Burt County 4-H Hotline Newsletter
December 2024
Outstanding 4-H Youth Volunteer Award - LilyAnn Willing
LilyAnn has been named a 2025 Nebraska 4-H Youth Volunteer Award Winner, recognized for her incredible leadership, service, and dedication to 4-H at both the county and state levels.
A proud member and president of the Flying Needles 4-H Club, LilyAnn has led impactful service projects, mentored younger members, and gone above and beyond—whether it’s managing first aid kits at the fair or serving meals through the i-Help program. She’s also been selected to attend the National 4-H Conference and Congress!
Way to go, LilyAnn! You truly “Make the Best Better.” 💚👏
DEADLINE DAY! JUNE 15 (This is a Sunday, so the 13th would be BETTER)
Before June 15th make sure you have all these things checked off…
EVERYONE
Ø Enrolled at https://v2.4honline.com (all youth and leaders)
Ø Projects selected on 4honline
LIVESTOCK EXHIBITORS
Ø Tags from office (Beef, Swine)
Ø ID Sheets/Affidavits (Beef, Goats, Sheep, Rabbits, Swine, Horses)
Going to State Fair? DNA for ALL animals & Online nomination https://showstockmgr.com/ (Beef, Goats, Sheep, Swine)
Remind – PLEASE sign up to be in the know!
Please sign up for REMIND!! We want to have a quick, easy, instant way to contact you all! If you would like to receive text reminders, text @burtco4h to the number 81010. Or go to this link https://www.remind.com/join/burtco4h. Hopefully this way we all don’t forget the fun 4-H things happening!
Like and Follow the Facebook page!
Don’t want to wait for the newsletter to come out to learn the upcoming information? No worries! We post the most recent and updated information on the local Facebook page as soon as we get new information of upcoming events and opportunities. @BurtNeExt
NEW Burt 4-H T-Shirt Voting - DUE APRIL 28
SUBMIT YOUR VOTE BY April 28!!
*Please Note* - We will have a transition year for 4-H livestock exhibitors dress code. In 2025, both the old black 4-H t-shirt AND the new 4-H t-shirt will be allowed in the ring. For 2026, the NEW 4-H t-shirts will be the REQUIRED 4-H livestock exhibitors dress code. (excluding horse exhibitors)
Feel free to call the Burt County Extension Office with any questions. Use the link below to submit your vote. https://go.unl.edu/burttshirtvote or scan QR code.
Presentation Results
Our talented 4-H youth showcased their knowledge and skills at the Burt County 4-H Presentation Contest on March 30 at the courthouse in Tekamah!
Macy Kelly (11) – Junior Champion Presented about her pig, Penelope | Pork Award Winner | Selected for State!
Elisabeth Vogel (15) – Senior Champion Presented on how to give a 4-H presentation | Selected for State!
What’s a 4-H Presentation? It’s a structured speech where youth teach others about a topic they’re passionate about! They use a clear format—introduction, body, and conclusion—and often include visuals like slides. These contests help build confidence, communication skills, and leadership—lifelong assets for any career!
Great job to all participants for their hard work and dedication!
Adventure Day Camp Training - June 3/Camp: June 5 (Reg. Deadline: May 29)
We’re looking for Camp Counselors for Adventure Day Camp on June 5th, to make a day of fun for the campers!
Responsibilities as a counselor will be to work through all the sessions with your group, conduct “get acquainted games”, and assist the session leader when needed. And you get to do all the fun stuff TOO!
Date: Tuesday, June 3
Time: 5pm-7:30pm
Place: Neligh Park, West Point
Age Range: 14+
Fee: FREE!! You don’t have to pay to come to camp!!
Additional paperwork will need to be completed for full registration at https://go.unl.edu/adventureday.
Adventure Day Camp
We’re joining Burt, Cuming, & Thurston Counties this year for a day of outside fun…
WHAT: Be prepared to have fun! Wear clothes that can get dirty!
BRING: Bug Spray, Sunscreen, Extra Set of Clothes, & Life Jacket (if you have one)
Date: Thursday, June 5
Time: 8 am—3:30 pm
Place: Neligh Park, West Point
Age Range: 8-11
Fee: $40 (Burt 4-Her: $20)
Additional paperwork will need to be completed for full registration at https://go.unl.edu/adventureday.
Fremont 4-H Expo Ambassador - June 20
Big Red Camps registration is now open!
Registration for Big Red Camps is now open! Big Red Camps are residential career exploration camps for incoming 9th through 12th grade students which provide the opportunity to live on and explore the Nebraska campus, meet people from across the country, spend time investigating an interest or potential career, and have a lot of fun! Participants will work with our university faculty to explore the topic of their particular camp, like animation, fashion entrepreneurship, or engineering. After spending several fun-filled days on campus, participants' families are invited to attend a special capstone event where youth showcase their achievements.
Big Red Summer Academic Camps are open to youth going into grades 9-12 during the 2025-2026 school year. All housing and food are provided for participants throughout the camp. Space is limited, and camps will fill on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please see Big Red Camp Sessions for a list of camps offered this year, descriptions, participant limits, costs, and scholarship opportunities.
We're looking for Fair Superintendents
Burt County 4-H is looking for FAIR SUPERINTENDENTS to help support our local youth and make this year’s fair a success!
AREAS: Cat, Dog, Companion Animal
TASKS:
- Exhibit Check-In: Record ribbons and manage awards.
- Judging Support: Assist judges and track selections.
- Show Day: Prep the ring, check in animals, announce results, and hand out ribbons.
No experience needed — just a passion for helping 4-H kids!
INTERESTED? Call 402-374-2929.
Horse Level Testing DUE June 30
New for 2025 the deadline for Horse Level Testing to show at the Burt County Fair will be June 30.
If you are planning to participate at the State Level, the deadline for entry and Horse Level Testing has not changed from the June 1 deadline.
- State Level showing - June 1
- Burt County ONLY showing - June 30 deadline
Burt County Ag Society is HIRING
The Burt County Ag Society is looking for a Bathroom Custodian for the 2025 Burt County Fair ( July 18 – July 21).
This is a paid position and a great opportunity to be part of our community event!
For more details or to apply, contact Jaime Bacon at 402-720-0878.
Help us keep the fairgrounds clean and welcoming!
Burt County Photography Theme: "Good Time"
Youth for the Quality Care of Animals - YQCA
YQCA is available as an online or face-to-face program for youth everywhere in the United States. We will be using the same website as last year (even with all of it’s glitches) https://yqcaprogram.org/.
Requirements:
Online – 3 modules @ $12 total (to receive full certification you must complete 3)
OR Face-2-Face training @ $3 total
- Lyons Leading Livestock - Sunday, April 27
- East Oaks - Sunday, May 4
- Argo - Monday, June 2
- Catch-All - Tuesday, June 10
OR Test Out for Intermediate @ $36 or Senior @ $48
Any traditional 4-H member (8-18) in your family that is enrolled in a beef, goat, poultry, rabbit, sheep and/or swine project must be certified to show at county and state fair! The deadline for completion to be eligible to show at the Burt County Fair is June 15th! If you have questions please contact us!
Here are some assistances for completing the process. https://yqcaprogram.org/local/youth_parents.php
- Remember, we learned last year that you have to register for the course. And then take a post-course survey before you can access your certificate (which is the part the office needs).
Cuming County to host Cat Showmanship Clinic - May 27
Cuming County will be hosting a Cat Showmanship Clinic in West Point on Tuesday, May 27th from 1:00-2:30 p.m. at the Dinklage Building on the Cuming County Fairgrounds. Alicia Nebuda will be the presenter who currently owns Glitter Grooming in West Point and has judged cat shows in the past.
Registration is being handled by the Cuming County Extension Office so if you have youth interested, contact them at 402-372-6006! It is limited to the first 20 youth and cost will be $5.00 per youth.
4-H Livestock Achievement Program - DUE June 15
We are excited to announce the fifth year of the Nebraska 4-H Livestock Achievement Program. This additional opportunity for enrolled livestock project youth, is designed to promote all educational aspects of 4-H livestock projects including selection, production, leadership, and exhibition by recognizing youth striving to improve in their livestock project knowledge and leadership.
The program recognizes Members of Excellence across all 4-H livestock project areas, including: beef, sheep, meat goat, swine, dairy cattle, dairy goat, rabbit, and poultry.
The program consists of three levels that require 4-H members to plan and report a broad range of age-appropriate and project-related accomplishments. For each level, the Livestock Achievement Program provides a list of accomplishments from which 4-H members choose their goals. Each accomplishment is worth a specific number of points. Junior 8-10 submits pictures, poster, presentation, and other learning activities to receive the distinction of Junior Member of Excellence, no point value, Intermediates, ages 11-13, must complete 100 points worth of activities to receive the distinction of Intermediate Member of Excellence. Seniors, ages 14-18, must complete 150 points worth of activities to receive the distinction of Senior Member of Excellence. The Plan and Reports, linked on the webpage, show examples of the project related accomplishments they can choose, or they can identify their own with approval of their local educator.
Applications/Sign up are due June 15th through the application form link on the website. Plan and Reports, as well as Project Records will be due August 1 via the completion form on the website.
Youth completing the achievement program and receiving member of excellence recognition in the various species will be recognized during the Parade of Champions, 4-H weekend at the Nebraska State Fair.
For more information or to apply, go to: Livestock Achievement Program | Nebraska 4-H (unl.edu)
4-H Dog Achievement Program
The program consists of levels that require a young person to plan and report a broad range of age-appropriate accomplishments. For each level, the Dog Achievement program provides a list of accomplishments from which 4-H youth choose their goals. The accomplishments increase in quantity and difficulty for each level. At the beginning of the 4-H year, participants plan what to accomplish and at the end of the 4-H year, they report on their completed accomplishments. Successful completion of a level's Plan & Report form results in a 4-H youth earning that level of the Dog Achievement program.
More information can be found at: https://4h.unl.edu/dog-achievement-program
