News & Views

Saline County J

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Volunteers Needed—Watch For Date The Saline County fairgrounds is a tribute to volunteers. 4-H and FFA volunteers have helped build many of the livestock barns dating back to the 1960's. As many of you know the Sheep and Goat barn is being renovated into a new show barn. Hopes are that it will be brighter and allow the old space to be used for cattle blocking chutes. While we know we can't do everything the first year, we hope to make a good start. Early in June the Ag Society will be asking for volunteers to help install new fences, help remove some old, install new nozzles on the beef wash, hang gates, and many more items in preparation for the county fair. We aren't certain what date things will be ready, but we will give you a heads up via email, Facebook, and our website. We hope you will consider carrying on the tradition of volunteers building the fairgrounds. County Fair Event Passes The Saline County Ag. Society is offering event passes to 4-H members who help with the pre-fair set up. Tasks include, cleaning leaves from livestock barn, set up of poultry and rabbit cages and sheep pens, covering shelves in exhibit building and more. There are two nights 4-H members can come and work Tuesday, July 12, 6 p.m. and Sunday, July 17, 6:30 p.m. Assistance will also be needed at 5:30 p.m on the 17th to help set-up the 4-H Exhibit Building. You must chip in and help to get a pass and sign the clipboard located outside the Junior Leader Foodstand. If you don’t sign in you will not get a pass. Jr. Fair Superintendents We would like to have a Jr. Superintendent for each specie/ department. The Jr. Superintendent (13-18) would work on ribbon entry on an I-pad. If interested give Eric a call. No experience needed. Jr. Superintendent applicants in livestock areas may not want to be showing the specie they sign up for. This is a great opportunity to add volunteerism to your 4-H Career Portfolio.

LATE FEE POLICY REMINDER As we move closer to county fair we wanted to remind you of the “Late Fee” policy. Deadlines are set to allow our office time to process and send in your animal identification so you meet the required deadline. Prompt and accurate fair entries are needed to allow us time to generate reports, show programs, entry cards, etc. All of these take a lot of time or need to be reprocessed/ formatted for late entries. The 4-H Council late fee policy is $10 per member for those late with Identification paperwork, and county fair entries. Identification forms and or entries may be submitted up to 5 days past the specified deadline (County Fair only) and late fee applies. ID PAPERWORK AND ENTRIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS 5 DAY PERIOD! If you are late with State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben entries you are ineligible. Fairbooks Available The Saline County Fairbook is printed! Pick up your copy at the following locations: Citizens State and Bank of Friend, both Friend; First State Bank in DeWitt, Dorchester & Western; all banks in Crete; True Value, and Crete Lumber & Farm all Crete; First Tri-County Bank, Swanton; and the Extension Office in Wilber. The fairbook can also be found online 4-H webpage. County Fair Volunteers Needed With County Fair just a few months away, we are seeking volunteers to help with various contests, shows, etc. We need help with entry day (Tuesday), judging day (Wednesday), and release of exhibits (Sunday). When you receive a mailing or email from our office about volunteering, please consider helping out. Volunteers are the key to the success of the 4-H program. Adults (parents, grandparents) and 4-H members (12 years old or older) are encouraged to be part of the upcoming contest, pre-fair events, County Fair, activities and the Premium Auction. We need LOTS of volunteers to make the fair successful and enjoyable for everyone involved. Please call our office or email one of our staff members if you can volunteer your time for a day, half a day, or even just a couple of hours. All help is greatly appreciated. We know you want to help your children while at fair but if you could volunteer for a few hours, we would appreciate it. Fair is a big event for just 5 staff members to pull off successfully!

MANY DEADLINES ARE APPROACHING:

READ THIS ISSUE CAREFULLY AND ACT NOW!

Quality Assurance—For All Livestock Exhibitors—Deadline is JUNE 15TH! Each year 4-H (8 and older) and FFA youth are REQUIRED to complete 3 NEW Quality Assurance modules. You may complete an additional 3 modules this year to satisfy your requirement for next year. More for your money! NOTE: Please keep in mind what age group you are in. If you are at the upper age limit of the Junior or Intermediate divi-sion, you may not want to complete additional modules as you will have to move to the next level. Get your QA re-quirements completed NOW before your busy summer schedule begins. Links to instructions and the courses can be found in this issue and at www.saline.unl.edu on the “4-H page” under “Animal Science” then “Youth Quality Assurance”. Keep in mind that each 4-H’er needs their own email address. Families may not use the same email for more than one youth. Please be sure to write down your password and username as you will need these to re-login in the future. We are asking that you print off your certificates and send them to our office so we can verify your completion for 2016 and beyond. 4-H and FFA youth exhibiting beef, sheep, goats, swine, rabbits and poultry must complete the moodle QA course. Quality Assurance must be completed and certificates on file in our office by June 15th. Several youth completed extra courses for 2016, so your requirement may already be met. Call the Extension Office to verify if you are in question. Intermediate and Senior level youth have the option of also taking a written test at the Extension Office instead of completing 3 online modules. Study questions/practice test are found on the Moodle site. Please call our office if you have any questions or need help enrolling in the course. Keep in mind we do not have access to your password or username. You will have to request a password reset through the Moodle course.

Beef Fitting Area For County Fair The Ag Society is making attempts to have fitting space for everyone within the confines of the livestock area. All beef will need to be remain in the designated fitting area, any animals attempting to enter from outside the area after 7:30 a.m. on show day will be ineligible to show. They may exit after completion of the beef show. Beef Blow & Show Rules - County Fair & State Fair The County Fair and State Fair Beef shows are both Blow and Show. Beef exhibitors will be allowed only to wash (shampoo), blowout or comb their animals for the show. a) beef animals will be shown free of any adhesive, glue, paint, or powder products. b) any compounds with adhesive qualities that cannot be combed or brushed through or alter the color of the animal are forbidden. These include, but are not limited to commonly used adhesives and colorants such as Prime

Time, EZ Comb, Tail Adhesive, Ultra White Touch Up, Black Touch Up, Black Finisher and black show foam. c) alcohol, water, oil, foam or any water or alcohol-based products with no adhesive or glue qualities, or

artificial colorings are permitted. These include conditioners and commonly used sprays such as Kleen Sheen, Revive, Final Bloom and white show foam. County Fair Beef animals that violate these rules will not be eligible for trophy and are dropped one live score ribbon placing. All calves WILL be checked by show personnel prior to entering the ring. The State Fair policy on fitting violations has not been made public at this time.

Scoresheets For Your Projects Be sure to check out the scoresheets for each area you are exhibiting in for static entries. The scoresheets will help you know what judges are looking for and what they will be judging on your exhibits. You may not find a scoresheet for all your exhibits but most will have one listed. You will find them here http://4h.unl.edu/fairbook under each curriculum area. They will be found at the bottom of each curriculum once you expand that section. You can then view, download and print for your reference. If you are looking for one and can’t find it, give us a call. Bring Your Group to Raising Nebraska Are you looking for an educational experience for your 4-H club or members? Raising Nebraska is the place for you. There are several ways you can enjoy and experience Raising Nebraska. 1. A Program Just For You - Program includes a movie in the grain bin, scavenger hunt, and a feature program. Select from a program ready to go or ask about a specific topic you would like covered. 2. A Private Tour - Tour includes the history of Raising Nebraska, the educational take-away about the exhibits and exploration time. Visit http://raisingnebraska.net/ or email Beth Janning at ejanning2@unl.edu to learn more or schedule a trip. (Grand Island Oasis is next door!) Plan a club trip and see what Raising Nebraska has to offer!

Recently the Nebraska 4-H livestock advisory committee made changes to the 4-H/FFA livestock identification process for animals exhibited at the State Fair and Ak-Sar-Ben. Both 4-H & FFA will be using EID tags and DNA for all market beef, market goats, market sheep, and market swine exhibited at the State Fair. NOTE: Ak-Sar-Ben however, will require ear notches for swine in addition to DNA. County Fair swine will still need to be ear notched. Breeding animals exhibited at the State Fair and/or Ak-Sar-Ben will need to have a Breeding nomination card completed along with a $2 nomination fee on file at the Extension Office by June 15th. Breeding heifers will require a tattoo (4-H & FFA). Breeding sheep and goats will require a Scrapie tag for commercial animals and Scrapie tag & number matching registration papers for purebred animals. There WILL NOT be any online identification. Please refer to the chart below and at this link: http://ow.ly/Wo02H More information and form of animal identification can be found at: http://ow.ly/XBhF0 Youth will have until Aug. 10 (State Fair online entry deadline) to declare if a particular animal will show as 4-H or FFA. However, once you declare an organization at State Fair, you may not switch for Ak-Sar-Ben (4-H show only). NOTE: THE ENTRY DEADLINE FOR ALL LIVESTOCK AND ANIMALS FOR COUNTY FAIR IS NOW JUNE 15TH. In other words, if you are turning in ID paperwork on June 15th, you will be turning in entries at that time also! Horse ID deadline is still June 1st!

NEW Livestock Identification Changes For 2016

Don’t wait until the last minute to make your animal identifications. You will need to plan ahead. Will animals be shown at County Fair only, State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben?

Identification documents are different for State Fair/Ak-Sar-Ben so you will need to know BEFORE you come to the office to get tags. Take note that procedures and forms

of identification documents have CHANGED for 2016.

County Fair Information

2016 Saline County Fair The fair is scheduled for Tuesday, July 19th to Sunday, July 24th. Read the fairbook or visit our website for your area of interest. It is your responsibility to read what is required of you in each project area or if there are any changes or additions. Be sure to check the schedule as some show times have changed from last year. Remember all static (non-livestock) exhibits will be entered on Tuesday, July 19th from 5-7 p.m. in the Exhibit Building and will be judged on Wednesday. Don’t forget that the fair theme is “Blue Jeans and Country Dreams”. County Fair Entry Forms County Fair entry sheets are not mailed to you directly. They are available for pick-up at our office and through your club organizational leader. The forms are also available to download at www.saline.unl.edu on the 4-H page under County Fair. County Fair static and clothing/fashion entries are due to the Extension Office on or before Monday, June 27. Clover Kids must submit pre-entry forms as well. DON’T BE LATE AS LATE FEES WILL APPLY! ANIMAL ENTRY DEADLINE FOR COUNTY FAIR - JUNE 15TH In an effort to avoid families needing to come to the office to bring animal identification paperwork and a week later having to submit entry forms, we are requiring that ALL beef, goats, sheep, swine, rabbit, poultry, cat, dog and small animal entries be at the Extension Office NO LATER THAN JUNE 15TH. You wil l be turning in your identification paperwork and animal entries at the same time. No exceptions or late entries will be accepted. POULTRY Exhibitors - Revised Process for County Fair Entry—Entry Cards and Summary Due June 15th In an effort to streamline the poultry entry process for county fair, you will need to pick up your blank entry tags for your poultry entries at the Extension Office or have them mailed to you. We will not automatically mail cards unless you request them. You will complete one card per bird/entry and complete or circle any information such as breed, gender, age, etc. of your entries. You will then return all cards to the Extension Office no later than June 15th along with the

pre-entry form/summary that helps us determine how many cages we need. You can then make substitutions at county fair check-in time. You can get your cards from the card box and clearly mark/note any changes or corrections and return all cards to

the box. If you fail to note changes your entries will NOT be in the correct class. DON’T BE LATE AS LATE FEES WILL APPLY!

Clothing & Fashion Revue Judging If you are going to enter a clothing item or want to be in the fashion revue this year, entries are due no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, June 27. NO grace period. Registration letter and forms were mailed to all those enrolled in clothing projects. Forms can also be found at: http://saline.unl.edu/salinecounty4hpage, scroll down to County Fair, Entry Forms. DON’T BE LATE AS LATE FEES WILL APPLY! PLEASE NOTE: All clothing, Beyond the Needle, Crochet, Knitting and non-fashion Shopping In Style entries will be judged on Wednesday, July 20th at the Exhibition Building on the fairgrounds in Crete. NOTICE: The County Fair Fashion Show judging will begin at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20th (watch for letter with scheduled time) and public fashion show will be Thursday, July 21st at 6 p.m. We must have your narrative for the fashion show in our office by July 9th or you will not participate. Clover Kid Livestock/Rabbit ID Forms - Due June 15th Clover Kids enrolled as 4-H members in clubs, as independent members or in the Afterschool program who plan to exhibit an animal (rabbit, sheep, swine, goat or bucket calf) in an Open Class show MUST complete the appropriate ID for and submit to the Extension Office by the June 15th deadline to be eligible to exhibit animals. Rabbits should have a tattoo & other livestock should have the appropriate 4-H ID tag. Tags can be purchased from the Extension Office. DON’T BE LATE AS LATE FEES WILL APPLY! Clover Kid County Fair Entry Forms—Due June 27 All Clover Kids will be required to complete the entry form for your fair entries. You can pick up the form at our office or download the form at: http://ow.ly/rHZx300LyZU

DON’T BE LATE AS LATE FEES WILL APPLY!

Clover Kid/Pee Wee Showmanship Clover Kids/Pee Wee youth ages 5-7 will have the opportunity to participate in a Showmanship Show on Friday, July 22nd. Small Animal showmanship (rabbit, poultry, pets, cats) will be in the 4-H Exhibition building at approximately 5:30 p.m. following 4-H Cat show. Youth with larger animals (bucket calves, sheep, goats and swine) will participate at approximately 7 p.m. in the show arena. These will be non-competitive exhibitions, with the goal of allowing the Clover Kid and Pee Wee youth the opportunity to experience showing an animal as an introduction to 4-H. Clover Kids may show their own animal if present at the fair, or shared with a sibling. Pee Wee youth are responsible for securing the use of an animal already at the fair.

Presentations Contest, Teaching Trade Show and 4-H Filmfest To Be Held at County Fair Showing others how to do something takes a special knack and that is what the 4-H Presentation Contest, Teaching Trade Show, and Filmfest is all about. What can you do that you’d like to show others? All presentations should be about some aspect of 4-H. Presentations Contest - Individual or 2 person team. Teaching Trade Show - Individual contest; youth will engage a constantly changing and moving audience for 30 minutes by showing and telling how to do something while answering questions. Filmfest - This is a display of digital videos that show the recording, reproducing, and broadcasting of moving visual images. Youth will provide a 1 minute oral introduction followed by showing their digital video. Videos must be submitted to the Extension Office by July 15th. See the Contest section of the fairbook for specific guidelines of each contest. In an effort to showcase the talents of 4-H members we will be holding the 4-H Presentations Contest, Teaching Tradeshow and 4-H Filmfest at the County Fair on Saturday, July 23 at 3 p.m. in the Exhibit Building. Participants need to call the Extension Office by Friday, July 15. Please let us know what contest you will be participating in, the title of your presentation and what class you will be participating in for any of the three contests. Saline County 4-H Handbook and Clover Kid Handbook Please take a look through the Saline County 4-H Handbook and Clover Kid Handbooks posted on our 4-H page. This guide has been developed to help 4-H families become familiar with what is expected of them and includes information about the 4-H enrollment process all the way through making county fair entries, information on submitting a Career Portfolio and MUCH MORE. Mark Your Calendars! County Fair Shows Horse Show - Wednesday, July 20th, 8 a.m. Goat Show - Thursday, July 21st, 8 a.m. Sheep Show - Thursday, July 21st, 10 a.m. Swine Show - Friday, July 22nd, 8 a.m. Poultry Show - Friday, July 22nd, 9 a.m. Cat/Dog/Small Animal Show-Friday, July 22nd, 3:30 p.m. Beef Show - Saturday, July 23rd, 8 a.m. Rabbit Show - Saturday, July 23rd, 9 a.m. How To Prepare Photographs for Exhibit Each year we get several questions about preparing photography exhibits for the County Fair. We have developed a publication to answer these questions to help you exhibit your best possible photography exhibits. The publication includes information on Photo Showcase exhibits (previously called Photo Journals), Picture Displays, and how to mat exhibits prints with a “sandwich” matting process. The publication can be found online at: http://ow.ly/10gPlq or at our office. Data tags for your photography entries can be picked up at our office or printed online at: http://ow.ly/ZbczC

June

13-17 4-H Clover College Week

15 Camp Renegade registrations/payment due

15 Livestock Quality Assurance Must Be Complete

15 All Animal ID’s due at Ext. Office (Clover Kids included)

15 ALL ANIMAL COUNTY FAIR ENTRIES DUE AT EXT. OFFICE

20-21 PASE/Life Challenge, UNL

21 District Horse Show, Lincoln

22-23 Camp Renegade, Camp Jefferson, Fairbury

25 The River Run, Tuxedo Park, Crete

25 Horse Fun Day, 6-9 p.m., Crete

27 County Fair & Clover Kid Static, Clothing & Fashion, and Open Class Livestock Entries due at Ext. Office

July 4 Holiday, Office Closed

10-14 State Horse Show, Grand Island

18 4-H Trapshoot

19-24 Saline County Fair, Crete

August 1 Ak-Sar-Ben Entries due at Ext. Office

10 State Fair Online Animal Entry Deadline, 5 p.m.

20 Ribfest, Tuxedo Park, Crete

21 4-H Archery Contest

26 - Sept. 5 Nebraska State Fair, Grand Island

September 5 Holiday, Office Closed

19 4-H Career Portfolios Due at Ext. Office

22-25 Ak-Sar-Ben Livestock Exposition, Omaha

October

1 Equine Legacy Award

(Light Horse Record Book Due)

2016 4-H Calendar

Progress Shows, Clinics & Other Education Events Please visit the 4-H page of our website under Animal Science, then “Progress Shows, Clinics & Events” as we have added links to progress shows, livestock judging contests, and other educational opportunities for youth. New information is added as it becomes available to us, so check the page often. Filling Available for Pillows or Other Projects If you are planning a 4-H project that involves stuffing with filling we have quite a bit available to you at no cost. This was donated to us by the Crete Public Schools. Give us a call or email request to leanne.manning@unl.edu 4-H Camp Renegade Camp Renegade is scheduled for Wednesday, June 22 & Thursday, June 23 for youth ages 8-10 years old. This is a great way to experience camp for the first time. A camp flyer can be found at: http://ow.ly/10bVjY Camp is filling up, so get your registration completed soon. Call our office to have the registration form mailed or stop by to pick one up.

Horse Levels Testing In order to compete at the county fair, 4-H’ers must have completed level 1 by July 1st. District and state horse show participants must pass level 2 or higher for some events. Call our office if you have any questions. Riding tests can only be administered by a certified examiner. Please check with your leader to make sure they are certified before taking the riding tests. Advancement levels information can be found at: http://animalscience.unl.edu/horse-4-h-and-youth#tab3

Horse 4-H Equine Legacy Award An award will be available to 4-H’ers that complete the Light Horse Record Book AND the 4-H Career Portfolio. This won’t be easy to accomplish, but with some work, and record keeping skills (feed, care, inventory, and time), it can be done. Your name will be put on a perpetual plaque in the Extension Office, and will receive a personal award. For more information contact Eric or eric.stehlik@unl.edu. To be eligible you WILL need to mark this area on the county award application in addition to submitting the Light Horse Record Book AND 4-H Career Portfolios. Career Portfolios are due Sept. 19 in order to receive premium money. Award application form is due Sept. 19 and you have until Oct. 1st to turn in your Light Horse Record Book.

STATE FAIR INFORMATION State Fair Animal Entries Due Online By Aug. 10th Families will again be responsible for making their own State Fair animal entries online. Youth MUST be 10 years of age on Jan. 1st to exhibit animals at the State Fair. When we receive more information and the web address for making the entries we will pass this information along to you. The deadline for getting entries made on the website is Wednesday, Aug. 10th by 5 p.m. At this time you will designated each animal 4-H or FFA. Keep in mind if you designate an animal FFA and want to show at Ak-Sar-Ben which is a 4-H only show, you CANNOT change an FFA animal back to 4-H. Databases will be cross referenced with State Fair records. Entries not made by this deadline will not be accepted. When the entry website goes live, we will post on our website. State Fairbook The State Fairbook can be found online at: http://4h.unl.edu/nebraska-state-fair State Fair Schedule of Events A tentative schedule for 4-H events and livestock shows can be found at: http://ow.ly/hE1t300LPfA 4-H/FFA Animal & Livestock State Fair Schedule A complete schedule of all 4-H & FFA animal and livestock events can be found at http://ow.ly/HWRS300LOwB - Subject to change. BVD Test Required For All State Fair Beef Beef exhibitors MUST have their beef tested for Bovine Virus Diarrhea (BVD). Please read the health requirements on our 4-H web page, under State Fair at: http://ow.ly/cGMs300LPVQ

4-H Career Portfolios—Due September 19th To Earn Fair Premium and/or Market Premium Auction Check It is never too early to begin updating your Career Portfolio. The updated Portfolio is useful for several reasons: • earns you credit for completing the 4-H year • earns your fair premium and market premium auction check • records your activities for scholarship applications when graduating • can earn you a 4-H Council scholarship • can win county and state awards - including a trip to National 4-H Club Congress. FFA members are required to turn in a portion of your SAE records or AET record to collect your premiums. You can find the required FFA pages here: http://extension.unl.edu/statewide/saline/FFA%20RECORDS.pdf Speak with your advisor about the AET records. Career Portfolios need to include current year information and a 4-H story. Checks will be mailed after Career Portfolios are reviewed. The 4-H Career Portfolio can be downloaded at: http://4h.unl.edu/careerportfolio, scroll down to NE4H9000-4-H Career Portfolio. Portfolios are due Monday, September 19th this year. DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO BEGIN UPDATING YOUR CAREER PORTFOLIO OR FFA RECORDS.

News & Views Nebraska Extension - Saline County Saline County 4-H Council Box 978 Wilber NE 68465-0978

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Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln cooperating with Counties and U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The 4-H Youth Development program abides with the non-discrimination policies of the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Nebraska Extension Youth Development - Saline County 306 W 3rd Street, P.O. Box 978, Wilber NE 68465

Phone: (402) 821-2151; Fax (402) 821-3398 Website: www.saline.unl.edu Email: saline-county@unl.edu

4-H ~ Your First Class at The University of Nebraska

Visit us on the web at: www.saline.unl.edu

Dates to Remember:

~ Details inside ~

June 13-17 - 4-H Clover College

June 15 - Rabbit & Animal ID’s Due

June 15 - ALL animal county fair entries due

June 15 - Quality Assurance Deadline

June 25 - Horse Fun Show

June 27 - Static, Clover Kid, Clothing/

Fashion & Open Class Animal

Entry Deadline