Dodge County 4-H Blast

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1. 4-H Calendar
2. 2026 4-H Schedule
3. Dodge County Fair Results
4. NSF Static Entry Information
5. 4-H Day @ the Nebraska State Fair!
6. Culinary Contest @ NSF
7. NSF Dog Show Update!
8. Heat Stress in Animals
9. Screwworm Risk During Show Season
10. Nebraska Youth Beef Leadership Symposium
11. Ambassadors
12. 4-H Council

*Items in BOLD are new items*

*LOCAL (DODGE COUNTY) EVENTS IN BOLD

August 24-25 - State Fair Static Exhibit Drop Off @ Extension Office

August 28-August 30 - 4-H Weekend at the Nebraska State Fair @ Grand Island

August 30 - 4-H Day @ the Nebraska State Fair, 2pm-4pm

September 4-7 - FFA Weekend at the Nebraska State Fair @ Grand Island

September 9 - State Fair Static Exhibit Pick Up @ Extension Office, 8:30am-6:30pm

❗October 30 - Achievement Celebration Applications & Scholarships DEADLINE❗

November 15 - Achievement Celebration, 5:00pm

December 16 - Ambassador Fulfillment of Duties Forms DUE @ 4:30pm

Good news! 🎉 Fair premium checks are now available for pickup at the Dodge County Extension Office!

Stop by the office during regular business hours to pick up your check. Thank you to all of our exhibitors for your hard work and dedication throughout the fair season! ⭐

🎉 Thank You, Dodge County 4-H!

What a great Dodge County Fair! We want to take a moment to say THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this year’s fair a success!

A huge thank you to our 4-H exhibitors and families, judges, superintendents, 4-H Council, Fair Board, volunteers, donors, 4-H Boosters, and all of our supporters of 4-H. We appreciate the time, hard work, encouragement, and support you give to our 4-H members throughout the year!

📋 Fair Results
View the Dodge County Fair results here:
Dodge County Fair Results

If you notice an error or missing result, please let the Extension Office know so we can get it corrected!

💡 We Want to Hear From You!
Do you have suggestions, questions, or a 4-H success story you’d like to share from this year’s fair? We’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to the Dodge County Extension Office and share your thoughts, photos, or stories with us.

📦 Exhibit & Ribbon Pick-Up
We still have a few exhibits, score sheets, and ribbons at the Extension Office that are ready for pickup. If you have something waiting for you, please stop by the office to pick it up! The office is open Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm!

📸 Check out a few of our favorite moments from the Dodge County Fair below!

All exhibits that were nominated for the Nebraska State Fair should have received an email with information about the next steps!

📦 Exhibit Drop-Off: August 24–25 at the Extension Office

🎉 Exhibit Pick-Up: Exhibits will be available for pickup after the State Fair.

The Nebraska State Fair is thrilled to host the 4-H Day at the Nebraska State Fair. 4-H Day will be Sunday, August 30th.

To celebrate our 4-H members statewide, they are offering discounted admission for that day that is only for bonafide 4-H Members. These discounted tickets are only intended for 4-H members; family members including parents will need to purchase regular admission tickets.

The event is set for Saturday, August 29, in the Raising Nebraska Building following the Fashion Show. Registration for 4-H'ers is open in ShoWorks (https://nebr.fairwire.com) until August 10th. In this contest, youth will showcase their skills in nutrition, food preparation, menu planning, and food safety, promoting healthy decision-making. Team consisting of two 4-H members will be eligible to compete. A challenge ingredient is selected each year highlighting a Nebraska food product. The 2026 challenge ingredient is potatoes. Sweet potatoes are not included but teams may choose category of white potatoes such as russet, red, white, yellow, blue/purple, fingerling, or petite.

More information can be found at:

• https://4h.unl.edu/statewide-events-opportunities/state-fair/contest-participant/

• https://food.unl.edu/food-and-nutrition-projects-nebraska-4-h/

For 2026, the 4-H Dog Show will take place on Sunday, September 6, 2026 and will be held in the Thompson Food Indoor Arena. We are excited to share that this location will host all dog show classes, including obedience, rally, showmanship, and agility.

Bringing all events together in one location will make it easier for youth to move between classes and will help improve communication from show officials. Additionally, the arena flooring will be leveled and packed to better support dogs’ movement, helping reduce joint stress during activities such as running and jumping.

Thank you for your dedication to the Nebraska 4-H Dog Show program—we look forward to seeing you at the 2026 State Fair!

Summer show season means thousands of livestock will cross state lines as families head to junior nationals, breed shows, and state fairs. While the focus is on competition, animal health and travel requirements deserve equal attention. This year, producers should pay particular attention to interstate movement requirements and the evolving New World Screwworm (NWS) situation which is dynamic and changing daily.

Read more so you know before you go --> https://go.unl.edu/screwwormrisk

• Who: 10th, 11th, & 12th grade students interested in the beef industry
• When: November 6-8, 2026
• Where: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Youth will be able to:

• Participate in workshops, and discuss with beef industry professionals
• Network with producers, industry professionals, and UNL faculty
• Meet students with similar interests
• Demonstrate knowledge of the beef industry by creating and marketing a retail beef product.

Applications are available August 1st; visit Department of Animal Science to access the application. The application deadline will be September 1st, 2026

Alexa Brodd - Chase Hartman - Brooke Wiese - Kelsey Bunn

These Ambassadors will advocate for Dodge County 4-H at local events and help mentor younger 4-H members, acting as role model in 4-H. Ambassadors develop their communication skills while promoting 4-H!

Youth Representatives:

Samantha Cummings - Kelsey Bunn - Lane Mehaffey - Vanessa Kriete - Kaylee Gregory - Graham Mueller

Adult Representatives:

Deb Gathman (District 1: Dodge/Scribner/Snyder) - Josh Gregory and Maria Kriete (District 2: Logan View) - Mindy Wiese (District 3: Fremont) - Rhet Mehaffey (District 4: North Bend) - Kylee Stanley - Becky Streff - Jeff Hartman - Tracy Kaiser - Michelle Cummings

The 4-H Council is the governing body of the 4-H program, helping to direct decisions in the program that effect all members and volunteers. Some adult members serve specific parts of the county. Other adults, plus all youth members, serve the county program at large. If you have issues, concerns, suggestions, or ideas, share them with a council member.

Mary Spath - Office Manager: mspath2@unl.edu

4-H

Kelly Schole - 4-H Extension Educator

Shane Ahrens - 4-H Assistant: shane.ahrens@unl.edu

Macy Flesher - 4-H Administrative Assistant: mflesher3@unl.edu

Early Childhood

Lisa Poppe - Extension Educator: lpoppe2@unl.edu

Nutrition Education Program

Shelley Thayer - Assistant Extension Educator: mthayer6@unl.edu

Statewide Rural Health

Beth Nacke - Extension Educator: bnacke2@unl.edu

Water & Cropping Systems

Mailson Freire de Oliveira - Extension Educator: mfreiredeoliveira2@unl.edu

Horticulture

Ian Peterson - Extension Educator: ipeterson4@unl.edu

Email: dodge-county@unl.edu
Website: http://extension.unl.edu/statewide/dodge/
Location: 1206 West 23rd Street, Fremont, NE, United States
Phone: 402.727.2775
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/362826330737240/?ref=bookmarks