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251 12TH STREET SE, LE MARS, IOWA 51031 I 712-546-7835 I 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. 12:30 – 4:30 P.M. LEARN MORE AT WWW.EXTENSION.IASTATE.EDU/PLYMOUTH/4H

PLYMOUTH COUNTY EXTENSION

LIVESTOCK NEWS

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

4-H NEWS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

WHAT’S INSIDE:

It’s a busy time of year, but don’t forget about what’s going on in 4-H! It’s your responsibility to read the newsletter so you don’t miss out on an exciting opportunity! Get identification done early! The deadline falls on a Sunday and our office closes at 4:30 p.m. on Friday! We will not be available all hours of the night and weekend to help! Once the system locks at 11:59 p.m. on May 15…it locks to us as well! It’s statewide!

High school members definitely need to join me at State 4-H Conference in Ames in June! There are also several workshops for you to take part in this summer! The fair will be here before we know it! Leaders will be meeting to get all their fair prep and we will share instructions on fair entry in the next Clover Connection.

What a jump in enrollment this month! We have 418 members! This surely puts us towards the top of the list across the state! We had 88 new enrollments this year! So proud of Plymouth County!

I did forget to mention in the last newsletter who the finalists where at the Volleyball Tournament.

Junior team: Senior team:

1st-Lincoln Toppers 1st-Grant Clever Clovers

2nd-Portland Preston Pillars 2nd-Kingsley Patriots

CLOVER CONNECTION – MAY 2016

ANN SCHOENROCK

PLYMOUTH COUNTY EXTENSION

County Program & Youth Coordinator

schoenro@iastate.edu

PHONE: 712-546-7835 FAX: 712-546-7837

4-H & YOUTH COMMITTEE Tom Bainbridge Yvette Bowen Jill Feuerhelm Jim Jauer Kristin Koerselman Randi Anstine Brian Lang Andrea Berkenpas Andy Schroeder David Becker Kayla Ruhland Dawn Kessenich Angie Schnepf Ben Vondrak Jill Feuerhelm

Clovers To…

Sheep Committee for all your hard work at weigh in. 170 lambs were weighed in…nearly 20 more than last year!

Everyone that helped and participated in the Ready, Set, Glow Fun Run! It raised about $1500 for the Plymouth County 4-H Foundation!

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.

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4-H LIVESTOCK NEWS

All livestock (beef, sheep, swine, goats, poultry, rabbit, dairy) exhibitors must be FSQA certified. Two training sessions are held each year for 4th-6th graders to attend. One during Christmas break and one on the Monday following Easter. If you did not make it to one of those classes, and need to be FSQA certified, you need to contact the Extension & Outreach Office. A list of those exhibitors will be

kept and a make up class will be scheduled once school is out. 7th-9th graders test out at the intermediate level. That one test certifies you until your senior level year. 10th-12th graders take the senior test once and that certifies them through 20 years old. Tests are scheduled by calling the office and setting up a time. They can be done any time before July 15.

FSQA (Food Safety Quality Assurance)

Identifying Your 4-H and FFA Livestock Projects *PLEASE READ…THERE ARE TWO STEPS TO GET YOUR ANIMALS TO THE FAIR FIRST IS IDENTIFICATION (DO NOW) AND SECOND IS A FAIR ENTRY (BY JULY 15)

The Livestock Identification process is part of your 4-H Online Enrollment. The deadline to have your livestock projects identified is Sunday, May 15 at 11:59 p.m. Our office closes at 4:30 p.m. on FRIDAY and we will not be available to help after that so get this done early! Those animals that will need to be identified by this deadline include: Breeding Beef, Cow/Calf, Feeder Calf, Horse, Dog, Goat, Dairy Cow, Yearling Ewes, and Swine. All rabbits must be identified by July 1. Poultry do not get identified. You will log into your family profile on 4-H Online. You will click on edit after the member’s name. Then in the upper left hand corner you will click on animals/livestock. Then add each individual animal. Feeder Calves and Swine will need to have a 4-H tag. Those are now available for purchase at the Extension and Outreach Office. Feeder Calf tags need to be put in the LEFT EAR! Horses also have the ability to download the four photos for the identification process as well. Those that have previously been identified should be able to still find

those photos in the ID section. There will still be a paper copy available if you don’t have internet access and then I have to enter it on your enrollment and then you need to confirm this. Remember that any animals you weigh-in, the office enters and you must go in and confirm the data. You have to have this done by May 15 or the system locks down and it will be too late to identify or fix errors on your animals. If you have to do the paper copy that needs to be in our office by May 15. Start working on identifying your animals now, so if you need assistance we have plenty of time to complete it. All breeding heifers must be identified by a tattoo! If your heifer has a tattoo in both ears they both get listed in the one field box online. If you have a purebred breeding heifer identified, a copy of the registration papers needs to be sent to the Extension and Outreach Office as soon as possible. DON’T FORGET THAT YOU NEED TO BE ENROLLED AND APPROVED IN 4-H ONLINE BEFORE YOU CAN IDENTIFY ANY LIVESTOCK!

MISSION STATEMENT 4-H EMPOWERS YOUTH TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL WORKING

AND LEARNING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CARING ADULTS

TEMENT

STATE ID REQUIREMENTS:

All animals must be owned by the 4-H’er with the exception of horses which may be leased.

Animals may only be identified by one member with the exception of horses. A horse may be identified by more than one member if the family includes more members than horses.

Maximum number of animals that can be identified by one member include: 10 breeding beef, 6 feeder calves, 20 dairy cattle, 20 dairy goats, 4 dogs, 5 horses, 10 meat goats, 20 meat goats, 30 rabbits, 30 sheep for state fair, 15 sheep for county only, 40 swine for state fair, 40 swine for county only.

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.

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LIVESTOCK NEWS CONT.

Swine Project Members

Are you interested in showing hogs at the fair but have questions or do not know how to get started? The Plymouth County Pork Producers are offering

their time and expertise to help any 4-H or FFA member. If you are interested in this service or have questions please contact Dan Sheehan 540-2974.

Horse Project Meeting

Swine and Iowa State Fair Swine Weigh-In

4-H Meat Goat Workshop Anyone interested in learning more about meat goats

should attend the upcoming 4-H workshop on Wednesday, May 11 from 6-9 p.m. at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds. Topics will include how to select, feeding, care, hoof trimming, fitting, and showmanship.

The Michael Harman family will be presenting! Members are encouraged to bring their goat and equipment for hands on experience! See the enclosed flyer for more details. Pre-registration is recommended!

A Horse project meeting will be held Monday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the Extension and Outreach Office. The horse committee will go through identification,

clinic schedule, rules, shows, etc. This is a great time to ask questions before the weekly clinics begin!

Tags are now available to purchase from the Extension & Outreach Office. Please only buy the number you will need. All tags sold to you will need to be accounted for in a pig’s ear when spot checks are done. Taggers are available to check out, but will have special instructions for disinfecting and returning! If you are eligible to enter the commercial class, you MUST enter a beginning

weight in the additional comments box so daily gain can be calculated into the scanning formula. It will be based with a starting date of May 15. No photos are necessary for swine identification online. Those that want to identify pigs for state fair need to make an appointment to bring those animals to the Extension & Outreach Office before May 13.

4-H members may identify additional lambs (that didn’t come to weigh-in) or hogs for Ak-Sar-Ben or the Clay County Fair at a later date. If you choose to have additional animals for either of these shows they must be identified under the supervision of Extension Staff. They will go through the verification process on your trailer. We will set up times for you to come to the Extension and Outreach Office to have this completed.

You need to let the office know that you have additional animals and also how many animals you will be identifying by June 1 so enough materials can be on hand. We will then set up a time to complete the identification process. Additional animals for Clay County must be identified by June 10 and additional animals for Ak-Sar-Ben must be identified by June 15.

Market Lambs or Swine for Clay County Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben

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.

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LIVESTOCK NEWS CONT.

Housing/Care of Livestock Reminders The policy has been posted several times, but please make sure you understand it. If you have any questions or your living arrangements have changed, please visit with the Extension & Outreach Office so we can help you! This policy originated with only swine. Since then poultry, beef, and sheep have been added. Those are the species that are spot checked. We still encourage members with all the other species to be the primary caretaker of that animal at your own home. The policy is not changing for this year, but please take note of what Plymouth County 4-H is asking of its members. This policy aligns with the Code

of Ethics each member signs. 4-H is a privilege, not a right, and it comes with responsibility. The housing policy is very simple, if you live on a farm with facilities, that animal (beef, sheep, swine, poultry) will be housed there, end of story. If alternative housing needs to be found due to hog confinements or no housing available at all, the alternative housing location (that meets the guidelines) must be pre-approved by the 4-H & Youth Committee. Meaning you need to contact the Extension & Outreach Office so it can be put on the agenda and a written explanation needs to be submitted for review.

There will be a Multi-County Livestock Workshop held on May 26, 2016, from 6:00-9:00p.m. at the O'Brien County Fairgrounds in Primghar. This is a great learning opportunity for beginning families to get some tips for their projects and preparing for the fair! 4-Hers may register for 3 species sessions. The sessions offered include: beef, bucket calf, dairy, swine, sheep,

goat, rabbit, poultry and horse. There is no cost for the workshop, but pre-registration is required. Go to this website to register: https://form.jotform.com/4Hregion1/2016-multicounty-livestock-workshop

Sheep Weigh-in Reminder A reminder to all the 4-H exhibitors that weighed in sheep or meat goats…after April 29 you need to go into 4-H Online and confirm that the information listed is correct. Compare it to your paper copy. If it’s correct click confirm. If something is not entered properly, please contact the Extension and Outreach Office BEFORE you

click confirm. Once its confirmed, it’s locked and none of us can fix it! You need to complete this by May 15! May 15 is a Sunday, so don’t wait until then because you won’t be able to contact any staff that can fix the error over the weekend!

Multi-County Animal Workshop

Sullivan Stock Show U Clinic for Cattle Exhibitors

Cole and Cael Moffatt (Portland Preston Pillar 4-H’ers) have organized Sullivan’s Stock Show U to bring a two day clinic to Le Mars on May 28 & 29. It will be held at the

Plymouth County Fairgrounds. Go to: http://www.sullivansupply.com/ssu_clinic_schedule.html for more information.

Dog Project

If you missed the Dog Project meeting be sure to contact the Extension and Outreach Office so we can email you a packet which includes the shot record

form. Dog classes will be on Mondays beginning Monday, June 6 at the Fairgrounds.

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.

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Applications forms, rules, and event dates have been sent to the leaders. Clubs are encouraged to nominate those members that will be 16 or older by the fair. Each club can nominate up to two queen and two king

candidates. Those nominations will need to be recorded in the meeting minutes and turned in with the application forms. These are due by May 13!

4 Meeting Rule to Be Eligible to Exhibit at the Fair

Please remember that all 4-H’ers must attend a minimum of four business meetings between September 1, 2015 – July 15, 2016 to be eligible to exhibit at the 2016 Plymouth County Fair. Please be

checking with your club secretary on your attendance if you are unsure. Leaders please be checking and notifying those members so they know what meetings are left for them to attend.

The Plywood Busters will be starting archery classes on Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. in Century Hall. They will be starting archery on May 3. Anyone in grades 4-12 is invited to attend! You do not have to have any

equipment! It is helpful to have the enrollment completed online before attending the first class! Contact the Extension & Outreach Office if you need assistance!

Plywood Busters Shooting Sports

County Council Meeting

Leader’s Meeting All club leaders are encouraged to attend the Leader’s Training on May 26 at the Extension and Outreach Office! Doors will open at 6:15 with food being served at that time. The meeting to review fair prep will begin at 6:30 p.m. You will be able to pick up your forms, sign up for hostessing the 4-H Building, and we’ll review lots

of instructions for the Plymouth County Fair and review the fair entry system. Then at 7:45 we invite your club treasurer to join us at the meeting where we are going to learn about club treasury, new record forms, and review the audits. We want you to have this information now so everyone starts out September 1 using the correct forms!

4-H NEWS

Members in the Crop Project for the Plymouth County Fair will need to raise two or more acres of soybeans, corn, or other grain. Joel DeJong will then meet with you in your field in July to do a conference judging. The main emphasis will be to learn what is involved in preparing a

seed bed, planting, growing, and harvesting a crop. Members need not do all the work, but are expected to have an active role. There is a worksheet you will need to complete for the judging.

Crop Project

The next County Council meeting will be Thursday, May 5 at 7:00 p.m. at the Extension and Outreach Office.

We will be making plans for the Sneak Peek as well as celebrating the seniors!

Fair King and Queen Candidates Needed!

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.

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Iowa State 4-H Youth Conference…June 28-30 Registration materials are available for the 2016 State 4-H Conference in Ames: Dive to New Depths. The conference will take place June 28-30. We will be leaving on a chartered bus on Monday afternoon, June 27. There will be an additional charge of $25 for the extra night stay which will be collected on the bus as we arrive. This is open to any youth that will be completing 8-12 grade. The cost of the three day conference (which includes meals, room, t-shirt, and workshop material) is $175. The 4-H & Youth Committee and the Plymouth County 4-H Foundation will each be giving $25 scholarships towards the registration fee for any Plymouth County 4-H member attending! Clubs could consider giving scholarships of their own also! They will be offering tracks in regular conference workshops, Animal Science Round up, CSI Crops, and Shooting

Sports. You had to already have applied to attend the livestock track. Let’s pack the bus…we usually have one of the largest delegations there! Let’s continue the tradition! We are always needing chaperones as well! Registration will take place on-line at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/iowa4hyouthconference After you submit the registration, make the payment of $125 to the Extension & Outreach Office. If you do not have internet access we do have a paper copy. To avoid a late fee complete the registration and turn your payment in to the Extension & Outreach Office by May 31. All 4-H members should make checks payable to Plymouth County Extension for $125 and the scholarships will cover the rest. Non 4-H members should also make their checks out to us but for $175.

We Need Your Help With Some Updates! Does your club have some funds your looking to donate or need a community service project? We have a couple of projects that we are looking for some assistance with! 1. The first update will be a new commercial stove in the 4-H Foodstand. In the past clubs have donated funds towards equipment and their name gets put on the piece they help purchase! If your club would like to donate funds towards this purchase, please contact the Extension and Outreach Office! 2. We will be adding shelving in one of the dressing rooms in the 4-H Building to help better organize and store all of the equipment in there. Let us know if you

would like to help make this purchase! 3. The Promotion and Recruitment Committee takes care of the Blair House at the Fairgrounds. They are wanting to refinish the hard wood floors in the Blair House. They are looking for a club that might like to do this as a project, but would require that there be a parent with expertise and experience in stripping and refinishing. If a club doesn’t want to take this on as a project you might consider making a donation towards to materials! Let the Extension and Outreach Office know if this is something your club would be interested in doing!

We Need Volunteers! We are looking for a 4-H leader or committee member to fill that term on the 4-H Foundation Board. This board meets quarterly. The Promotion and Recruitment Committee is looking for more volunteers. They meet 1-2 times per year to

clean and organize the Blair House! These are great groups to volunteer your time to and give back to 4-H! Let the Extension and Outreach Office know if you are interested in helping out with either of these great opportunities!

75th Plymouth County Fair Celebration! 2016 marks the 75th year of the Plymouth County Fair! Plans are underway for lots of fun events during the Plymouth County Fair! The planning committee is currently looking for old pictures! If you have any you

would like to share that would go in a slide show that will play during the fair please email them to anniversary75th@hotmail.com

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.

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4-H NEWS

Fairbook and Additions/Updates for 2016

The 2016 Fairbook will be posted on the Plymouth County Fair website (www.plymouthcountyfair.org) and the Plymouth County Extension and Outreach website (www.extension.iastate.edu/plymouth) on Monday, May 16. The Fairbooks will be mailed in late May. This is a list of updates and additions that pertain to 4-H and FFA exhibitors:

Static exhibits (4-H Building exhibits) must be entered on Fair Entry by Thursday, July 21 by 11:59 p.m. This is so all exhibitor cards and tags can be pre-printed. There will be NO entries added on Monday at check-in.

The fairgrounds has always had the hours of 7:00 a.m.-midnight. Starting in 2016, no one will be in the livestock buildings from 12:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m.

There will be no trailer parking outside the livestock buildings during 4-H/FFA shows. Trailers will park in the trailer parking lot located near Archies.

The Dairy Cow show will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, July 29 followed by the Goat show.

No drugs or medications of any kind may be administered at the Fair except by the order of the Official Fair

Veterinarians.

All beef, sheep, swine, and goats MAY be subject to chemical testing and analysis of saliva, urine, blood, other

excretions or tissues to determine whether a substance or drug has been induced or whether a substance or

drug has been introduced to interfere with the testing procedure if the Iowa State Extension and Outreach

Plymouth County Office deems reason to. Positive tests will result in immediate disqualification of the animal,

forfeiture of ribbons, trophies, premiums, and ribbon auction. A re-test may be done at the exhibitor’s

expense. Information on this re-test policy is on file in the Fair Office.

Each exhibitor with beef, sheep, swine, and goats will complete an Iowa 4-H Animal Care and Management

Disclosure Statement and turn in at check-in at the fair. This indicates anything the animal may have been

given at home leading up to their arrival at the fair.

The $10 bedding fee for beef will be collected when entry is made online. There are no refunds for animals

you sign up and don’t end up bringing to the fair. You also forfeit that stall if you don’t bring the animal.

Poultry show will have live birds as usual! There will still be an opportunity for you to enter three other fun

classes we had last year: recipe contest, poster contest, and egg contest.

Commercial class pigs will weigh 250-330 pounds.

Copyrighted materials in exhibits must include written permission.

For group entries of more than 5 exhibitors, only one ribbon and one premium will be paid to the club.

Exhibits cannot contain labels, printing, or etching related to alcoholic beverages.

Panoramic photos may not exceed 24 inches. Finished size of a series should not exceed 6 x 8 inches.

If you do not use the USDA, Blue Ball Book, or Iowa State Univeristy guidelines for canning/processing your

exhibit will be disqualified.

Poster Contest themes: 4-H Is…, Join 4-H, Dive to New Depths, Nothing Compares, 4-H Grows

No DEFINED STEM classes this year.

Cost of the $15 Challenge Outfit does not include shoes, accessories, undergarments, or tax.

Pride of Iowa participants will have 30 minutes to set up.

Only one poster/easel (not to exceed 24 x 36) will be allowed per entry in Pride of Iowa.

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.

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Calendar of 4-H Events

MAY 2016

JUNE 2016

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

3 Archery

4

5 County Co.

Mtg

6 7

8 Mother’s

Day

9 Horse Project

Meeting

10 Archery

11 Meat Goat Workshop

12

13 Bucket of Junk sign

up deadline Royalty forms

due

14

15 ID deadline

16

17 Archery

18

19 4-H & Youth

Comm. Mtg.

20

21

22

23 24 Archery

25 26 Leader Meeting

27

28

29

30 Office Closed

31 Archery

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4

5

6 Dog Class

7 Archery

8 9

10

11

12 Royalty Day

County Council

13 Dog Class

14

15 16 4-H & Youth

Comm. Mtg.

17 18 Ice Cream

Days Parade

19 20 Dog Class

21

22 23

24

Pride of IA due

Clothing Event

due

25

26 27

Leave for State Conference

Dog Class

28 State 4-H

Conference

29 State 4-H

Conference

30 State 4-H

Conference

PLYMOUTH COUNTY EXTENSION STAFF ANN SCHOENROCK COUNTY PROGRAM & YOUTH COORDINATOR schoenro@iastate.edu JANELLE JOHNSON COUNTY PROGRAM COORDINATOR janelle@iastate.edu JODI FISHER PART TIME COUNTY PROGRAM ASSISTANT jlfisher@iastate.edu JILL LENERS COUNTY OFFICE/PROGRAM ASSISTANT jleners@iastate.edu JOEL DEJONG CROPS FIELD AGRONOMIST jldejong@iastate.edu

May 2016

Tuesday @ 7 pm Shooting

Sports

5: County Council @ 7 pm

9: Horse Project Mtg. @

7 pm

11: Meat Goat Workshop

13: Royalty Forms due

Bucket of Junk sign up

Due

15: Livestock ID Due

19: 4-H & Youth Co

mtg. @ 7:30 p.m.

26: Leader Meeting

30: Office Closed

JUNE 2016

Dog classes on Mondays

12: Royalty Day

County Council Mtg.

16: 4-H & Youth

Committee mtg. @

7:30 p.m.

24: Pride of Iowa Entry due

Clothing Event Entry due

27-30: State 4-H

Conference

Plymouth County Fairgrounds

500 4th Ave. NE, Le Mars, IA

Wednesday, May 11, 2016 6-9 pm

Topics covered:

How to select a 4-H meat goat project

Feeding & general care

Hoof trimming

Fitting & Showmanship

Presenter:

Michael Harman Family ~ Hull, IA

This event is FREE to any Iowa 4H’er who is interested in learning more about their meat

goat project. Bring your goat, fitting stand, clippers, hoof trimmers and show collars. A

light meal will be served. Pre-registration is recommended (by May 6) at the Plymouth

County Extension & Outreach office 712-546-7835 or emailing Jodi Fisher

jlfisher@iastate.edu.

4-H Meat Goat Workshop