March

2 Extension Council Mtg., 7:30p.m. at Extension Office

28 County Council Mtg., 6:30p.m. at Extension Office

24&25 4H Basketball Tournament, Melcher-Dallas H.S.

27 FSQA Training, 5:00 & 6:00p.m. @ Extension Office

April

6 Extension Council Mtg., 7:30p.m. at Extension Office

12 Leaders Meeting; 6 p.m. @ Extension Office

17 County Council; 6:30p.m. @ Extension Office

20 4-H Foundation Mtg., 7:30p.m. at Extension Office

27 Youth Committee Mtg., 6:30p.m. at Extension Office

28 4-H Movie Night

May

1 Livestock Id’s Due to Extension Office

4 Extension Council Mtg., 7:30p.m. at Extension Office

6 Sheep & Meat Goat Weigh-In, 8a.m.-11a.m. at Marion Co.

Fairgrounds

23 County Council, 6:30 p.m. @ Extension Office

29 Extension Office Closed - Memorial Day

Future Dates

June 16, 2017 - Communication/Clothing Day

June 23, 2017—Cooking Day

June 27—29 - State 4-H & Youth Conference @ ISU campus

July 1, 2016 - County/State Fair Entries Due to Extension Office

July 14-20 Marion County Fair

August 10-20 Iowa State Fair

March 2017 DATES TO REMEMBER

PAPERLESS NEWSLETTER

If you would like to receive the Clover Courier Newsletter via e-mail please email: kephartm@iastate.edu with your email address.

1

Looking for some

great ideas for Fair?

Please check out the State

4H site for ideas. There are

a lot of great resources of-

fered there that you should

take advantage of.

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/

Marion County Extension Staff

County Extension Program Director:

Dale Miller, dmill@iastate.edu

County Youth Coordinator:

Mindy Kephart, kephartm@iastate.edu

Ag. Program Assistant:

Lauren Petersen, lpeterse@iastate.edu

Region 14 Extension Education Director

Nathan Crane, ncrane@iastate.edu

Youth Program Specialist:

2

Thank You All 4-H members that attended Jr. Fun Night!

County Council for organizing and participating in a very successful Jr. Fun Night!

To the Poultry Committee for putting together a very successful Poultry Workshop!

Livestock ID's

Please be aware that ALL live-

stock ID's are due to the Exten-

sion Office by Monday, May 1st!

This is for everything that didn't

go to a weigh-in.

Start You Future Here at the 2017 State 4-H & Youth Conference

It is time to start recruiting for the 2017 State 4-H & Youth Conference! The conference is scheduled for June 27th -

29th 2017 at I.S.U. Campus in Ames, IA. The conferences is open to any youth that will have just completed 8th

grade through 12th grade. All youth are invited, they do not have to be in 4-H to attend.

Cookies for the Basketball Tournament

We are asking families and clubs to bring one or two dozen cookies to be sold during the 4-H

Basketball Tournament. The money made from the concession stand at the tournament funds

County Council. They use this money for events such as Jr. Fun Night and Barnyard Olympics.

Other Events at the 4-H Basketball Tournament

11:45 - Free Throw Contest Please sign-up in the concession stand area Friday night or Saturday

morning

12:30 - Clover Kids Game Any Clover Kid (Kindergarten - Third Grade) please join us by the an-

nouncers stand at 12:20

Marion County 4-H Basket of Scraps

Quilt Raffle Marion County 4-H members worked with adults to

create quilt blocks to be exhibited at the 2016 Marion

County Fair using only the materials

provided in their basket of scraps.

These quilts squares were put togeth-

er to create a beautiful quilt. This

quilt will be raffled off at the Marion

County 4-H Basketball Tournament

in March.

Thank you to Margaret Karr for put-

ting the quilts together and to the

Quilted Windmill for providing the

backdrop used at the fair.

Tickets will be for sale at the

Marion County Extension Office

$1 per ticket or $5 for 6 tickets

Winners will be drawn at the Marion

County 4-H Basketball Tournament

in March.

For Questions, please contact the

Marion County Extension Office

(641)842-2014 or

kephartm@iastate.edu

If you would like tickets to sell, please stop in the Extension Office

to pick some up. I am sure that grandparents and other family mem-

bers would love an opportunity to own your handiwork.

4

FSQA Training If you plan on showing swine at the Marion County Fair; or Beef, Sheep, Swine,

Dairy, Poultry, Rabbit, or Goat at the State Fair, you need to be FSQA certified

What is FSQA?

The Iowa 4-H Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) program focuses on seven Good Production

Practices that help ensure the safety of the food you produce.

When 4-H’ers meet the 4-H FSQA certification, they also meet the Beef Quality Assurance and Pork

Quality Assurance certification

Who needs FSQA?

All you exhibiting SWINE at the Marion County Fair.

All youth exhibiting BEEF, SHEEP, SWINE, DAIRY, POULTRY, RABBIT OR GOAT at the Iowa State Fair.

How do I certify for FSQA?

4-H’ers must attend a certification program every year to be FSQA certified.

4-H’ers age 19 on January 1 will need to certify through the adult program.

When and Where do complete the requirements for FSQA?

Training will be offered for Marion County 4-H’ers on Monday, March 27, 2017 at the

Marion County Extension Office.

There will only be two start times. The first start time is at

5:00. The second group will not start until 6:00.

No Testing will be offered this year. State requirements

will be changing for next year so there will be no ‘test

out’ option in the future.

If you have questions or comments, please call the Marion County Extension Of-

fice (641)842-2014.

Basketball Tournament The 2017 4H Basketball Tourna-

ment will be held on March 24th &

25th at the Melcher-Dallas High

School. The rules, rosters, and

information will be sent out to

leaders.

Uniform Contest This year at the basketball tournament, we

will be giving a prize to the team with the

best uniforms! Be creative. Have fun. Come

up with a style and design all your own, but

please remember that we are playing 4H Bas-

ketball. Everything must be appropriate and

reflect good sportsmanship.

Bucket/Bottle Lamb & Kid Class

This is a new class for the 2017 Marion County Fair.

Please see the description and rules below. If you have questions, please contact the Extension

Office.

Department 62 – Bucket-Bottle Lamb & Kid Rules

1. Will be shown on Monday @ 2 p.m. 2. Interviews will take place starting at 11 a.m. on Monday 3. The project is open to 4-H & FFA members of all ages enrolled in a goat or sheep project.

Lambs and kids must be bucket or bottle-fed, no nursing is permitted. 4. Lambs and kids may be dairy, meat, or wool/hair varieties, crossbred or straightbred, either sex

but must be: a) born after Jan. 1 and b) identified by a tag or tattoo; all sexually intact goats and sheep must have an individual Scrapie Flock of Origin identification tag c) project animal must be in the exhibitors care by May 1.

5. An exhibitor may identify up to 3 animals but will only show 1 at the fair. Animals are to be brought in, shown, and returned home on show day. Lambs and kids shown in these classes MAY NOT be shown in other classes.

6. Classes will be divided into two exhibitor age groups - (a) Grades 4-6 and (b) Grades 7-10 and further classification at the discretion of the superintendent.

7. Lambs and kids may be shown at halter Judging will be on what the individual has learned about care, feeding, grooming and showing of lambs or goats, and the general health and confirmation of the animal and the completed record sheet. Judging will be based 60% on interview and 40% on show ring.

Scrapie Tags

Are you showing ewes lambs or does at the 2017 Marion County Fair? If so, each sexually intact sheep or goat

needs to have a scrapie tag. It is a simple process to obtain a “flock of origin” number for your farm and to get

your free official ear tags.

You may order your free official ear tags by calling toll free 1-866-USDA-TAG (873-2824)

Premise Identification Number

If you are showing swine at the Marion County Fair, you are required to have a Premise ID

number. Each farm will have their own unique number. If you do not have a premise ID num-

ber yet, now is the time to apply for one. The process is simple and it is free. You may either

stop in the Extension Office to pick up the application form or visit the IDALS website at http://

www.agriculture.state.ia.us/premiseID.htm

Trophy Sponsors Needed

We are looking for some new sponsors for trophies for the 2017 Marion County Fair. Be-

low is the list of trophies that we still need sponsored. If you, or someone you know, would

like to sponsor a trophy please email Lauren Petersen (lpeterse@iastate.edu).

Champion Cat Over 7 Years Cat

Obedience, Prefered Novice Dog

Obedience, Graduate Novice Dog

Champion Intermediate Dog Showman Dog

Open Agility Dog

Reserve Champion Junior Meat Goat Showman Goat

Champion Division 1 Meat Goat Wether Goat

Champion Division 2 Meat Goat Wether Goat

Champion Division 3 Meat Goat Wether Goat

Champion Mare and Foal Horse

Champion Western Pleasure Mules & Donkeys Horse

Champion Walk-Trot Horse 2&3 Years Old Horse

Champion Aged Mare 10 yrs and older Horse

Champion Western Horsemanship, Grades 4-6 Horse

Champion Intermediate Ranch Horse Pleasure Horse

Reserve Champion Reptile/ Fish/ Amphibian Pet

Grand Champion Poultry Poultry

Champion Junior Poultry Showman Poultry

Champion Any Other Breed Large Fowl Poultry

Champion Mediterranean Large Fowl Poultry

Reserve Champion Large Fowl (Chicken) Poultry

Reserve Champion Game Bird & Other Fowl Poultry

Champion Intermediate Poultry Showman Poultry

Reserve Grand Champion Poultry Poultry

Best Meat Pen Rabbit

Reserve Champion Six Class Rabbit

Reserve Champion Four Class Rabbit

Reserve Champion Other Breed Rabbit

Reserve Champion Meat Pen Rabbit

Reserve Champion Single Fryer Rabbit

6

Basketball Tournament The 2017 4H Basketball Tournament is on March 24th & 25th at the Melcher-Dallas High School.

Good luck to all players, please remember the 4-H Basketball Tournament is all about having fun

and good sportsmanship!

Jr. Girls

Jr. Boys

7

Sr. Boys

4-H Movie Night

Friday, April 28th

6 - 8 p.m.

Marion County Extension Office

Join County Council for an evening watching a movie, hanging out with

friends, and eating popcorn and snacks.

We will be watching Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron.

Please feel free to bring blankets and pillows to lay on the gym floor.

Popcorn, some snacks, and drinks will be provided.

Please RSVP by no later than Monday, April 24th. This will help us plan for

the correct amount of snacks to provide.

Loving Hope Charity Hello My name is Maddie Eldredge and I am a 5th grader at Norths\Star and I decided to start a charity called Loving Hope. I got the idea from watching a video about a girl and she made a charity called “Good night, Sleep tight.” Loving hope is by a kid for a kid. All the donations go 100% to Helping Hands and/or Backpack Buddies. I gave a presentation for my club, the Hex-a-Poppins, and now I am also asking for your help. The things that can be donated are:

Shampoo Hair De-Tangler Conditioner Small Towels Deodorant Bars of Soap Wash Cloth Band-aids Toothbrushes Blankets (throw) Toothpaste Hair brushes/combs

There is a box in the office where you can put your donations and there will be little list of the things you can donate. I will be collecting the donations for the next two months and will be distributed by the end of May. Thank you -Maddie E.

Marion County 210 N. Iowa St. PO Box 409 Knoxville, IA 50138 641-842-2014

Return Service Requested

Non-Profit

Organization

Permit No. 35

Knoxville, IA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color,

national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibit-

ed bases apply to all programs.) Many materials can be made available in alternative formats for ADA clients. To file a complaint

of discrimination, write USDA, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964.