 rules in the mail. They are also posted on our website. Herdsmanship Poultry herdsmanship will be a report. The report form is on our website or stop by the office for a copy. Report is due to the office on Wednesday, August 19 BEFORE the rabbit and poultry show. You need to pre-enter the poultry entries you want to talk to the judge about. Herdsmanship guidelines are in the 2015 fairbook. Beef, sheep, goat, horse, rabbit and poultry will be judged separately with 1 st and 2 nd awards for each specie. Since there will be no live poultry at the fair, poultry herdsmanship will be judged on a report. The report form is available at the office or on our website. It is due to the office on Wednesday, August 19 before the rabbit and poultry show. Swine will not be eligible for herdsmanship. Overall 4-H ers can only win 1 st place once and 2 nd place once. Bucket Calf Obstacle Course All bucket calf exhibitors may participate in the obstacle course. Guidelines were emailed to all exhibitors who ID d bucket calves. Bucket Calf Record Books - Record books are one part of the ribbon placing for bucket calves. They are due in the office at noon on Thursday, August 20 so they can be judged. They are available at the office for 50ȼ. Horse Exhibitors Rough Riders will be having weekly practice on Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm at the fairgrounds. Thursday, July 23 will be the first practice. All horse exhibitors are encouraged to attend. If you have questions, call or text Jon Hansen at 402-750-7832. Livestock Leaders Meeting - Monday, August 3, 6 pm at the Extension Office. Beef Entry Time Beef entry time for fair will be Wednesday, August 19 from 7:30 to 9 pm ONLY.
Change in schedule Judging for General Projects has been moved to Pre-fair Judging Day on August 5. Due to the change, any General Projects that come to be judged on August 19 will still be judged but will be ineligible for State Fair. 2015 Fairbook Home Environment Guidelines: Supporting information is required for all Home Environment exhibits. Attach information to explain steps taken. Information must also include element or principle of design used. Tags are available that have been designed to make this easier for you. Stop by the office or get them off the website. The black dropbox on the north side of the office by the back door is available for your convenience. Please feel free to drop off forms or anything else you need to leave for the office. Stanton County Fair tickets The fairboard has set the following policy for entry fees: $10 admission Friday night at the gate and $10 admission Saturday night at the gate. They will probably start taking tickets sometime in the afternoon on both days. 4-H ers 13 and up will receive a free ticket if they exhibit at the fair and 12 and under are free. No complimentary passes or reduced rate leader passes will be given. Horticulture Exhibitors You may transport your horticulture exhibits to the fair in a box but bring a paper plate to display exhibit on for judging. It makes it easier for the judge to see your exhibit. Free downloads are available to help you with preparing your exhibits for the fair. Selecting and Preparing Vegetables, Herbs & Fruit and Preparing Cut Flowers are on our website or stop by the office for a copy. One tip is to remove any leaves on the flower stem that will be in water. Points will be deducted for foliage below the water line.
Congratulations to Wildcat 4-H Club for being awarded a $500 NIFA grant! This award recognizes 4-H Clubs for the work of the individuals in the club and the community service work of the entire club. Thank-You to the Donors A Thank-You Station will be located in the Extension Office. All Grand and Reserve Champion winners and 4-H ers receiving livestock premium money will need to complete thank-you notes to donors. They must be written before you receive your money. Premium money will be available on the Monday after clean-up day. The Color of the Ribbons During the fair and at events; purple, blue, red, & white ribbons are awarded, but what does each ribbon mean? Every 4-H exhibit receives a ribbon based on comparing the project with an ideal standard, not against each other. The red ribbon is actually the foundation and the starting point of judging. Red means the exhibit is average. It meets all minimum standards, and has visible signs of needed improvements. Receiving a red ribbon on an exhibit doesn t mean the exhibit is bad, it just means that it has lots of potential. When a youth receives a red ribbon, take some time and read the comments from the judge, because a red ribbon is a great learning opportunity. After all, 4-H is all about the learning experience. Blue ribbons are awarded to the exhibits that are above average. It exceeds the minimum standard and may have minor flaws where improvements can be made. When you go the fair, the majority of the ribbons are probably blue and that is because the 4-H youth have taken the time to look up the requirements for the project(s). Purple ribbons mean an exhibit is outstanding by all standards. Purples are given to those exhibits that exceed expectation and prove a 4-H er went above and beyond to create a project that excels. Stop and take the time to study these purple ribbon exhibits - you will be amazed by the effort put into them. White ribbons are below average. For whatever reasons, it fails to meet the minimum standards. It may be under-baked, not finished, missing parts, missing supporting information, or may not have met any of the standards. A white ribbon shows a 4-H er they have work to do in order to earn a higher ribbon placing before their next project. he ribbon color does not mean anything unless you take the time to read the judges comments or listen to their critiques, so you can learn from another s viewpoint and grow. 4-H is all about learning from doing!
FAIR INFORMATION Pre-entry Forms Pre-entry forms were mailed to each 4- H er in early July. Deadline for preentries July 20. Please get these turned in as soon as possible. Make sure to include all your fair exhibits indoor, large & small animals. Indoor exhibit entry tags will be printed from your preentry form, so please try to be as complete as possible. Entry tags will be available for pick up on July 30. All indoor exhibits must have entry tags attached. Cloverbud Cloverbuds bringing livestock or small animals to the fair, do not need to preenter, but please let us know if you will need any pens or cages. Cloverbud tags for indoor exhibits are available at the Extension Office. Tags will need to handwritten with name, address, age, club and entry description. Style Revue Entry Forms All 4-H ers enrolled in Clothing & Quilt Quest projects have been mailed a Style Revue entry form. Please complete form along with narrative for each style revue entry. Deadline July 29. Judging will take place August 5 at 8:45 am. Exhibit Hall Check-in page is enclosed. Procedures for judging day are outlined for you. Pre-Fair Judging Day August 5 All clothing, style revue, quilts, home environment, photography & GENERAL exhibits will be entered at the Exhibit Hall between 8 8:45 am. Judging begins at 8:45 am. Favorite foods revue judging will be at 11 am. Companion animal and cat show will be held at 2 pm at the Extension Office break room. Health papers are required. Please turn into the Extension Office. Dog Show The Dog Show will be held on Friday, August 14 at 9 am at the Fair Board Shelter by the baseball field. Health papers need to be turned in to the office prior to the fair. Ruan Pohlman also needs a copy. Horticulture Pre-entry Forms will be mailed in late July. Bring those to the office during entry time and tags will be printed for you. Forms must be complete with the variety or cultivar name. Fair Judging August 19 Ag Miscellaneous, Foods & Horticulture exhibits will be judged August 19. Entries will be taken Tuesday, August 18 from 5:15-6:30 pm & Wednesday, August 19 7:30 8:30 am. Judging begins at 8:45 am. Interview Judging All 4-H ers are encouraged to interview judge their indoor exhibits. Visit with the judge about your fair entry. Parents can listen in on the interview.
Sunday August 23 Schedule 4 pm - Public Style Revue Please get your garments from your booth and be ready to go by 3:50 pm. The style revue order will be posted for you. If you cannot attend on Style Revue day, you may model at the Public Style Revue, but will receive no ribbon or premium. 4-H Auction - will follow the Style Revue. If donating any food items, be sure they are fresh and have a way to be kept cool throughout the afternoon while the purchaser attends fair events. The 4-H Council uses this money to support the 4-H program. The Friends of 4-H plaques will be presented. 4-H Awards Program The Awards Program will follow the 4-H Auction. An awards recipient list will be posted by the north door at the exhibit hall. If your name is circled, you will be receiving a special recognition. Your name and award will be read and you can come forward to receive them and have your picture taken. During the awards program, please west your 4-H t-shirt or the outfit you showing in Style Revue. All Leaders and 4-H ers are encouraged to attend the 4-H Achievement Awards and 4-H Fair Awards. State Fair Exhibits If you have the privilege of having one (or more) of your indoor exhibits selected for State Fair, you will find a green Selected for State Fair ribbon and a bright pink State Fair exhibitor letter attached to your exhibit. The Extension Office will transport your exhibit both to and back from the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island. Large items or furniture will need to be transported by the exhibitor to State Fair due to space. IMPORTANT Deadline Information NON-PERISHABLE exhibits You may bring your State Fair exhibits to the Extension Office on Sunday evening of the Stanton County Fair OR make any necessary changes and bring them to the office by Monday, August 24 or Tuesday August 25 by 10 am. Please follow State Fair rules in getting your exhibit ready. All PERISHABLE exhibits (Food & Horticulture) exhibits need to be at the Extension Office no later than Tuesday, August 25 at 2 pm. After State Fair please pick up your exhibits Wednesday through Friday, September 9-11. Please be prompt at picking up your State Fair exhibits.