Tarrant 4-H

Howdy!

Happy April! As we are starting to wind down the 4-H "year" be sure to be working on your record books! It's also time to start thinking about applying for county awards. That info will be included in next month's newsletter.

Sincerely,

Miss Kate

kate.marshall@ag.tamu.edu

Kate Marshall, CEA 4-H Youth Development, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

kate.marshall@ag.tamu.edu

Jordan Peldyak, EA 4-H Youth Development, Prairie View Cooperative Extension Program

Jordan.Peldyak@ag.tamu.edu

Sanci Hall, EA 4-H Youth Development, Prairie View Cooperative Extension Program

sanci.hall@ag.tamu.edu

Andrea Amador, 4-H Administrative Assistant

andrea.amador@agnet.tamu.edu

Traveling to the Tarrant County AgriLife Extension Office:

The entrance to our building is on the West side facing our surface parking lot and Burnett St., it is not on Taylor St. The surface parking lot entrance is on West 2nd Street (Parking will be validated for those participating/staying at an event. Please bring the ticket up with you and we will provide a sticker barcode that scans to get you out free of charge). You will enter the building on the 2nd floor and then take the elevators to the 5th floor where our office is located.

Email: tarrant4-h@ag.tamu.edu
Website: https://tarrant-tx.tamu.edu/
Location: 200 Taylor Street suite 500, Fort Worth, TX, USA
Phone: 817-884-1291
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TarrantCounty4H

Please keep this link handy! This is the 2025-26 Tarrant County 4-H Calendar. County & District Event dates are listed. Please let us know if you have any questions!

Dear 4-H'ers - Please note due to some circumstances beyond our control the date for County Awards Interviews will be the 5th Monday of June in 2026. Please mark Monday, June 29, 2026 on your calendars. This is for county awards that require an interview.

We are trying something new this year. CYC will meet the same months that the Adult Leaders Association meets. Our schedule for 2025-26 is listed below. Our incoming officers have some BIG things being planned.

All 4-H members are welcome to attend! Be sure to join us at our May meeting! We'll be conducting officer elections for the upcoming year.

County Youth Council is a great way to interact with other 4-H'ers from all over the county and build your leadership skills!

• May 18, 2026 (CYC will be hosting County Officer Elections)

It's time to apply to be a 2026-2027 Tarrant County 4-H Youth Council Officer! The deadline for nominations is Wednesday, May 13, 2025, by 5 p.m. Please complete this form.

The final, regular County Youth Council meeting will be held Monday, May 18, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. at the Extension Office.

In preparation for the coming year, all 4-H members are encouraged to consider running for officer positions of the CYC. Positions include:

• President
• Vice President
• Secretary/Treasurer
• Reporter/Public Relations
• Parliamentarian
• Historian
• Health & Safety Officer

These individuals serve the Tarrant County 4-H program by guiding the officers at the club level, advising the adult volunteers and Extension agents, and organizing great county-wide events. The CYC meets once a month from August to May on the fourth Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. *Officers are expected to attend all regular CYC Meetings.

If you have experience as a 4-H officer at the club level and feel that you have talents to share with the whole county, please complete this form.

Per the CYC Bylaws, only current CYC officers, county delegates, or 4-H members who have served as president or vice president of their club are eligible to run for office at the county level. However, exceptions to the requirements will be considered by the Executive Board on a case-by-case basis along with the 4-H County Extension Agent.

(*President, Vice President & District Delegate must be 14 years of age at the time of District Leadership Camp held in June & in 9th grade of upcoming school year)

The deadline for nominations is 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, 2025.

Summary of Process:

• Complete the CYC Nomination Form in its entirety. Deadline for nominations is 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, 2025
• All candidates are required to give a LIVE speech (2 -3 minutes in length) at the May 18th meeting.
• Speeches should include information on why candidate is running for the chosen position(s) (maximum of two positions).
• All candidates must submit a written version of their live speech for pre-approval within their Nomination Form.
• If candidate is running for two positions, they should submit ONE written speech that talks about why they would be a great candidate for each position.

If you have questions, please contact us at the office or email kate.marshall@ag.tamu.edu

The 2025-2026 Texas 4-H Record Book Family Guide is now available. You will notice a few changes to the record book format for this coming year.

Tarrant County 4-H Record Books are DUE to the office no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, June 1st.

Link to updated Texas 4-H Record Book information: https://texas4-h.tamu.edu/recordbooks/

Howdy everyone!

It's time to start thinking about getting your 2026 State Validation tags ordered.

Late Tag orders are April 1 – May 8.

More information is below, please be sure to pay attention to the pricing as a few of them have changed.

For the June validation we will be validating all species, especially those that will be attending the Fall Show run (State Fair of Texas, West Texas Fair, Heart of Texas, etc.). Please keep in mind if your project is State Validated, this qualifies for county validation as well.

Steers:

• Are only validated in June for all major shows.

Heifers:

• Validation is good for 2 years – unless ownership changes
• If ownership changes then the heifer will need to be completely revalidated in the new owner’s name.

Sheep/Goats:

• Market Projects validated in June for the Fall 2026 season are validated for the Spring 2027 season if there are no changes (* if TLBA/TGBA tags need to be added after the June validation, then they will need to be completely revalidated in October*)
• Breeding Sheep and Breeding Goats roll over validation for 3 years; they do no need to be validated every year. Unless the animal was validated as a whether dam and now has registration papers. Then the animal will need to be completely revalidated.
• Dairy Goats do NOT require State Validations. They require county only.

Swine:

• Validations do NOT roll over to the Spring show season

Payment for your tag is due upon ordering. Price for the tag is the price of the tag on the day the order was placed.

PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET YOUR TAGS ORDERED BY THE DEADLINE. NO TAGS WILL BE ORDER PAST THE ORDER DEADLINE!!!

*********!!!!!!!! SHEEP/ GOAT !!!!!!!!!!*******

Tags ordered February 10 – March 31 will be $25 each (Sheep & Goat Only)

Tags ordered April 1 – May 8 will be $35 each (Sheep & Goat Only)

*********!!!!!!!!! Heifer Tag Orders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!************

Tags ordered February 10 – March 31 will be $25 each

Tags ordered April 1 – May 8 will be $35 each

*********!!!!!!!!! Steer Tag Orders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!************

Tags ordered February 10 – March 31 will be $25 each

Tags ordered April 1 – May 8 will be $35 each

********!!!!!!!!!!!!Swine Tag Orders!!!!!!!!!!!*************

Tags ordered February 10 – March 31 will be $20 each

Tags ordered April 1 – May 8 will be $25 each

!!!!!! NO LATE ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER 5 PM ON May 8!!!!! (NO EXCEPTIONS)

(Order form will be closed at 5 pm on May 8th)

State Validation – June 2026 – order link

If you have any questions, please be sure to reach out!

Jacklyn Jones – Doyle

Ag & Natural Resources Extension Agent

Tarrant County - Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

TEXAS 4-H BEEKEEPING ESSAY CONTEST RULES AND GUIDELINES 2026 Essay Topic: The Power of Pollen For this essay, a 4-H student should answer these questions: How is pollen important to bees? Has pollen been changing in plants and in our landscapes? If so, are those changes affecting bees? When do you observe the most and least pollen in your colonies and how does that impact their temperament and productivity?

Essays are DUE April 12 via 4-H Online. Please see the document below for more details!

Mark your calendars for June 1-4, 2026. There are multiple opportunities to engage in workshops, invitational contests and MUCH more! Get all of the details here and be watching for hotel room blocks to be released soon.

Due to increased participation and demand, we will be expanding our Junior Master Photographer trainings next fall. We will continue to host JMP 1 and 2 in Dallas during September and December. In addition, we are adding a second training location (both workshops on one weekend) in Kerrville

November 7-8, 2026. So, mark your calendars for these dates and locations:

• Dallas JMP 1 – September 26, 2026
• Kerrville JMP 1/2 – November 7-8, 2026
• Dallas JMP 2 – December 5, 2026

For information on the steps required to become a JMP or Ambassador, please refer to this document. This expansion will also help us increase our JMP and Ambassador ranks, further enabling us to help grow the photography program. Registration for these workshops will take place after the start of the new 4-H year. More details will be shared in the summer.

We are pleased to offer to our 11th and/or 12th grade Tarrant County 4-H members the opportunity to apply for the Millie Hurst Memorial Scholarship, A Scholarship Program Funded by the Tarrant 4-H Adult Leader's Association.

Scholarship award(s) will be made in the amount of $1,000, payable as indicated in this document: ALA Scholarship Guidelines 2026.

The Application is available in both MS Word and fillable PDF formats. Both formats may be found at this link: ALA Scholarship Guidelines 2026 .

Application deadline is Monday, June 1, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Original applications must be received in the Tarrant County 4-H office by that time. (Electronic submissions will not be accepted.)

All applicants must attend an in-person interview. Interviews will be held on Monday, June 29, 2026 at the County 4-H Office—interview times will be emailed to applicants on or about June 9th.

All questions regarding these scholarships should be addressed to tarrant4hala@gmail.com.

Link to the application. Scholarship Award: Five $15,000 awards distributed over the 4 years at Prairie View A&M University.

Applicant Eligibility:

• United States Citizen – scholar will be required to provide proof of citizenship.
• Texas high school graduate with college enrollment within two years of high school graduation.
• Accepted to enroll at Prairie View A&M University and participate in a curriculum leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in an approved major (See page 4 for a list of S.A.L.E. acceptable majors).
• Have a cumulative high school GPA of 2.80 or above on a scale of 4.0.
• Minimum Test Scores: SAT- 800 (total score) or ACT- 15 (composite score).
• Applicants have demonstrated leadership, community service, and the potential to be successful.
• Applicants have demonstrated financial need.
• Youth participation in PVAMU 4-H and Youth Development events will get points for 4-H participation.

The application deadline is May 1, 2026

Check out the attachment below for the complete listing of camps being offered by the Texas 4-H Center in Brownwood this summer! Texas 4-H Conference Center - Lake Brownwood, TX

Here are some handy links for our Club Managers and Adult Leaders!

• Tarrant County 4-H Calendar: https://secure.smore.com/n/jx6ak
• Texas 4-H Management (Complete Listing of 4-H Resources and Official Logos): 4-H Management - Texas 4-H (tamu.edu)

• Texas 4-H Curriculum and Resources: Curriculum and Resources - Texas 4-H (tamu.edu)

• Tarrant County AgriLife Extension 4-H Webpage: Tarrant County 4-H – Making the Best Better | Teaching, Research, Extension, and Service (agrilife.org)
• Club Manager Forms (Sign-in Sheets) link