Nobles 4-H Newsletter

Ear tags for the 2026 animal ID season are now available at the Extension Office. Tags are available at no cost to Nobles County 4-H members. All distributed tags must be accounted for in 4-H Online and tags that do not show up in 4-H Online must be returned to the Extension office. To order tags ahead of time for pick up, please complete the order form.

Please note that if your animal is already identified with a USDA RFID tag, do not remove that tag; it will be accepted in place of a 4-H tag. But you must list all 15 digits of non-4-H tags in 4-H Online.

See the Market Beef Identification Letter for steps that must be followed to identify your market beef animals in 4-H Online by February 17, 2026. If you have any questions on what tag to use, see the 4-H Beef Identification Requirements.

All species requirements have been updated for 2026, refer to the 4-H Animal ID webpage.

The January Federation meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 20th at 7:00 pm in the Farmers Room in the Nobles County Government Center. We highly encourage you to come attend the meeting.

The Nobles County Animal Science meeting is scheduled for January 20th, starting at 5:30 pm in the Farmers Room at the Nobles County Government Center. All youth and adults are encouraged to attend. At this meeting we will finalize the premium book, work on bonus trip applications and review animal science updates for this year.

Are you in 7th grade or above and have a passion for agriculture and a desire to make a difference in your community? If so, we invite you to join our 4-H Ag Ed Leader in the Classroom program and become a youth teacher, sharing your enthusiasm for agriculture with elementary age youth. You must attend training prior to teaching in the classroom, more information will be provided. Please let Kerstin know by January 19th if you are interested! thoms531@umn.edu.

The 2026 Andrea Ruesch 4-H Scholarship is now accepting applications. To learn more and apply, visit the Extension 4-H scholarship website. Applications are due March 1, 2026.

FORWARD Worthington Scholarship

The Agribusiness Committee of FORWARD Worthington is partnering with the Nobles County Corn & Soybean Growers Association, the Rock Nobles Cattlemen, and Nobles County Farm Bureau to award scholarships in the amount of $1,500 per scholarship we give away. The objective is to create scholarships for high school graduates entering college in an agricultural related field. If you have any questions concerning the scholarship program, please contact the FORWARD Worthington office at 507-372-2919.

Any high school graduate can apply for the scholarships that fulfill the following:

• 2026 graduating senior;

• Nobles County resident;

• Attending any two- or four-year college for an agriculture or bio-science related field of study.

The deadline to submit the applications is February 2, 2026. All completed applications should be sent or dropped off to:

FORWARD Worthington 700 2nd Avenue Worthington, MN 56187

What exactly is the role of a project development committee (PDC)? How does it support the mission of Minnesota 4-H and the local county program? How do we structure our committee and how do finances work? Who gets to make rules and policies?

Join us on Jan. 22 from 7 to 8 p.m. for a PDC kickoff webinar to get your animal science committees off to a great start. Members of the state animal science and volunteer systems team will cover the basics of a PDC, it's purpose, policies and rules, finances, and ideas for educational experiences.

Learn more and register.

Also mark your calendars for the spring animal science PDC webinar scheduled for April 23 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. This webinar will cover specie specific updates, county/state fair updates, and educational offerings.

Join us on Tuesdays in February (Feb. 3, 10, 17, 24) from 6 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom , for project learning in cake decorating! A professional cake decorator will lead four virtual sessions. The series is open to youth in grades 3+. Participants will learn a variety of cake decorating techniques through hands-on instruction. Join us for this fun, hands-on cake decorating series from the comfort of your own home! Learn more and register.

Looking for an activity to incorporate into your next club meeting? Youth can complete winter preparedness and service activities listed. This is an easy, flexible activity to add into club meetings. For more information follow this link.

Want to test your skills and knowledge in general livestock (beef, sheep, swine, and meat goat)? Check out this new opportunity to participate in a General Livestock SkillaThon contest right here in Minnesota! There are two opportunities to participate.

4-Hers in grades 3-13 are invited to participate as a team or as an individual! For more details, check out z.umn.edu/GLSkillathon. Registration is due by January 25.

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