Sibley County 4-H Newsletter
June 2026
Demonstrations, Food Show, Clothing and Quilting
Demonstration Day, Food Show, Clothing and Quilting Judging Day along with Performing Arts and SHARE THE FUN will be held on Monday, July 13. We will be starting in the morning with Demonstration Day and the Food Show. Clothing, Quilting and Fashion Revue judging will be starting around Noon. All activities for the day will take place at The Warehouse, 106 N Carver St, Winthrop (next to Tanker's Bay).
If you are interested in participating in any of these events, please contact the Extension Office with the title to your demonstration or performance or your Food Show recipe by noon on Friday July 10. Clothing members will receive a letter in the mail in a few weeks with more details.
Share the Fun Rules
Only one club act per club is allowed. Club acts should set a goal of being 6 minutes long, which is a State Rule. At the county level, any club that goes over 7 minutes will not be allowed to receive 1st or 2nd place or advance to the MN State Fair. Club acts over 7 minutes will be allowed to place 3rd and will still be eligible for Best Costume/Most Creative Set, Most Humorous Skit or Talent Award and Club with Largest Percentage of Participants.
Performing Arts Project
If you are performing an individual act and would like to use it as a 4-H project, sign up for Performing Arts in Fair Entry. When calling in, please specify if your individual act is part of the Performing Arts project. There will be a judge to judge these separately. What is the Performing Arts project? Check the Premium Book for further clarification. Please call the Extension Office if you need further information.
All youth participating as a State Fair 4-H livestock exhibitor in beef, dairy, sheep, swine, poultry, rabbits, meat goat, dairy goat, and llama - alpaca must have completed a livestock quality assurance training in which there are two training options 1) a 3 hour in-person workshop (LQA&E), or 2) a 1 hour on-line training (YQCA). Youth completing either quality assurance training option will receive a certificate of completion.
To read the complete Minnesota 4-H Livestock Quality Assurance Policy click here.
Certification is required for state fair grade/age eligible youth prior to their home county fair qualifying show. The deadline for certification in Sibley County is Friday, July 24!
The training accommodates multi-levels of learning for all ages. The level of training required is determined by the grade/age of the youth at the time the training takes place.
Counties that have a swine marketing agreement with a packer that requires livestock quality assurance certification may require swine members (grade 3-13) to certify.
Participation in the training will promote responsible care of animals, help youth make informed decisions in animal care, and ensure that 4-H members understand the commitment to providing safe food products to consumers.
Sibley County is offering a LQA & E Training on Tuesday, June 2. Please go to 4HOnline to register.
Complete the online training and send your completion certificate to jdose@umn.edu so the training can be recorded and documented.
Day Camps
We will be offering many day camps this year. All will be available to be signed up through 4-H online. Watch you emails for more details.
Happy Hues: June 23, 2026 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Sibley County Service Center meeting room for 4-Hers that have completed K - 2nd grade.
Camp Drip Drop: July 23, 2026 Time TBD at Winthrop’s Splash Pad for 4-Hers that have completed 3 - 6th grade.
Move, Munch, Make: July 6, 2026 Time TBD at Four Seasons Park in Arlington for 4-Hers that have completed 3 - 6th grade.
Llama/Alpaca Project Meeting
Sibley County will be hosting a Llama/Alpaca shearing event on Wednsday, June 3 at 4:30 p.m. at the Andy Cohr's farm, 47024 180th Street, Glencoe. Brent Winslow from Chatfield, MN will be coming to shear, teeth trimming and hoof trimming. He is a hands-on teacher and has the kids helping while shearing. If you are interested in attending this event, please reach out to the Sibley County Extension Office.
Poultry Clinic
Interested in anything poultry related? Do you want to learn how to prep your birds for the county fair and what you should look for in your birds? Mike Kutzke and Mark Jaeger will be coming to teach the kids and answer questions. We will start at 9:00 a.m. with Beginners with a demonstration and answering any of your questions. About 11:00 a.m. we will move into more advanced information for the intermediates and seniors. We will have chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons and turkeys available for demonstrations so no birds needed. Even if your looking to just learn about the poultry project please join us! July 12, 2025 9:00 a.m. to noon at Elbert Farm, 68707 520th St, Fairfax, for all 4-Hers and Cloverbuds. Registration closes July 10.
Goat Clinic
Do you have questions about showing goats? Questions about basic care, preparing for the show or showmanship? We will be having a Goat Workshop to answer all your questions for both Dairy and Meat Goats on June 6 starting at 9:00 a.m. at the Sibley County Fairgrounds, 801 W Chandler St, Arlington, show arena. This event will be FREE and all cloverbuds and 4-Hers are welcome to attend. Members are encouraged to bring your animals to practice with. https://z.umn.edu/2026GoatClinic
Rabbit Clinic
Do you have questions about showing rabbits? Questions about basic care, preparing for the show or showmanship? We will be having a Rabbit Clinic to answer all your questions on June 6 starting at 1:00 p.m. at the Sibley County Fairgrounds, 801 Chandler St, Arlington at the show arena. This event will be FREE! All cloverbuds and 4-Hers are welcome to attend. Members are encouraged to bring your animals to practice with. Registration closes on Thursday June 4. https://z.umn.edu/RabbitClinic2026
Beef Showmanship Clinic
Beef project members are encouraged to attend a beef showmanship clinic. We will review basic showmanship guidelines and each 4-Her will receive tips on how to better exhibit your animal. It will be hosted at the Sibley County Fairgrounds Show Arena, 801 W Chandler St, Arlington on Friday, June 26 at 6:00 p.m. This event is Free. Open for 4-H members that have completed K-13 grades. We will have a potluck supper then practice showmanship. Please bring your own animal to practice with. Registration is open 5/29 - 6/25. https://z.umn.edu/BeefShowmanshipClinic2026
Dog Project
The dog project has started practices on Thursday nights starting at 6:30 p.m. at the county fairgrounds in Arlington. The Extension Office must have a copy of your COMPLETED Dog ID form on file before you can participate in any practices. The 2025 Dog Show date will be Saturday, July 18 at the Sibley County Fairgrounds in Arlington. Watch for more information in your emails and newsletters.
Horse Project
Games practices will start on Monday, June 1 (1st session at 6:00 p.m. and 2nd session at 7:30 p.m.) and Pleasure Practices will begin on Wednesday, June 3 at 5:30 p.m. with Drill Team practice to follow at 7:00 p.m.. Make sure to get a current Coggin's to the Extension Office if you didn’t get it uploaded with your animal ID in 4-H online. A Coggin's is required before you can participate in any practices.
Shooting Sports
Practices start for each of the disciplines this week at the Gaylord Game Protective League. Please fill out this form, so we know which disciplines you are interested in. Remember you will need 8 hours of wildlife instruction to participate in State Shoot. State Shoot will take place on September 11-13, 2026 at the Alexandria Shooting Park.
First practices will include safety, so it is important not to miss the first class.
Archery practices will start Sunday, June 7, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Trap practices will start Monday, June 8, 4:30 p.m. or as early as you can make it.
BB and Air rifle practices will start Wednesday, June 10, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.