Wednesday What-Nots 2/4

All 4-H families have been mailed an annual calendar and newsletter filled with important dates, updates, and helpful information for the 2026 year. Be sure to take a look!

All county fair checks that have not been cashed by February 11th will be voided.

All registered BEEF & SWINE animals planning to be entered in PUREBRED BREEDING and MARKET classes must present their registration papers at county fair check-in.

Registered BREEDING SHEEP planning to compete in a PUREBRED BREEDING class must also present their registration papers at county fair check-in.

If registration papers cannot be presented, the animal will still be eligible to show, but only in a crossbred or commercial class.

If you are interested in study materials for the time being, please let us know!

https://go.unl.edu/engineeringexplorers

The Otoe County 4-H Foundation has allocated funding to provide mini-grants to Otoe County 4-H members and Otoe County 4-H clubs to strengthen 4-H Youth Development in Otoe County. Grant applications can be submitted online or paper copies can be dropped off at the Extension office by October 31 or February 28. More details and applications can be found at the Otoe County 4-H Foundation website.

he Nebraska Extension Special Agronomy Project gives 4-H members an opportunity to experience a crop that is grown, was grown or has the potential to be grown in Nebraska. Youth participate by receiving seed and resources to grow the crop, research traits of the crop and determine the viability of that crop in the part of the state they live in. The project allows 4-H members interested in agronomy to grow something fun, new, and different. This year, we will be exploring a crop that can be marketed different ways depending on the variety.

In the sixth year of the special agronomy project, youth will explore TWO varieties of popcorn! The first is an heirloom variety that was discovered and developed by a farmer in eastern Nebraska, called Nebraska Red. The second is a commercial variety, Robust 997. Be sure not to plant sweet corn in your garden with these to prevent cross pollination.

Be eligible to enter an exhibit at the County and/or State Fair in the agronomy project area.

Contact your local Extension Office to order packets of seeds. The local Extension Office will order and distribute the seeds to members. Please have your order placed by March 9th.

For project specifications and details, be sure to go to the Nebraska State Fairbook at https://4hfairbook.unl.edu/fairbookview.php/rules.

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. Youth will then have to reach out to their local Extension Office to sign up and order the seeds. It will be up to the county office to keep track of the youth that signed up and share the educational materials including the growing newsletter & evaluation (included at the end of the growing newsletter).

🐄🐑🐖 Nebraska 4-H Livestock Achievement Program – Year 5! 🐐🐔

The Nebraska 4-H Livestock Achievement Program is back for its fifth year, recognizing youth who go above and beyond in their livestock projects! This program promotes learning in selection, production, leadership, and exhibition across all livestock species.

🔹 Open to enrolled 4-H livestock youth
🔹 Species include beef, sheep, swine, meat goat, dairy, rabbit, poultry.
🔹 Three achievement levels: Junior, Intermediate, Senior

🗓 Apply by June 15
🗂 Plans & Reports due August 1
🏆 Members of Excellence will be recognized at the Nebraska State Fair Grand Drive.

👉 Learn more & apply here: https://go.unl.edu/lap

The 2026 Nebraska Severe Weather Awareness Poster Contest is underway. This annual contest is part of Severe Weather Awareness Week in March and is coordinated by Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.

The contest is open to all Nebraska third graders, including public, private, and home‑schooled youth. Students are encouraged to create a poster that shares a clear, severe weather safety or preparedness message. While tornadoes are a common focus, posters may also highlight other hazards like floods, hail, blizzards, lightning, or wildfires.

Winners receive a monetary award and will be featured in the 2027 Nebraska Severe Weather Awareness Calendar. The top winners and their families are also invited to an awards ceremony at the Nebraska State Capitol in March. The attached flier provides more details about the posters and submissions.

Deadline: All entries must be received by the local Emergency Management Director no later than February 6, 2026. Please allow enough time for mailed entries to arrive.

We are excited to announce the 2026 Nebraska 4-H Summer Camp season! Youth are invited to join us and Big Gumdrop Outdoors as we explore the world around us through our Exploring Ecosystems theme. Please share the following message and attached graphic with your 4-H families.

During the 2026 Exploring Ecosystems season, campers will explore Nebraska’s natural world, discover how ecosystems connect, and learn how they can help care for the environment - all while having fun at camp!

The Nebraska State 4-H Camp is offering both day camps and overnight camp opportunities. Camp will return to Chadron for a 5 day overnight session (June 15-19) for youth ages 8–14. Day camps will be held in Grand Island (June 30) and Lincoln (July 22) for youth ages 8–12 providing a great introduction to the camp experience.

Registration is now OPEN! More information on sessions, dates, scholarships, and the link to register can be found at 4h.unl.edu/camp.

The 55th annual Nebraska Agricultural Youth Institute (NAYI) will be held July 6-10, 2026, on UNL’s East Campus.

Applications are now available to students who are currently high school juniors and seniors on our website at: www.nda.nebraska.gov/nayi

NAYI RECOMMENDATION FORMS

Students who are applying for NAYI will need to have an adult submit a recommendation form on their behalf. We initiated this form last year, and it worked very well to help streamline the process for our scoring committee. The recommendation form can be found on the NAYI website (www.nda.nebraska.gov/nayi) and will also be due on April 15th.

NAYI APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Please remind students that after submitting the application, they should receive an immediate automated email from Google Forms with their responses that they should keep in their records. They will also receive a confirmation email from a @nebraska.gov address within 1–2 business days. If a student does not receive either email, their application was not received, and they must email myself or agr.youthcouncil@nebraska.gov before the deadline.

NAYI CLASSROOM VISITS

I have a group of eager Nebraska Agricultural Youth Council (NAYC) members that would love to visit your classroom to discuss NAYI with your juniors and seniors. They will be reaching out, but if you know you’d like a visit feel free to reach out to me and I’ll work to get you connected.

NDA POSTER CONTEST

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture is hosting our annual agriculture poster contest for 1st-6th grade students, with entries due to our office on March 2, 2026. If you have a classroom that might be interested in participating – the contest details can be found here: https://nda.nebraska.gov/kids/contest

Registration Due: March 2, 2026

https://hles.unl.edu/lawn-garden/gro-big-red/

Below is information on the Virtual Horse Judging camp we will be having once a week in February and early March. There will be live sessions each week, which will be recorded and uploaded for viewing later if you can’t make the live sessions. Also, there is an opportunity to upload your oral reasons weekly for feedback. See more information below.

Virtual Horse Judging Camp 2026

This is an online horse judging camp for anyone thinking about giving horse judging a try! The camp includes at-home assignments, reasons critique, 4 interactive virtual meetings, quizzes, and certificate of completion!

The fee for this course is $50. To purchase and enroll in this course, go to: https://catalog.extension.org/product?catalog=HorseJudgingCamp

This camp is for anyone who may be thinking about being on or coaching a Horse Judging team.

Each session will have an assignment, live presentations, discussion of the class and class/runs to practice on and critiques.

Other presenters include:

Dr. Craig Wood (University of Kentucky, APHA Judge)

Dr. Karen Waite (Michigan State University, Equine Extension Specialist, AQHA Novice Judge)

Colleen Brady (Purdue University)

Dr. Kathy Anderson (University of Nebraska Judging team coach, AQHA, NSBA, APHA judge)

Topics/classes covered include:

Multi-breed Conformation

Showmanship at Halter

Hunt Seat Equitation

Ranch Trail

Oral reasons with feedback!

Dates: February 19, 26, March 5, and 12, 2026

Time: 7 - 8:30pm Eastern time: 6 – 7:30 Central time

The fee for this course is $50. To purchase and enroll in this course, go to: https://catalog.extension.org/product?catalog=HorseJudgingCamp

Dates and topics:

Thursday February 19 Multi-Breed Conformation

Thursday February 21 Showmanship at Halter

Tuesday March 6 Ranch Trail

Thursday March 13 Hunt Seat Equitation

This Virtual Horse Judging camp is brought to you by:

University of Nebraska (Dr. Kathy Anderson - kanderson1@unl.edu)

Purdue University (Dr. Colleen Brady - bradyc@purdue.edu)

Oklahoma State University (Dr. Kris Hiney - khiney@okstate.edu)

Hope you can join us!

Tracy Ensor, 4-H Youth Development Associate Extension Educator, tensor2@unl.edu

Kristen Herrick, 4-H Extension Assistant, kherrick3@unl.edu

Ben Jewell, Rural Prosperity Nebraska Associate Extension Educator, bmcshane-jewell2@unl.edu

Cheryl Goff, Office Manager, cheryl.goff@unl.edu

Website: www.otoe.unl.edu

Location: 620 1st Street, Syracuse, NE, USA
Phone: (402) 269-2301
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nebraska-Extension-in-Otoe-County