Renville County Clover Update

December 14: Cloverbud County Meeting - Winter Wonder Workshop

December 25: Extension Office Closed - Christmas Day

December 29: Officer Training - Government Center, Olivia - 9:30 - 4:00

January 11: Banquet - 3:00 PM - tentative location: Renville County Government Center

January 26 - February 26: Fruit & Butterbraids fundraiser

January 30: Deadline to turn in any t-shirt and banner designs

February 05: Ambassadors (5:45) and Leader's Council (6:15) Meetings - Renville County Government Center

Join us for our first Cloverbud meeting Sunday, December 14 from 3:00-4:30 at the Renville County Government Center.

“Brrr! Do you feel that chilly air? Winter is here—and with it comes snowflakes, cozy cocoa, and the spirit of kindness. The holidays are the perfect time to share joy and creativity. Today we’ll explore how snow melts, make sparkling snowflakes, and spread a little kindness—just like falling snow that touches everyone it meets!”

RSVP by December 10. Call the Extension office (320-523-3713), email mnext-renville@umn.edu, or visit 4HOnline.

Are you a current or aspiring 4-H club officer? Join us for a fun, hands-on Officer Training Day designed just for youth in grades 5–12! Spend the day learning what it takes to be an awesome President, Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer through interactive games, leadership challenges, real-life club scenarios, and team-building activities. You’ll practice parliamentary procedure in a super engaging way, explore how clubs make a difference in their communities, and gain the skills to help your group stay organized and successful. Whether you’re brand new or have served before, this training will help you feel confident, prepared, and excited for the year ahead!

Date: Monday, December 29

Time: 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM - please see the document attached for the agenda & timeline

Location: Renville County Government Center

To Register:

Call: 320-523-3713

Email: mnext-renville@umn.edu

Register in 4HOnline

Please register by December 23.

We must have at least 10 youth registered in order to have it.

Join us as we come together to celebrate the hard work, growth, and achievements of our 4-H youth at this year’s Awards Banquet. This special evening recognizes project accomplishments, leadership milestones, club contributions, and the dedication of volunteers who make 4-H possible. We’ll highlight the year’s successes, honor outstanding members, and enjoy a time of fellowship with families and friends. We can’t wait to celebrate everything our 4-H community has accomplished—your commitment and passion truly make a difference!

Date: January 11

Time: 3:00 PM

Location: Tentative Renville County Government Center

Please RSVP to the Extension office by January 5.

We must have at least 30 families registered to host this event.

• Project Bowl is a long-standing program in Minnesota 4-H and is the second most attended event of the year.

  In Project Bowl, teams of three to six youth members build skills working and thinking together while testing their knowledge in these 4-H areas: dairy, dog, general livestock, horse, llama-alpaca, plant science, poultry and rabbit.

  
  

If you are interested in creating a team, reach out to the Extension office!

You will be receiving an invitation for a new BAND app page. This page will serve as an extra resource for our county. This will focus on upcoming events, last minute changes, announcements, surveys, and provide a way for adults and youth to connect throughout the county!

If you did not receive and invitation, check your spam folder, otherwise reach out to Ashle (benson18@umn.edu)

If your child is looking for a hands-on livestock experience this year, Renville County 4-H is excited to offer two great opportunities! Our Broiler Project provides youth with day-old chicks to raise at home while learning about animal care, nutrition, and responsibility—culminating in showing their birds at the county fair. We are also launching an Adopt-A-Pig Program for youth in grades 3 and up, giving participants the chance to work with a market hog. Throughout the season, youth will gain valuable skills in swine care, ethics, and showmanship.

After county fair, animals will be harvested, with the county keeping a portion to sell to consumers, a portion that will be donated to the Food Shelf, and each family will also get to keep a portion of the animal.

If your family is interested in participating in either the Broiler Project or the Adopt-a-Pig program, please take a few minutes to fill out the form below.

*This form isn't committing you to either program; it is to give us an idea of who is interested in participating. We will have an in-person meeting with all 4-Hers and their guardians to explain the program in depth and answer any questions you may have. If you choose to commit to the program, then your 4-Her and their guardian can sign the care agreement and provide us with the deposit that evening to secure your spot.

The Renville County 4-H Fruit and Butter Braid Fundraiser will start on January 26, 2026. Orders can be taken through February 26, 2026. The fruit fundraiser will include a larger selection of non-fruit items, such as nuts and cheese spreads. Last year we made over $7,000 for Renville County 4-H.

Family order packets will be sent out the beginning of January.

More information will be sent out with the packets in the January newsletter and in BAND!

Calling all creative 4-H’ers! We’re excited to launch this year’s Banner & T-Shirt Design Contest, and we want YOUR artwork to represent our county 4-H program. Members are invited to submit original designs that showcase what 4-H means to them—creativity, leadership, community, and fun. The winning design will be featured on our official county banner and this year’s 4-H t-shirt. Let your imagination shine and help us create something amazing.

Check out more information for eligibility & design specifics in the document below.

Deadline for submission is January 30.

Voting for both the banners and t-shirt design will take place in February through the newsletter and BAND app. The final day for voting will be at the Fruit & Butter Braids pick-up.

The Minnesota 4-H State Ambassadors are excited to invite YOU to the 2026 regional leadership workshops: Building Leadership and Understanding (BLU): Bloom into Leadership! Youth will build important leadership skills at BLU by learning about communication and conflict. They’ll explore different ways people communicate, take a fun self-assessment to understand how they handle conflict and discover tools to help them work better with others.

Youth will also participate in an impactful service session centered on this year’s statewide service project theme Disaster Relief and Emergency Response, where participants will step into action through hands-on activities, meaningful service projects and collection drives that make a real difference across communities in Minnesota.

Building Leadership and Understanding (BLU) is a youth-led workshop for youth in grades 6 and up that strengthens leadership, communication, and relationship skills. BLU will be hosted in five different locations! Four overnight and one, single day experiences:

• Jan. 31-Feb. 1 - Long Lake Conservation Center in Palisade

• Feb. 7-8 - Camp Victory in Zumbro Falls

• Feb. 7-8 - Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji

• Feb. 21-22 - Camp Friendship in Annandale

• Feb. 28 - Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall

To learn more about BLU and register visit z.umn.edu/4-HBLU.

Leaders: There will soon be a link that is shared with you all for a Google drive folder. This folder will hold all materials that you may need as a club leader. Below are November and December Agenda templates. I have also linked a secretary's minute-taking template and the treasurer's book.

What a year 2025 has been!

During the month of December, I try to take some time and reflect over the past year - the successes, the opportunities, the lessons learned, and the memories that were made by all of them. I encourage you all to do the same. Taking a few minutes to reflect on where we have been and what we have learned helps to set us up for better successes in the future.

Let's take a moment to walk through the year.

The Successes:

• Renville County 4-H grew by 76%
• New programs were well attended

The Opportunities:

• New community partnerships
• New volunteers

Lessons Learned:

• Take a breath - enjoy every day
• Its ok if things did not go how you originally planned - refocus and try again
• Ask the hard questions

My Core Memories:

• Watching the growth of all youth that I get to work with
• New families joining committees and helping out at the county level
• Watching the generations of 4-H families working together

If you have not reenrolled your family into 4H Online, please do so as soon as possible. If your child has a personal email, please include that on their registration. This is a great way for them to also be able to view the newsletter and any other additional materials they may be interested in.

Finally, for those of you who enjoy designing things, there is a design contest that is happening.

We need designs for: livestock banners and the county t-shirt.

Please check out the requirements above for more information.

Deadline for these is January 30, 2026.

Have a safe Holiday Season!

Minnesota 4-H is hiring an Interim 4-H Program Associate for Renville County. An Interim 4-H Program Associate manages the day to day coordination and delivery of local 4-H programming during a vacancy due to FMLA. This temporary position starts March 25, 2026. More information on this position can be found here. Please send interest to Kate Holland, 4-H Interim Hires and Onboarding Coordinator, at kharring@umn.edu. Applications will be reviewed as submitted for consideration.

*At this time, they are looking to fill this position at 40 hours per week.