Renville County Clover Update

Katie Fitzgerald is joining Renville County April 20th- June 18th as the Interim 4-H Program Associate. She is a graduate of South Dakota State University with a bachelor's degree in Animal Science and minors in Agricultural Business, Agribusiness Marketing, and Farm and Ranch Management. She was previously a high school agriculture teacher and Interim for Dodge and Waseca County 4-H. She is excited to work with Renville County!

Katie's remote hours are Monday and Wednesday 8 AM- 4:30 PM and Friday 12 PM- 4:30 PM.

Ashle will be on FMLA until mid-June. In the interim, please contact Theresa at the Extension office or Katie Fitzgerald, Interim 4-H Program Associate (fitzg616@umn.edu)

May 7: No Ambassadors meeting in May, Watch for Service Project Details

May 7: Leader's Council (6:30 PM)

May 15: Animal ID Deadline & Reenrollment Deadline

May 25: FairEntry opens

May 25: Office Closed in observance of Memorial Day

June 5: Last day to register for the Broiler Project

June 15ish: Initial Broiler Project meeting

June 23ish: Broiler Project chick pick up

June 19: Office Closed in observance of Juneteenth

July 6: Office Closed

July 14: Renville County Performing Arts/ Fashion Revue/ Demonstration Day

July 20: FairEntry closes

When: Thursday, May 7, 2026 - 6:30 PM

Where: Renville County Government Center, Room 117

This meeting is open to ALL Renville County 4-H members, parents, and volunteers. Please join us for discussion on food stand management, menu, and more!

Join the Renville County Master Gardeners in Bird Island or Fairfax to learn about growing your own garden, prepare healthy snacks, learn about how the sun and the rain and soil affects our gardens, and, of course, no garden is complete without learning about bugs.

The Bird Island program kicked off April 21 and runs through August. The Fairfax program will start May 21 and run through August. Each group will meet once per week, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Space is limited

Contact Theresa at the Extension office to register today!

320-523-3713 or bockx097@umn.edu

The program is to give interested youth the opportunity to learn about agriculture, responsibility for the care of an animal, grow self-confidence, and a chance to make new friends. Our goal is to make this opportunity affordable and available to any interested youth to grow our market project areas, as well as our youths' knowledge in the respective species industries.

Please review the species documents that you are interested in participating in before you complete this form. Once the interest form closes, we will have a meeting to discuss the programs in detail, sign the care agreement contracts and submit the deposits.

*Please note: these deposits will not be refunded if we have received the animals and you decide to back out of the program. As long as all requirements of the program are met, the fee will be put towards the bill at the end.

Important Dates

• Deadline to register for the Poultry Market Livestock Program is June 5!
• Orientation meeting: Tentatively week of June 15 - 6:00 PM - in-person
• Chick pick up: Tentative date of June 23
• County Fair ready meeting: TBD (most likely late June/early July)
• Livestock Entry day: Tuesday, August 11
• Poultry Show: Thursday, August 13

If you have any questions contact the office at 320-523-3713 or the Extension office at mnext-renville@umn.edu. We look forward to having you participate in this program!

Planning to exhibit animals this year? Be sure to complete the Animal ID process by May 15 at 11:59 PM. It is important that all exhibitors review the animal ID information for their species (z.umn.edu/mn4hanimalid) and complete this process as soon as possible.

Ear tags can be picked up from the Extension office during business hours. Please call ahead to ensure someone will be available to get you tags.

Karen Roker will again offer her table runner and pillowcase sewing classes.

Table Runner class times:

Monday, June 1 or Thursday, June 4, at 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. each day (4 youth per session)

Pillowcase class times:

Monday, June 1 or Thursday, June 4 at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. each day (4 youth per session)

Each class has a limit of four youth per session. Register by calling the Extension office (320) 523-3713 or in 4-H Online.

4-H'ers have two opportunities to learn about quilting this summer:

Quilting 1 is for new quilters and is going to be held Monday, June 8, 15 and 22, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and has 1 session.

Quilting 2 is for youth who have some experience quilting and is going to have 3 separate sessions: All sessions will be Monday, June 8, 15 and 22, 2026

• Session 1 is from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
• Session 2 is from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
• Session 3 is from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Register by calling the Extension office or in 4-H Online. Space is limited.

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The Renville County 4-H Food Revue was held on Sunday, April 19, at the Renville County Government Center.

Youth participants prepared a favorite recipe, selected a menu, and chose a theme. They designed a table setting to match their theme and presented their project, along with a binder, to the judge.

Participants will also be exhibiting their Food Revue projects at the fair, so be sure to check them out.

Thank you to all of our participants—we appreciate your hard work. You did a fantastic job!

Get ready to shine at our Performing Arts, Fashion Revue & Demonstration Day, taking place on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, 7 p.m. at Traditions, 603 E. Fairview Avenue, Olivia, MN. If you’ve designed or sewn a new outfit—or just want to show off a favorite purchase—this is your moment to walk the runway! Got a talent to share? Take the stage and wow us with your singing, dancing, musical skills, juggling, or any unique talent you have. If you have a demonstration–share something cool you’ve learned—maybe a school project, a how-to, or any skill you’re proud to teach.

All 4-H youth are welcome to participate. Come celebrate creativity, talent, and learning in action!

Mark your calendars! The Regional 4-H Camp in Morris is scheduled for June 23-25, at the University of Minnesota Morris. This exciting opportunity is open to youth in grades 3-6, offering a memorable camp experience filled with educational tracks, small group activities, recreation and more!

In this event, campers will stay in dorms, eat from the campus dining hall, and experience what it is like to be on a college campus.

Participants will choose their own adventure from 7 tracks, including Jr Farmhands, Young Artists, Jr Performers, and Excavators.

Visit the Extension website for more information and to register.

There are a lot of opportunities that are happening throughout the state. Many of you have most likely received this already, but this serves as a reminder to take a look at the exciting opportunities that Minnesota 4-H has to offer.

If you have not re-enrolled in Renville County 4-H, please do so by May 15, 2026

You can reenroll by visiting 4HOnline.com or calling the Extension office (320-523-3713).

If you are not reenrolled by 11:59 PM on May 15, all County Fair projects will be capped at a blue and will not be State Fair eligible.

Please see the Renville County Consequences and Exemptions table linked below.

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to the Extension office!

This is a great source for all of the information, links, and questions you may have about 4-H projects.

Fair Registration opens on FairEntry on May 25 and closes on July 20.

Have an awesome project but not sure where to show it, or maybe you're looking for project ideas...call the Extension Office - we would be happy to help you out.

If you would like a printed version, please contact the Extension office.

Whether you're interested in pets, horse riding, animal training or raising animals for food, learn how to keep them healthy, and how healthy animals and healthy people go together.

In the veterinary science project, you can learn about:

• Basic anatomy
• Health and disease
• Normal and abnormal conditions
• Veterinary careers

These are just some of the many ways you can participate in this project.

Please see below the agenda template for April & May. These are still a work in progress and will get more specific as the months go on. If you have any suggestions, please let Ashle know!

Please make a copy of this document by:

1. Clicking the file on the top left-hand corner of the screen.
2. Find "Make a copy" (should be the third one from the top) and click on it.
3. Name your document and save it into the folder you wish to save it to.

If you have any issues, please let Ashle know!

Minnesota 4-H has an awesome Volunteer Resource Center for 4-H volunteers. Take a second and check it out.

Under the "Lead a Club" picture, you will find a lot of resources to help you plan your club meetings and fun activities.

Click on the link below:

Club Leader Toolkit