Nobles 4-H Newsletter

Submitting Orders

• Please use Google Form (z.umn.edu/2026NoblesFundraiser) to record your totals. Please complete this form as soon as you are done selling and prior to submitting your sales sheets.. You are responsible for your family order so be sure to double check what you have entered.

• Your family sales sheets are due to the office February 5th. The office will be open extended hours that day: 8 am to 6 pm. Please bring your sheets and family payment to the office during this time period. If you are unable to make it to the office on February 5th, you may submit your sheets earlier, or you will need to get them to another 4-H family who can submit them on that date. No late sheets will be accepted. These sheets will be returned to you at order pick-up.

• Each family must make ONE check payable to Nobles County 4-H, and turn it in along with your order sheets. Orders will be verified at drop off to ensure correct payment is made.

Order Pick-up / Delivery

• Delivery date is Saturday, March 21st from 7:30 – 9:00 AM at the Worthington Christian Church, 1501 N. Douglas Ave, Worthington.

• Please sign up to help on Pick-up day. Each club will need at least 6 volunteers. Please consider helping out!

• In the case of bad weather, listen to Worthington Radio Stations and check our Facebook page for possible postponement to March 28th.

All Nobles County 4-H families and volunteers are invited to an Enrollment Party on March 8 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the YMCA in Worthington, MN. Come for a day of fun with your 4-H friends in the YMCA gym and pool. Please make sure that you are re-enrolled in 4HOnline prior to the party. Or if you’d like help to enroll, we will be there to walk you through the steps. Bring along anyone that is interesting in joining 4-H and we will help them to enroll too!

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 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.

Are you passionate about livestock and 4-H? Do you have ideas about the 4-H animal science experience? If you said “YES!,” apply to be on the animal science ambassador team! Applications are open January 12-February 6, 2026 to enrolled youth who are 8th grade and above. Application can be found at: https:/z.umn.edu/AniSciAmbie

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.

Students entering grades 7-13 can have an adventure in science and career exploration on the prairie in SW Minnesota. University on the Prairie is a unique program that showcases hands-on activities related to animal science, food science, engineering, ag/environmental science and chemistry.

Faculty from the University of Minnesota and SDSU, along with local professionals and SWROC scientists will join teachers from the region to guide students through hands-on exploration of science in five career areas important to the life and future of southwestern Minnesota. The program is unique in the state and offers students an opportunity to open doors to many career paths and will perhaps result in a future soil scientist, pharmacist, or chemist.

The program is full of fun and hands-on activities. It will be held at the Southwest Research & Outreach Center laboratories, classrooms, and outdoor facilities near Lamberton. Check in at the SWROC will be at 10 a.m. on June 30. The program will run from 10:30 a.m. - 6:25 p.m. on June 30 and from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. on July 1. An overnight lodging option is available at the SWROC (air mattresses, sleeping bags and pillows are encouraged).

Registration is now open at uotp2026.4honline.com. Total cost is $50 per student. Register by June 12. More information can be found at: https://extension.umn.edu/event/university-prairie.

Questions? Email mohrh002@umn.edu

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