Dawes County 4-H

Jan. 1-2: Happy New Year, Office Closed

Jan. 2 - Special Edition Stories Due

Jan. 5 - Jr. Leader Ad Sales Due

Jan. 11 - Junior Leader Meeting at 5 pm

Jan. 11 - Panhandle Best Competition in Rushville

Jan. 12 - 4-H Council Meeting at 6 pm

Jan. 12 - Virtual Club Leader Training at 5:30 pm

Jan. 19 - Martin Luther King Day - Office Closed

Jan. 25 - Panhandle Best Competition in Harrison

Jan. 26 - First Baby of February Donations Due to the Extension Office

February is 4-H Month!!

Feb. 1 - Panhandle Best in Hyannis

Feb. 7 - Beef Weigh-in at Crawford Livestock Auction

Feb. 7 - 4-H Day at the Movies at 1:30 pm

Feb. 8 - Panhandle Best in Mullen

Feb. 21 - Robotics Mini Play in Alliance

Due Dates:

Jan. 5 - Achievement Applications Due to the State 4-H Office

Jan. 31 - Club Leader Reports due

Feb. 15 - Special Garden Project Registration Deadline

• Brynn Brooks
• Lillian Keithly
• Violet Keithly
• Grady Gooder
• Bensyn Gooder
• Jae Gooder
• Bella Muir
• Suzy Muir
• Caseton Brunsch
• Nathan Pearson
• Kyndal Tenney
• Sara Carrick
• Layne Davidson
• Charlie Johndreau
• Mary Johndreau
• Sarah Johndreau
• Max Lindsey
• Josie Werner

They are integrating the volunteer orientation videos within the 4-H Online platform for easier viewing for members. Members will also be able to come back to the videos instead of watching them all at one time. However with these changes coming into affect, if volunteers register after January 5th, they will have to watch the videos again. If you are a club leader or council member please visit 4-H Online prior to January 5th in order to avoid rewatching these videos this year.

This session is ideal for new or prospective 4-H club leaders looking to build a strong foundation and make a positive impact on youth through 4-H.

Each year the Dawes County 4-H Jr. Leaders, with the help of the Crawford Clipper, put together the 4-H Special Edition. It is a newspaper insert FULL of wonderful stories and photos submitted by YOU - Dawes County 4-H Members! It is an outstanding promotional tool and also a fundraiser for the Jr. Leaders.

We would LOVE for each member to submit via email, a typed, short article of 200-400 words, along with a digital photo, telling what you like about 4-H. It might be a special project you completed, something that happened during the year, or about a person who helped you.

Please submit your stories and photos by Friday, January 2nd. It is published the first week in February in honor of Nebraska 4-H Month. This is circulated to over multiple households! Email your story and photo to Melissa Mracek at mmracek2@unl.edu.

As the New Year begins people set resolutions or goals they hope to achieve the upcoming year. It is also a great time to set your 4-H goals for the upcoming year. A tool that can help youth members with setting their goals is the Diamond Clover Program. This program is a non-competitive program where members set their goals for the year and then in September recap how they accomplished them. Below is the link to the Diamond Clover webpage to download the form and start setting goals today. Youth members can only complete 1 level per year and they can start at Level 1 or the level closest to their age group.

Each year, the Dawes County Junior Leaders Club and the Chadron Community Hospital sponsor the first baby born in February as a special way to celebrate National 4-H Month. This precious newborn receives generous gifts from local 4-H families, businesses, and Extension Staff. If you would like to help celebrate this baby, please drop off your donations to the Extension Office by January 26th.

Some items to donate are:

• purchased diapers, bottles, wipes, toys, etc.
• Sew or knit a blanket or quilt
• Crochet booties or a hat
• Make a card or frame a photograph

All market beef animals need to attend a weigh-in. If you cannot attend Dawes County, you may go to a neighboring county to have the animal tagged. Weigh-in will be optional.

Dawes County Weigh-in & Tagging Date:

Market Beef: Saturday, February 7, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Youth planning to exhibit a market beef animal at the Dawes County Fair need to bring their animal to be tagged on the grounds, weigh-in will be optional. All Beef tags will be EID tags this year.

Nebraska State Fair / AKSARBEN: All livestock in contention to exhibit at the 2026 Nebraska State Fair will be required to submit a DNA nomination. Market Beef DNA can be pulled at the weigh-ins. All 4-H/FFA Breeding livestock, market livestock, and Feeder calves will be required to submit a DNA sample/envelope to be eligible to exhibit at the Nebraska State Fair. New this year exhibitors must get a separate envelope to submit DNA for AKSARBEN. DNA nominations for the Nebraska State Fair are due on June 15th.

Members who cannot make the Dawes County Weigh-in may attend the Sheridan or Box Butte County Weigh-ins if necessary. If attending the alternative weigh-in, members must notify the Extension Office.

Box Butte County: January 11th from 11 am to 1 pm at Box Butte County Fairgrounds

Sheridan County: February 1st from 1 pm to 3 pm at Sheridan Livestock Auction

Join us on February 7th at 1:30 pm to celebrate 4-H Month at the Chadron Movie Theater. People will be able to watch the movie for free sponsored by the Happy Hustler Club and the 4-H Council.

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.

To get the seeds, please contact the Extension Office prior to February 15th.

4-H Online is now open! Get a jump start on the new 4-H year by registering at 4honline.com. As a reminder if you are participating in Horse or Shooting Sports, you need to add those projects and sign the consents. The other projects are not mandatory.

The Dawes County Jr. Leaders have been busy giving back to their community! From November 25 through December 12, the Jr. Leaders organized a Canned Food Drive, placing collection boxes at local businesses for non-perishable food donations.

Thanks to the generosity of the community, approximately 300 cans of food were collected. These donations were shared between Northwest Community Action’s Food Pantry and the Crawford Food Pantry. The Jr. Leaders enjoyed planning and carrying out this service project and were excited to help support local families during the holiday season.

We are now accepting registrations for the 2026 Farrowed and Owned Swine Cohort! Registration closes on January 30th!

This opportunity is designed to enhance the educational value of the traditional 4-H swine project by focusing on swine production, accurate record keeping, and industry knowledge and engagement by the 4-H member.

Exhibit their Farrowed and Owned project animals at any Nebraska county fair or the Nebraska State Fair. Exhibiting at the 2026 Nebraska State Fair is optional. All cohort members will participate in an interview at the 2026 Nebraska State Fair. Exhibiting your animal at the Nebraska State Fair is not a requirement for the record book and interview portion of the cohort. Join the first session in February for more details!

Visit 4h.unl.edu/farrowed-owned to get started.

As the year starts to wind down, it is time to think about your end of year club reports. These reports need to be completed and turned into the office by January 31st. The information required is year end treasurer report, inventory, and list of club volunteers. A form below is provided.