Dawes County 4-H

February is 4-H Month!!

Feb. 1 - Panhandle Best in Hyannis

Feb. 7 - Beef Weigh -in at Crawford Livestock Market 9-11 am

Feb. 7 - 4-H Movie Day 1:30 pm

Feb. 8 - Panhandle Best in Mullen

Feb. 15 - Panhandle Best in Mitchell

Feb. 16 - OFFICE Closed - Presidents Day

Feb. 21 - Robotics Mini Play in Alliance

Feb. 22 - Panhandle Best in Kimball

Mar. 1 - Panhandle Best in Alliance

Mar. 8 - Panhandle Best in Chadron

Mar. 9 - Dawes 4-H Council Meeting 6 pm

Mar. 14 -15 - State BB Gun

DEADLINE DATES:

Feb. 15 - Special Garden Project Registration Deadline

Feb. 27 - Fair Theme & 4-H Promotional Contest Entries Deadline

Mar. 2 - 4-H Fair T-Shirt Design Contest Entries Deadline

Mar. 12 - Special Agronomy Project Registration Deadline

February is 4-H Member Month in Nebraska – a time to celebrate how membership in 4-H prepares youth for work and for life.

Through hands-on learning and supportive relationships, 4-H helps youth discover their sparks, or the interests and skills that inspire purpose, while fostering a strong sense of belonging where members feel valued and connected. Youth also benefit from developmental relationships with caring adults who guide and encourage growth, as well as from meaningful engagement through active leadership and learning opportunities.

Dawes County youth will celebrate with locker signs, several creativity contests, 4-H movie day, and social media engaging posts. Follow our Facebook Page to engage with our posts all February! 🍀

Thanks to the Happy Hustlers and 4-H Council, 4-H members who wear a 4-H shirt will get into the Chadron Movie Theater for free. The Chadron Theater is doing a special showing of the Barnyard for us on February 7th at 1:30 pm.

Thanks to Farm Credit Services of America, Dawes County will have new shirts at County Fair for all 4-H members. Help us design the shirt for this year's fair! Submit the design to Tessa Reece at tessa.reece@unl.edu by March 2nd. Shirt designs must include the 4-H logo. The 2026 shirt color will be determined based on winning design. Requirements for the 4-H logo are: green leaves with white H letters, stem turned to the right, the logo must not be covered or have something in the background.

4-H Promotional Contest is just that- Promote our 4-H program! What does 4-H mean to you?? You must include the 4-H Clover in your poster. These will be featured in different events throughout the year, including our annual Achievement Banquet. This contest features two age groups: 10 & under and 11-18. Each winner will receive $20.

Pick Your County Fair Theme- What does the Dawes County Fair mean to you & your community? The chosen theme will be used for advertisement AND the winner will get free passes to the night events at the fair, for their ENTIRE FAMILY! You must include the dates for the fair, July 24-July 31.

Entries for both contests are due February 27th. Please include name & contact information on the back of your design.

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.

Welcome Tessa Reece! Tessa started January 20 as a 4-H Extension Educator serving Box Butte, Dawes, Sheridan, and Sioux Counties. She grew up on a family ranch in the sandhills near North Platte, NE. She was very active in Lincoln County 4-H. Tessa received both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from UNL. Her MS is Child, Youth, & Family Studies with a specialization in Youth Development. You may recognize Tessa as she was the 4-H Assistant in Dawes County from June 2018 to September 2023. Tessa is excited to meet new faces and see familiar ones!

The 4-H team in the Northern Panhandle has expanded to two 4-H Educators. Melissa Mracek and Tessa will both serve as 4-H Educators responsible for programming and the traditional programs in Box Butte, Dawes, Sheridan, and Sioux. Tessa will be the lead contact for Dawes and Sioux. Melissa will be the lead contact for Box Butte and Sheridan.

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. For more information: https://4h.unl.edu/special-gardening-project

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

The 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.

• Each youth who registers will automatically receive the 2 different popcorn seeds automatically.
• While this popcorn shouldn’t be grown with sweet corn, it won’t be affected by dent corn. Aaron has provided the reasoning for this which you can share with your members if they have any questions.
• Most popcorn varieties have a gene that doesn’t allow them to be pollinated by dent corn, which is what field corn is.
• The two varieties we have selected have 12 days difference in maturity, so if they are planted at the same time, they each should pollinate at different times and keep their colors, but there may still be some cross pollination between them if one is delayed in maturity.
• The reason it affects sweet corn is that both are flint corns so they readily cross pollinate, with the sweet corn not tasting good since it has more starch vs sugar.

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

More details at: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/youth/special-agronomy-project/

To get the seeds, please contact the Extension Office prior to March 12.

4-H Enrollment for the 2025-2026 year is OPEN! Deadline for 4-H Enrollment will be June 15, 2026. As a reminder, if you plan to participate in Shooting Sports or the Horse project, you need to add those projects and sign the consents. To be completely enrolled, dues must be paid. CHANGES TO DUES - Dues are $5.00 and can be paid with cash, check, or credit card. Checks are payable to UNL Extension. Clover Kids (ages 5-7) are free.

Other projects are not mandatory to add. Please contact the Extension Office for assistance

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.

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 https://4h.unl.edu/statewide-events-opportunities/nebraska-4-h-summer-camp/

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

These people are YOUR voice! Please contact any of them if you have an idea for a new or existing event or activity, have concerns with the program, or just want to have input in the decision-making process.

4-H Council:
President - Boone Huffman

Vice President - Kevin Keim

Secretary - Dina Connell

Treasurer - Bailey Lesmeister
Members - Kris Vahrenkamp, Buffy Hourt-Allred, Melissa Nicholson
Youth Members: Garett Tollman, Kody Keim, Amelia Betson, Rhett Lesmeister

Extension Board:
President - Tony Denke
Vice President - Tim Milner
Secretary/Treasurer - Angel Lindsey
Members - Cody Gibbons, Willy Cogdill, Kyli Heiting

4-H Foundation:

Ryan Sellman, Chris Garrett, Bill Cogdill, Jan Soester, Roy Lambert, Jeff Lien, Kris Vahrenkamp