Becker County 4-H Clover Connection

Come make tie dye, fruit pizza, and bird feeders with the 4-H ambassadors!

All Cloverbuds and 4-H'ers welcome, activities are age appropriate for youth in K-6.

Where: Extension Office Meeting Room

When: April 29, 2023

Time: 9:30am - 11:30am

**Bring: Prewashed White T-shirt or pillow case for tie-dye.

The Livestock Information Meeting will be May 11th at 7:00pm

• Extension staff and species project leaders will be at the livestock info meeting to provide information and answer any questions you might have about the selection, care, or showing of your livestock at the county fair, state fair, etc.
• 4-H'ers who would like to exhibit beef, dairy, dog, goat, horse, llama, rabbit, sheep, or swine at the County Fair, must have them identified and entered in 4HOnline by May 15.

In 2023 Becker County 4-H members will have a new and unique opportunity. The 4-H Fair Ambassadors will be a group of dedicated youth in grades 6-12 that are interested in leadership, communication skills, public speaking, and of course the Becker County Fair. We will start team building, ice breakers, learning some awesome "soft skills" and then put them to the test as we assist with the Becker County Fair. Our first meeting will be May 25th at 7:00pm! RSVP to Elliott at lawre735@umn.edu if you're interested.

Livestock Quality Assurance & Ethics Training (LQAE) will be held in county this year. We are having the training on June 6th from 5:00pm-8:00pm at the Extension Office.

• All youth participating as a State Fair 4-H Livestock Exhibitor (Grades 6+) in beef, dairy, sheep, swine, poultry, rabbits, meat and dairy goat, and llama – alpaca must have completed LQA&E Training prior to the county fair.
• Minnesota 4-H youth are required to participate in LQA&E Training in order to be eligible for participation in Minnesota 4-H State Fair shows. You can look in 4honline under “trainings” to check the status of your LQAE training.

Register here: https://z.umn.edu/BeckerLQAE

May 20th from 9:00am-11:00am at the Becker County Fairgrounds

If you are showing market goat, sheep, or swine at the county fair, please bring your animals to this weigh in. If you do not bring your animal, please contact the project leader(s) to set up a time for a home visit or alternative to verify the animals are properly ID’d.

Why participate?

• Your market animal’s Rate of Gain needs to be determined for the Livestock Auction Record
• Rate of Gain recognition and awards will be given at the fair
• Proper identification of your market animal needs to be verified

Why is rate of gain important?

• Faster growth means that the animal achieves market weight in the shortest amount of time using the least amount of feed so that the highest price can be received. In most livestock species, the most cost-efficient feed conversion and the highest average daily gain are the primary factors determining efficiency of production.

Meat Goat & Sheep Project Leader

Travis Schauer (218) 849-1925

Swine Project Leader

Matt Moore (218 841-9899

The following steps must be completed to become a fully certified 4-H SS&W Adult Instructor. All steps in the process can be found in one registration form for each in-person training at Shooting Sports & Wildlife Leader Certification Registration.

• Step 1 - Complete the National 4-H Shooting Sports Instructor online training course - This online training will fulfill many traditionally in-person instruction hours in volunteerism and positive youth development. There is no end date to complete, but will need to be completed prior to attending a one-day in-person discipline training. This course takes about 5 hours to complete. You will only have to complete this step once unless there are major changes in the future.

• Step 2 - View recorded Minnesota 4-H SS&W Risk Management webinar - This recorded session is 50 minutes in length and will be emailed to you. A survey will need to be completed to record completion of the video.

• Step 3 - Attend a one day in-person discipline training - Check the Shooting Sports & Wildlife Leader Training web site for available dates and registration links.

Youth leaders do not need to complete Step 1, they must complete Step 2 and register for an in-person discipline training. Recertifications (every 7 years) - please see the website for requirements.

Thanks to the generosity of the Becker County 4-H Council we have funding available for ALL 4-H members to receive financial assistance with any trips or camps they want to go to. You will need pay for the event in full. After the event has taken place you have 30 days to fill out the scholarship request form (found here) and then you will be reimbursed for the scholarship amount. The scholarship amount is dependent on how much the event/trip/camp costs. The council will *usually pay for up to half of the cost.

*For certain high price trip i.e. CWF the council will pay up to a certain amount

We are looking for you to submit your club news to be featured in the monthly newsletter. This is a great way to show off your reporter skills and feature your club and all of the awesome stuff your club does! Email your club news to Elliott at lawre735@umn.edu before the end of every month to be featured in that month's eNewsletter!

This year, State Arts-In will celebrate its 50th anniversary as participants put together a very special show with lots of alumni support and appearances throughout the experience. Youth in grades 9+ can be a part of this community of young adults. They will put together a show, develop new skills, and grow in leadership, teamwork and goal setting. This event will take place on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Aug. 10 - 17 and Aug. 22 - Sept. 4. $50 discount for registrations completed by June 30! Learn more and register.

Curious what crop scouting is all about? Interested, but have questions? No clue what crop scouting means? If any of these questions resonate with you, make sure to join us on Wednesday, May 17 at noon, 3:30 p.m., or 7:30 p.m. to learn more about crop scouting. Sign up by May 16 to get a reminder email with the webinar link. If none of these times work, no problem - sign up and we'll send you the webinar recording.

Sign up.

Register now for Youth Exploring Leadership and Learning Opportunities! This year the State Ambassadors are excited to host youth in grades 7+ at Bemidji State University June 13 - 16. This year at YELLO youth will have the chance to participate in small group discussions, service projects, field trips and social activities. Learn more and register.

• 4-H Ambassadors Make-N-Take 4/29/23 9:30am @the extension office
  
• 4-H Ambassadors Meeting- 5/8/23 6:00pm @the extension office
• 4-H Council Meeting- 5/8/23 6:45pm @the extension office
• Livestock Information Meeting- 5/11/23 7:00pm @the extension office
• Livestock Committee Meeting- 5/11/23 8:00pm @the extension office
• Animal ID Deadline- 5/15/23 (breeding beef, cow/calf pairs, prospect calves, dairy, dairy goats, dogs, horses, llamas/alpacas, meat goats, poultry (pigeons/doves), rabbits, sheep and swine)
• Livestock Weigh-In 5/20/23 9:00am @the Becker County Fairgrounds
• LQAE Training- 6/6/23 5:00pm @the extension office

4-H Youth Development is a hands-on learning program for Minnesota youth. We offer online, small group and independent learning experiences for youth of all ages. In 4-H, youth choose the topic they find interesting and caring adults support their learning and leadership. From agronomy to space exploration and creative arts to outdoor adventures, 4-H has just the right learning experience for young people.

Email: lawre735@umn.edu
Website: extension.umn.edu/becker
Location: 1120 8th St SE, Detroit Lakes, MN, USA
Phone: 218-846-7328
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beckercounty4h
Twitter: @beckercounty4h

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