Burt County 4-H Hotline Newsletter
December 2024
Office Closed for Holidays
The Burt County Extension Office will be closed December 24th - January 1.
Leave us a message at 402-374-2929
OR email burt-county@unl.edu
Marina Duarte de Val (Crops): mduartedeval2@unl.edu
Stacey Keys (4-H): stacey.keys@unl.edu
Lori Wachter: lwachter3@unl.edu
Burt County Sharp Shooters 4-H Club UPDATE!!
The Burt County Sharp Shooters Shooting Sports 4-H Club is reorganizing for the upcoming 4-H year. Youth and families interested in joining the shooting sports club are encouraged to contact Leah Miller at SandLmiller07@gmail.com or 402-720-1355. A reorganizational meeting is being planned in the coming weeks. Additional details will be shared as they become available.
Voting - Burt 4-H Council Ballot - BY DEC 15
Please vote for 1 adults and 4 youth to fill our 4-H Council for the 2026 4-H year.
All 4-H members and leaders are eligible to vote.
Vote Here by DECEMBER 15TH!!: https://go.unl.edu/20264hcouncilballot
Current members include:
Adults: Brooke Ahrens, Breanne Evasic, Jessica Fleischman, Alana Pearson, Brooke Peterson, Adrienne Timm, Dave Uhing, Jadyn Fleischman
Youth: Isabella Evasic & Madeline Pearson
Mission and Philosophy of Burt County 4-H Council
The mission of Burt County 4-H is to empower youth to reach their full potential by working and learning in partnership with caring adults (Nebraska 4-H) and/or through self-discovery, technology and community service. The phrase “learning by doing” sums up the educational philosophy of the 4-H program. Young people learn best when they are involved in their learning.
🎉 It’s time to enroll for the 2026 4-H year! 🎉
4-H Online 2.0 is open and ready—and so are we! 👉 https://v2.4honline.com/
- 🌟 Returning families: Please do not create a new account. Use your existing login from previous years. Instructions here: https://4h.unl.edu/enroll/returning-member
- 🌱 New to 4-H? Welcome! Follow the step-by-step guide to get started: https://4h.unl.edu/enroll/new-member
⏰ Reminder:
If you're already holding meetings, volunteering, or participating in any 4-H activities, you must be enrolled for the current year. Please get enrolled ASAP!
Let’s make 2026 another amazing year in 4-H! 💚✨
Achievement Applications! (1/2) (High School Seniors this is how you get Scholarship Monies from the Nebraska 4-H Foundation)
https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/burt/4-h-achievement-applications/
You've had a successful 4-H year! Now to bring everything full circle we want to you to reflect and share. A large part of a truly fulfilling experience is reflecting on what we learned and what we would we would differently and I want to hear all about it and what you've learned! So let's start filling in those Achievement Applications! And don't forget to mark down if you want to apply for county awards.
AWARD APPLICATIONS DUE: Friday, January 2, 2026
Step 1: Write your story (add pictures if you want) – Just put all the things you participated in into your Achievement Application!
Step 2: Fill out County Award Sheet
Step 3: Print or email to stacey.keys@unl.edu
Available Achievement Applications & Forms (*NOTE AGES – they’re a bit different)
- Clover Kid (5-7)
- Junior Novice (8-12, preferably first year exhibitors)
- Junior (8-12)
- Senior (13-18)
- (if you’re a Senior in High School completing this application is the only way to apply for Nebraska 4-H Foundation Scholarships)
The deadline for this year's 2025 Burt County Achievement Applications is Friday, January 2, 2026! Seniors the STATE DEADLINE is January 5!
I can’t wait to hear all your stories! If you need help, please reach out! These applications can lead to great things and it’s all about what you learned in 4-H!
Diamond Clover (1/2)
https://4h.unl.edu/diamond-clover
And if you’re filling out the “Achievement Application” you’ve probably already accomplished the requirements for Diamond Clover. The Diamond Clover consists of six levels that require a young person to plan and report a broad range of age-appropriate accomplishments. For each level, the Nebraska 4-H Diamond Clover program provides a list of accomplishments from which 4-H youth choose their goals. The accomplishments increase in quantity and difficulty for each level. At the beginning of the 4-H year, participants plan what to accomplish and at the end of the 4-H year, they report on their completed accomplishments. Successful completion of a level's Plan & Report form results in a 4-H youth earning that level of the Diamond Clover program. This is the epitome of 4-H involvement and a great way to document your growth through your experience. Just get the paperwork of your accomplishments submitted by Friday, January 2, 2026. Let me know if you have any questions!
4-H Livestock Planning Meeting (11/24)
Help Shape the Future of 4-H!
All Burt County 4-H families, volunteers, and superintendents are invited to our 2026 4-H Livestock Planning Meeting on Monday, November 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the Secretary’s Building at the Fairgrounds.
This is your chance to share ideas, discuss updates, and help plan the year ahead for our 4-H livestock program. Your input directly impacts the experiences and opportunities we can provide for our youth.
If you have agenda items or suggestions, please contact the Extension Office at 402-374-2929.
Current Agenda Items Include:
• Judge suggestions
• Possible switch of Cat/Companion Animal & Dog Show times
• Adding Poultry Showmanship
• Timing of Goat & Sheep Shows (including a potential flip)
• Registered classes for Sheep
• Beef Weigh-In date/time
• Breeding Beef classes to reflect State Fair structure
4-H Leader & Static Planning Meeting (12/1)
Help shape the year ahead for Burt County 4-H! We’ll cover club basics and leader requirements, share ideas and best practices for leading a successful 4-H club, and make key decisions about contest opportunities for our county’s 4-H youth. Don’t miss your chance to be part of the planning and preparation for another great 4-H year!
📅 Monday, December 1, 2025
🕖 7:00 PM
📍 Secretary’s Building, Burt County Fairgrounds
If you have items to include on the agenda, please contact the Extension Office at 402-374-2929.
Current Agenda Items:
- State Requirements/Updates
- Active Club Status
- Club Meetings
- Setting dates for contests and fair events
Special Garden Project - DUE Mar 2
The Special Garden Project is a way to offer Nebraska youth the chance to grow unusual and fun projects in their gardens.
The 2026 Special Garden Project will focus on the Alumia Vanilla Cream Marigold. This marigold produces creamy, yellow flowers on compact plants. This variety not only has a unique color, but it also has a very long bloom time.
Youth are encouraged to enroll for Horticulture/Plant Science through 4-H Online. To get your name on the list, contact Lori at the office: 402-374-2929 or lwachter3@unl.edu.
Zoom In To CASNR 2025-2026 Dates
The UNL College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources is bringing back Zoom In To CASNR for the 2025-2026 academic year!
Zoom In To CASNR is a virtual visit session where prospective students can talk to department representatives and current students to learn more about CASNR. This was an initiative that was created in hopes of providing a more accessible campus visit for students who might not be able to come to UNL East Campus.
Senior Scholarships - DUE April 1
https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/burt/continuing-education/
Burt County 4-H Seniors in High School! Tis the season of scholarship applications. Be looking for more information to come directly to you but this should give you a start! Good luck!
- Nebraska 4-H Foundation Scholarships - Due January 5th (with Achievement Applications)
- Burt County 4-H Council Scholarship - Due April 1st
- Burt County Cattlemen's Association Scholarship - Due April 1st
- East Oaks 4-H Club, Jacob Johnson Memorial Scholarship - Due April 1st
- Phillip Hennig Memorial Scholarship - Due April 1st
- Burt County Pheasants Forever Scholarship - Due April 1st
Nebraska Fed Steer Challenge applications now open! (DUE 12/15)
Please apply by December 15th, 2025 for the 2026 program year. For more information
regarding the Fed Steer Challenge, or to submit an application please visit https://4h.unl.edu/fed-steer-challenge
The Program includes raising a steer purchased at market price, monthly webinars with industry professional and UNL Animal Science Faculty, a special class at the Nebraska State Fair evaluated by a commercial cattle buyer, and harvesting steers to evaluate carcass merit. Monthly content includes: Feeder Cattle Pricing and Starting Cattle on Feed, Winter Feeding & Care of Cattle, Implants & Growth Modifiers, Cattle & the Environment, Risk Management Strategies, Summer Feeding & Care of Cattle, Quality & Yield Grading and Grid Pricing for Carcass Merit.
4-H Livestock Achievement Program
The Nebraska 4-H Livestock Achievement Program is designed to promote all educational aspects of 4-H livestock projects including selection, production, leadership, and exhibition by recognizing youth striving to improve in their livestock project knowledge and leadership.
The program recognizes Members of Excellence across all 4-H livestock project areas, including: beef, sheep, meat goat, swine, dairy cattle, dairy goat, rabbit, and poultry.
The livestock achievement program consists of two levels that require 4-H members to plan and report a broad range of age-appropriate and project-related educational, leadership and citizenship accomplishments.
For each level, the Livestock Achievement Program provides a list of accomplishments from which 4-H members choose their goals. Each accomplishment is worth a specific number of points.
- Intermediates, ages 10-13, must complete 100 points worth of activities to receive the distinction of Intermediate Member of Excellence.
- Seniors, ages 14-18, must complete 150 points worth of activities to receive the distinction of Senior Member of Excellence.
Youth completing the application, plan & report, and the project record for their designated species receive member of excellence distinction for their project area. Applications are due June 15, but why wait? Visit 4h.unl.edu/livestock-achievement to get started.
Like and Follow the Facebook page!
Don’t want to wait for the newsletter to come out to learn the upcoming information? No worries! We post the most recent and updated information on the local Facebook page as soon as we get new information of upcoming events and opportunities. @BurtNeExt