Click here for the PDF of the Newsletter

 

A Letter from the Extension Agent

It’s hard to believe it’s March!  I’m starting to get spring fever!  Did you know that the 4-H green symbolizes spring?! Green is a common color in nature.  It also represents life and youth.  To me, it also means a fresh start and new beginnings.

The other official 4-H color is white.  White symbolizes purity and high ideals.  We set high standards in the 4-H program, because we know that youth are capable of reaching them.  Nationwide, 4-H youth have a reputation for being respectful, motived and outstanding leaders. 

The 4-H motto, “to make the best better” aligns with the symbols associated with the colors.  It relates to 4-H’s passion to continuous improvement both personally and in our communities.  As an adult, I still feel like a “lifelong learner”, striving still today to live the 4-H motto.

What do the colors and motto mean to you?!?!  Send me your thoughts and I’ll include them in the next newsletter!

Sincerely, Allison Kosto Extension Agent- MSU Extension Broadwater County

 

County 4-H Contest Extravaganza

The County Contest Day is scheduled for Sunday, March 27th. If you have registered, watch your email for the schedule. The schedule, time and locations will be finalized by Mid-March. Good Luck everyone and have a ‘SUPER’ time!

 
Multi-County 4-H Camp

Camp will be June 7-10 near Monarch. Camp counselors have been selected!  Counselors are highly encouraged to attend the training on Saturday, March 12th from 10am-3pm in Harlowton.  If you don’t come, you miss being part of the decision making process for the theme, groups and workshop ideas.  Please let Allison know if you plan to attend.  Registration will open for campers in April.  It is open to any 4-H member (not Cloverbuds) in grades 3-6.  We are also looking for a chaperone. Chaperones attend at no cost and must attend the entire camp.  They must be at least 21 years old and go through the Montana 4-H Volunteer screening process.  Contact the Extension Office if you are interested.

 

Broadwater County 4-H Scholarship

The 4-H Council is offering scholarships to graduating seniors, up to $700. Applicants must have been active in 4-H for all four years of high school, enrolled and completed at least two projects during each year of high school, and demonstrated leadership skills. Record books must be submitted, along with the application, by April 1st to the Extension Office. Applications are attached to this email or available at the Extension Office. 

Fair Logo Design Contest!

Congratulations to Kaitlyn Noyes for submitting the winning design for Fair 2022! Thanks to everyone who submitted your designs. They are all on display in the Extension Office. 

Swine Tagging

IMPORTANT:  All market hogs must be in your possession by April 15th.  Due to biosecurity measures, no tagging and weigh-in will be held.  It is your responsibility to get tags from the Extension Office to tag hogs by April 29th.  A Market Swine Form needs to be turned into the office by that date.  There is no limit to the number of hogs tagged, but only two hogs can be entered in the Fair. Every hog tagged must be assigned to a designated 4-H/FFA member. Fair entries must match the tagging form and all animals who are housed in the Livestock Building at Fair must be entered in the Fair. Tagging forms are attached to the newsletter email, available online, or can be submitted via google form. Contact the Extension Office or Hugh Braaten at 406.439.8873 if you have any questions.

 

Project Add/Drop Deadline

Don’t forget to add or drop projects by May 1st! You can do this online through Zsuites or through the Extension Office. Project meeting and workshop information is only sent out to the members who are currently enrolled in a project. Make sure that your project list in Zsuites is accurate so that you don’t miss out on any information!

 
DID YOU KNOW?! - How To Get an Indoor Award at Fair

The Indoor Committee uses a point system to determine indoor Fair awards based on the ribbons that you receive. A purple ribbon is worth 4 points, blue is 3 points, red is 2 and white is 1.

Certificates are given to the top 4-H junior and senior exhibitor in every project (Cooking, Archery, Robotics, etc). Points are given for up to 5 entries/ribbons in every project. The more entries you do and the better you do, the more points you will get.

Medals are given in every 4-H project category for juniors and seniors. The project categories are listed both in the 4-H Clover and the Fairbook. An example of a category is “Engineering and Technology” which includes the projects Aerospace, Bicycle, Electricity, Robotics, Small Engines, Welding and Woodworking. In this area, exhibitors receive points for the top 3 entries/ribbons in each project. All the projects in the category are added together and the exhibitor with the most points in the category will receive a medal. The more projects you do within a category, the greater the probability you will get a metal. Quality is important too!

An overall award is given to the top junior and senior indoor exhibitor. This award uses the top 3 entries/ribbons in every indoor project (including animal educational displays) for the overall award. This is another area where a greater number of indoor projects may yield a great likelihood of achieving the award. Quality is important too!

Indoor awards are a little complicated so if you have any questions, contact a member of the Indoor Committee or the Extension Office.

Shiloh Rifle Raffle

Our 4-H Archery and Shotgun programs are selling tickets for the statewide Shiloh Rifle Raffle. The drawing will be held on June 19th at the Quigley Shoot in Forsyth, and you do need not be present to win. 1st prize is a $2500 gift certificate toward a Shiloh Sharps Rifle. Other prizes include a CZ-USA Custom Bronze 1012 12 gauge shotgun, a Sitka Stormfront Gore-Tex Jacket, Vortex Viper HD 10x42 binoculars or a Vortex Ranger 1800 range finder. There will be only 1000 tickets sold, statewide and each of our programs only have 50 to sell, so hurry! Tickets are $20 per ticket or 6 for $100. Contact Jason Noyes 406.949.4851, Todd Beatty 406.490.1361 or Daniel Truesdell 406.980.0640.

Does your Club Want to Win a Rootbeer Float Party?

The Teen Club has organized a service activity! They are collecting items for our local assisted living facilities. Some examples of items needed are: games (with large pieces), chapstick, unscented lotion, coloring books, large markers, colored pencils or crayons, hats, gloves, stationary cards, large print word finds, tea, bar soap, towels, etc. Any items that you think can be beneficial! See the attached flier for more ideas. Items are due by March 25th at 4:45 to the Extension Office. The winning club will receive a Rootbeer Flat party! Any questions please contact Karen Noyes at 406.949.4852.

 
Countywide 4-H Activities

 

Committee & Council Meetings


INDOOR COMMITTEE: The next meeting will be Tuesday, March 22nd at 6:00 pm at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend). We will be discussing project leaders and workshops. Contact Karen Noyes at 406.949.4852 if you have any questions or agenda items.

 

4-H COUNCIL: Next meeting will be Tuesday, March 22nd at 7:00 pm at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend). Contact Karen Noyes at 406.949.4852 if you have any questions or agenda items. 

 

LIVESTOCK COMMITTEE:  The next meeting will be Tuesday, May 3rd at 7:00 pm at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend). If you have any questions or agenda items, please contact Jason Noyes at 406.949.4851. 

 

HORSE COMMITTEE:  The next meeting will be Wednesday, July 20th at 5:00 pm at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend). Any horse project members and parents are welcome to attend. If you have any questions or agenda items, please contact Jan Finn at 406.266.4992 or [email protected]. 

 

TEEN CLUB: The next meeting will be after the County Contest on March 27th to work on the service project. Teen Club is open to all Middle or High School aged members. If you have any questions, contact Karen Noyes at 406.949.4852.

 

It’s time to start your 4-H project, if you haven’t already!

You should be starting now to plan for fair, update your Record Books, and complete your activities. 

Remember: 

Indoor projects are just as important to enter into fair and you can sell some Indoor items at the 

4-H Indoor Silent Auction!


4-H Non-Animal Project Activities


Interstate Exchange

The next meeting will be Wednesday, March 16th at 6:00 pm at Infinite Hope Counseling (108 N Front St, Townsend). If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Beatty at 406.490.1362 or Todd Beatty at 406.490.1361.

 

Sewing Workshops

The next workshop will be on Saturday, March 12th at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend).  Level 1 members will meet from 9:30-11:30 am and Level 2 will meet from 11:30 am-1:30 pm. Please bring your sewing machine. If you have any questions, contact Sarah Holland at 406.266.3473

 
.22 Rifle Workshops

The .22 rifle project will meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.  March dates will be the 10th and 24th at the Broadwater County Rod and Gun Club Indoor Range (96 Canton Lane, Townsend). Participants are welcome to bring their own rifles (no scopes) or use rifles provided by the Rod and Gun Club. This is a great opportunity to learn and practice gun and shooting safety, develop your shooting skills, and have fun. This project is led by John Pavao, Courtney Pavao, and Todd Kitto.  Please call or text John at 406.422.9590 if you have any questions.

 

Shotgun Workshop

There is a Shotgun workshop scheduled for Tuesday March 15th at 6:00 pm at the Broadwater County Rod and Gun (96 Canton Lane, Townsend). If you have any questions, contact Todd Beatty at 406.490.1361 or Daniel Truesdell at 406.980.0640.

 

Woodworking Workshop

There is a woodworking workshop scheduled for Wednesday, March 16th at 6:00 pm at the Cadillac Custom Cabinets shop (7Hunters Trail, Townsend). There is one more workshop scheduled for April13th. If you have any questions, please contact Daniel Harrigfeld at 406.980.0388.

 

Photography Workshops—Coming Soon!!

Our new photography leader, Lee Nelson, is planning some workshops over the next few months. Please watch your emails for more information on dates and times! 

 

 Robotics Workshops

There will be robotics workshops on March 26th, April 2nd, 23rd and 30th. Workshops will be held from 10:30-Noon at the Extension Office. If you have any questions, please contact Jeff Kirksey at 503.899.0566. 

 

4-H Animal Project Activities


Livestock Quality Assurance

A quality Assurance workshop is planned for Thursday, March 31st at 6:30 pm at the 4-H Building.  All 4-H members who plan to enter market livestock (beef, sheep, swine, goat, rabbit or poultry) and breeding projects in the Fair are REQUIRED to take livestock quality assurance (QA) every other year in order to participate.  Contact the Extension Office with any questions or to see if it is your year to take the class.

 

Market Livestock Activity Requirements 

The Livestock Committee recently updated the market livestock activity requirements. The new form is attached with the newsletter email. To show and sell market livestock (including poultry and rabbits) at the Fair all 4-H members must complete seven (7) “activity points” for each market project by the Fair entry deadline. One option is to complete 7 activities in your 4-H project book. The activities must be fully completed, dated and signed off by your helper. 

You may also choose other activities such as attending a workshop, livestock judging, outside shows, helping a younger member or organizing a workshop. These activities can either be in-person or virtual.  For each of these items, you need to write a paragraph about what you learned in that educational experience. The form, books and documentation must be turned into the office by the fair entry deadline.

 

Cat Workshop

There will be a cat workshop on Tuesday, April 5th at 6:00 pm at the Three Forks Community Library Conference Room (607 S Main St, Three Forks). There is another workshop scheduled for May 3rd. No cats at these workshops. Please bring project books, record books and a pencil. If you have any questions, contact Renee Kockler at 406.220.2820

 

Important Market Livestock Deadlines
Beef
Posession January 1st, 2022
Tagging FORMS dueFebruary 7th, 2022
Swine
Posession April 15th, 2022
ID Forms w/ Tag #s (turned in to office) April 29th, 2022
Lambs & Goats
Posession May 15th, 2022
Tagging and Weigh In (in person event) May 16th, 2022
Poultry & Rabbits
Posession June 25th, 2022 
Identification Form (turned in to office) June 25th, 2022
 
Beef Project Workshop

There is a workshop scheduled for Sunday, March 6th from 1:00-3:00 pm at the Ferrat Ranch (191 Ferrat Lane, Toston). You are welcome to bring your animals to these workshops for a weight check and to work on halter breaking for the first hour, then the last hour of the workshops will be spent in the shop on learning activities. Please RSVP to Samantha or John for this workshop. Any questions, please contact Marlo Leachman at 406.581.0531, Samantha Ferrat at 406.949.0869 or John Ferrat at 406.949.7911. 

 

Dairy Goat Maintenance Day

There will be a maintenance day workshop on Saturday, April 2nd at 2:00 pm at the Henke’s (100 Greaves Road, Toston). Meat Goat and Vet Science members are also welcomed to attend and/ or give demonstrations at this event. Examples of demonstrations to give on animal maintenance are lice, blood testing, wormer or horns. Please contact Brandon or Danyel Henke with any questions at 406.980.0995.

 

Poultry Workshops

There are three poultry workshops planned. They will be Saturdays March 26th and April 23rd from 9:30-10:30 at the Extension Office. There will also be one on May 14th from 9:30-10:30 at the 4-H Building. The March workshop will be about market poultry, the April workshop will be about poultry breeds, and the May workshop will be about showmanship. Birds are welcome to the May workshop. Members are welcome to give demonstrations at any of these workshops to count toward project points. Please contact Alice if you plan to do this. If you have any questions, please contact Alice Kroeger at 406.547.4343.

 

Montana Fair Junior Livestock Show 

The event will be August 12th- 20th in Billings. Animals participating in this show must be tagged on the following dates: Swine/Sheep/Goat on Saturday, May 7th from 8:00-11:00 am.  Tagging events are at the Public Auction Yard in Billings. For more information, contact the Extension Office.

 
Horse Project Update

Horse Identification Form and Vaccination Records: 

Members are required to complete a Horse Identification Form for every horse that you are using for a 4-H Horse project. It is attached to the newsletter email. The Horse ID form is due to the Extension Office on or before May 1st.  Also included with the ID form is the vaccination form.  It is due by the first riding practice or May 1st, whichever is first.  Make it easy on yourself and turn both in at the same time!  If you need to change horses after May 1st, then you need to submit a new ID form along with a statement (written or electronic) of why you are changing horses.

Riding Workshops

The Horse project will start riding practices in April. They are scheduled for every other Monday in April and May and then will start every Monday for June and July. The April and May dates are April 11th, 25th and May 9th, 23rd at 6:00 pm at the Fairgrounds. Depending on weather, the riding practices will either be in the indoor barn or outside in the arena. If you have any questions, please contact Jan Finn at 406.266.4992 or Donna Richards at 06.521.0717.

 

Statewide 4-H Opportunities

Virtual Leadership Academy

This fun statewide event is happening again this year.  The Leadership Academy is a network of Montana 4-H members interested in exploring and developing their leadership skills to serve their county in new ways.  Workshops are held via Zoom on Sunday afternoons at 2:30 pm, and each month features a new topic.  Dates are below.  For more information visit the Montana 4-H website..

March 13 - Successful Service Learning
April 10 - Lead with Purpose
 


Montana 4-H Congress Update

Save the Dates! Montana 4-H Congress is scheduled for the week of  July 13-16th, 2022 on campus at MSU. 

More details to come!

 

AMTOPP Greens Industry Scholarship

The Montana 4-H Foundation offers a $250 scholarship for 4-H age youth involved in, or wanting to become involved in, a 4-H project or learning opportunity associated with the “greens industry”. In this case, “greens industry” includes areas such as fruit and vegetable gardening, floriculture, horticulture, ornamental and turf grass, arborists (trees), crops and weeds, as well as pesticide application. The scholarship is funded by AMTOPP (Association of Montana Turf, Ornamental & Pest Professionals).  The application is available at this website. and must be postmarked on or before April 1.

Montana 4-H Scholarships 

Scholarships are available for graduating seniors and current college students.  There is a new supplication process this year!  Go to the Montana 4-H Website to learn more and access the application. Scholarship applications are due April 1st.

 
Rec Lab

This year’s Rec lab will be held March 18-20 in Hobsen. Broadwater County is sending a delegation this year and it’s not too late to sign up!  This event for 4-H members ages 13-19 (as of October 1, 2021).  Early bird registration deadline closes February 28th for $75.  The regular registration fee is $125 and closes March 7th.  Registration includes lodging, food, t-shirt, workshops and keynotes speakers. Members can use their “I Challenge You” Award for this event.  Additional assistance may also be available from your club, Teen Club and/or the 4-H Council. Visit the Montana 4-H website. for more information.  

Many teens will tell you Rec Lab is their favorite statewide event. It has a casual, fun and hands on feel. Often all of the activities including sleeping take place in one building like a school. It is almost impossible in this environment not to make new friends! People spend time between meals and workshops sitting at cafeteria tables playing games and getting to know each other. The workshops are very engaging and often hands on with project andactivity based topics that can be used in a club or camp setting.

 
Montana 4-H State Awards

Applications for a Montana 4-H Youth State Award are Due May 1 and recipients are recognized at Montana 4-H Congress. Recipients of this award also earn eligibility to attend National 4-H Congress in November. Members choose a project area where they have the most applicable experience in the areas of communication, leadership, learning (growth of knowledge) and service. The application process is meant to reach those members that have gone above and beyond their own club and project work. Successful award applicants have really mastered their project area and have focused their last few years on using their knowledge to serve and lead at the county, regional or state level. Examples might be youth that are serving on county committees, junior leaders that are mentoring younger members, junior superintendents, etc. More information and application can be found Montana 4-H website.

The good news is once a youth has done a state award application, college and scholarship applications are a breeze!

 

Montana Natural Resources Youth Camp

The future decisions of how our natural resources will be managed will be made by the youth of today.

For 35 years, the Montana Natural Resources Youth Camp has provided youth an opportunity to study in an outdoor classroom the scientific principles, economic realities, historical heritage, and social perspectives of today, to help these future leaders in their quest to gain a natural resources perspective that is informed and progressive.

We invite youth ages 14-18 and 13 (if graduated from eight grade) to spend one week in the rustic setting of Lubrecht Experimental Forest east of Missoula and learn about Montana's natural resources. The accommodations are comfortable, the food is great, and the instruction and friendships are the best.

Campers learn about forests, streams, soils, geology, range land, wildlife, and recreation, and spend a half-day rafting the Alberton Gorge of the Clark Fork River. In between the field sessions, taught largely by professionals that volunteer from a variety of natural resources-based agencies and industries, specialty evening programs, guest speakers, hands-on learning-through-discovery, and campfires provide for a lasting summer camp experience.

Find the flyer on the Forestry website. . Questions? Please call (406) 243-2773

 

Montana 4-H Shooting Sports State Shoot

The 2022 Montana 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational is still open for registrations. It is scheduled for March 4-6, 2022 in Bozeman.  The venues are Big Sky Archery, Gallatin County Fairgrounds, and Greenway Range.  Please visit the  the Fair Entry website to register. 

 

 National 4-H Opportunities

 

2022-2023 Academic Year Exchange Program

Host an international high school youth for 10 months and bring the richness of the world to your home! The States’ 4-H Exchange program is looking for host families for the 2022-2023 school year. The students will be form Japan or Korea and are between the ages of 15-18. The program is open to any host family that is able to provide the students meals and a bed! No host siblings are necessary! Host family applications are being accepted now! Visit the States’ 4-H Exchange website for more information.