THE CLOVER GAZETTE
4-H NEWSLETTER
4-H NEWSLETTER
DECEMBER 2023
Season's Greetings from Boulder County 4-H Staff
As the holiday season approaches, we wanted to take a moment to extend our warmest wishes to each and every one of you. It's been a fantastic year of growth, learning, and fun, and we couldn't be more grateful to have such an amazing 4-H community.
May your holiday season be filled with joy, laughter, and the company of loved ones – both two-legged and four-legged! Whether you're celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or just the joy of being together, we hope this time brings you happiness and a chance to reflect on the accomplishments and memories we've made together.
We're excited about the adventures that await us in the coming months. Whether it's raising animals, crafting, coding, or exploring the great outdoors, there's always something new to discover in 4-H.
Thank you for being a vital part of our community. Your passion and dedication make Boulder County 4-H the extraordinary program it is. Here's to a joyful holiday season and a new year filled with even more opportunities for growth, friendship, and success!
Warm regards,
Faith, Brenda, Lisa, and Jeannie
COUNCILS AND ACTIVITIES
YOUTH COUNCIL
We will not be having a meeting this month. Please join us for the Winter Social.
Next meeting: January 10 —6:00 PM
Click HERE for more information on Youth Council.
4-H ADULT COLLABORATIVE
We welcome new members all year! The role of the council is to:
Help mentor new leaders
Provide overall guidance and ideas for the Boulder County 4-H
Learn how adults can be involved in the 4-H program.
This is a great resource if you are a new or seasoned leader. Parents/guardians of youth as well as leaders are welcome. Hope to see you all there!
We will not be having a meeting this month. Please join us for the Winter Social.
Next meeting: January 10 —6:30 PM
Click HERE for more information on this group.
HORSE LEADERS COUNCIL
Boulder County Horse Leader Council is open to:
All organizational, project, activity, and resource leaders
Interested parents.
Membership consists of all leaders enrolled in the Boulder County 4-H program. Our next meeting will be held on Monday, January 8, 2023, at 6:30 pm
Currently virtual meetings - contact Brenda Kwang for Zoom link - bkwang@bouldercounty.org
CLOVERBUDS
We will not be having a meeting this month. Please join us for the Winter Social.
Next meeting: January 23 —6:00 PM
Cloverbud Leader: Karli Hardesty
GENERAL 4-H NEWS
WINTER SOCIAL
CLOVERBUDS
Get ready for a day of festive fun! Your Cloverbud-age kids and their same age friends are invited to our Gingerbread House-Making Day on December 16th.
Date: December 16, 2023
Time: Choose from two sessions - 9:00-10:00 AM or 10:30-11:30 AM
Location: BCFG Natural Resource Building
What to Expect:
Gingerbread house crafting
Learn about Cloverbuds and meet new friends
No need to be a 4-H member yet—everyone is welcome!
Details:
Cost: Free (donations welcome)
RSVP: Please confirm by December 12th. https://tinyurl.com/4HGingerbread2023
Spaces are limited, so secure your spot for a day of creativity and joy! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out. Let's make this event extra special for our Cloverbuds!
FAMILY FORUM
Join us for the 4-H Family Forum on January 24, 2024, at Barn A, Boulder County Fairgrounds, starting at 6:00 PM.
At the forum, we'll cover the five 4-H project completion requirements:
1. Record Book (general and livestock)
2. Demonstration
3. Community Service
4. Judging Activity
5. Project Exhibition
Dinner will be provided, making it a great evening to learn and connect with fellow 4-H families. Don't miss this valuable opportunity to support your 4-H members' project journey.
MQA AND ACMAQ
CAVY UPDATE- MQA REQUIREMENT: After reviewing the rules in other 4-H counties, looking at the goals of the project, and relating to the Cavy project members, we have decided to remove the requirement for Cavy 4-H project members to participate in an MQA training. Cavy project members are welcome to attend, but it is not a requirement for the 2024 year and moving forward at this time.
As a reminder about MQA/ACMQA, all first-year or first-year Senior (14yrs or older) participants in a livestock project (including all market, breeding, dairy, poultry, & rabbit, excluding dog, guinea pig, and horse) are required to attend an MQA training to be eligible to show or sell at the 2024 Boulder County Fair and Colorado State Fair. Watch your emails and the calendar for the 2024 training dates.
2023-24 ENROLLMENT DEALINES
We want to remind you of the importance of re-enrolling promptly.
To ensure a smooth process, kindly complete your enrollment and payment by the last Thursday in January. Please be aware that a late fee of $20 will be applicable for reenrolling members who submit after this deadline.
Looking ahead, mark your calendars for the ultimate cutoff: the last Thursday in April. This date serves as the final deadline for all 4-H enrollments to be eligible for participation at the Boulder County Fair.
Thank you for your attention to these deadlines, and we appreciate your continued commitment to our program. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out.
COLORADO 4-H SCHOLARSHIPS
Colorado 4-H awards scholarships annually to outstanding youth who have actively engaged in Colorado 4-H clubs for at least three years. The scholarship process is open from November 1, 2023, through March 1, 2024. Scholarship recipients will be announced in May 2024. There are opportunities available for all kinds of students, including those attending CSU or other universities, trade schools or junior colleges, transfer students, and continuing students. We encourage our 4-H participants to apply. There is $49,500 available in funding this year!
For more information on the scholarship process and scholarships available, visit https://co4h.colostate.edu/about-us/scholarships/.
If you have scholarship questions, please contact OEE_Giving@colostate.edu.
CLUB NEWS
AWESOMELY INCLUSIVE
The Awesomely Inclusive Club had a blast exploring the captivating world of horses at the Triple Creek Ranch horse show. They delved into the fascinating realms of horse breeds, colors, and judging, gaining a deeper understanding of these majestic creatures.
CRITTERS & CREATIONS
Critters & Creations
What’s new & What’s coming
Our December calendar is also jam-packed as we look forward to the Winter Social on December 6th by enjoying our friends & meeting new ones there along with gathering & collecting winter clothing & food for the Community Service project. We are making plans for a club float for the Longmont Parade of Lights on the 9th. Then the very next day we plan on decorating cookies and delivering them to many of our local police & fire stations around our communities. We then begin to wrap up Dec 2023 by providing free gift wrapping to patrons at Murdoch’s in Longmont. To end the month and the year we all plan on spending time with our families.
Boxes of Joy
This year Critters & Creations helped The Children Umbrella Outreach Group in the filling of the “Boxes of Joy” for children of underprivileged countries around the world. 33 members, leaders, and parents helped the group in filling 2,037 boxes on Nov 10th & 11th at St. Francis Catholic Church. A well-organized system allowed us to make choices in packing boxes where no 2 boxes were alike but all had certain & similar items inside. Most of us stayed for a three-hour shift, and several even came back the second day. We hope to help more in the earlier stages next year and definitely look forward in packing boxes again.
9 Cares Food Drive
A very generous Erie community contributed 3,190.4 pounds of nonperishable food in 8 hours at the Erie King Soopers for the 9 Cares CO Shares Food Drive on Saturday, Nov 18th. Critters & Creations had 34 members, leaders, and parents who handed out fliers and asked shoppers to help with the food collection. All the food collected stayed in its own community and was delivered to BBC Food Pantry in Erie. Patrons also gave cash donations; a total of $736 was collected and went to the Weld Food Bank to help in purchasing additional food for the community.
Niwot Holiday Parade
November 25 was a cold, snowy but beautiful day to get everyone’s spirits up for the holidays. With a temp of 20˚ and snow falling Critters & Creations hauled cattle and goats to lead in the Niwot’s Holiday Parade.
It was cold but not bitter, many members and parents braved the elements outside along with the many parade watchers. Everyone was bundled up in coats, gloves, and boots. Everyone was also wearing a huge smile with rosy cheeks!
What a great way to begin a very joyful holiday season!
GOATS & GALORE
Goats & Galore 4-H Club visited Hover Senior Living Community and brought small animals to share with the residents. The seniors enjoyed visiting with the club members and learning about their goats, sheep, rabbits, cavies, poultry and even a cat!
4x4 Dog
HORSE LEADERS COUNCIL UPDATE
Horse Leaders Council Update
By Mea French
Easy Riders 4-H Club
Before we say “goodbye” to 2023 we should recognize and congratulate the 4-H horse members who represented Boulder County at State Fair in Pueblo this past August.
Representing Blazing Saddles 4-H club were Josie Tempel, Jocelyn Fiegland, and Luke Fiegland. From Easy Riders 4-H club were Megan French and Charley Helgans.
It was an exciting time at State Fair and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We hope to see more riders there in 2024.
Congratulations to all the exhibitors. Looking forward to a wonderful upcoming 2024 4-H year… and happy holidays to all.
Left to right: Megan French, Charley Helgans, Jocelyn Fiegland, Josie Tempel, and Luke Fiegland
Josie getting her horse, Lindsey ready for their class
Proud Luke with his horse, Belle
Charley and Traveler in their reining class
Jocelyn and her horse, Taylor in their colorful display of ribbons
Megan and her horse, Hickory staring down a cow before working with it
GENERAL PROJECTS
IMAGINEERING
CAT
UPCOMING WORKSHOP AND INFO. NIGHT
POULTRY
UPCOMING WORKSHOP AND INFO. NIGHT
RABBIT
UPCOMING PROJECT MEETINGS
CAVY
UPCOMING PROJECT MEETING
SHOOTING SPORTS
SHOOTING SPORTS INFORMATION
Safety Class Requirements for 4-H Shooting Disciplines
Before you can shoot ANY discipline, you must attend a safety class given by a 4-H certified instructor per discipline. A 2024 4-H shooting card will then be provided with the instructor’s signature and date. Then to complete the card you will need at least 5 safe shooting practices with signatures/dates from a certified 4-H shooting instructor per discipline before the BCF shoot to compete.
Participation Guidelines for 22 Shooting Range
Only shooters who have completed a 2024 Safety Meeting from a Boulder County-certified 4-H SS leader may participate in the shooting practices. All shooters, leaders, and guardians intending to be present on a 22 shooting range must sign a waiver upon entering the range. Once you've completed a county-wide 2024 Safety meeting per discipline, a Sign-Up-Genius or equivalent sign-up requirement will arrive to you through email for EACH practice date.
Requirements for County and State Shoots
In order to compete at the county or State shoots you will also need to have proof that you completed the CO Hunter Safety Course (a copy of the Hunters Safety Card needs to be uploaded online to your account). You may practice without completing the CO Hunter Safety Course, but you must have completed the CO Hunter Safety Course to compete at the Boulder County Shoot in July. The Hunter Safety portion is NOT provided by 4-H, but if you contact Lisa Wallace to let her know that you/parent/sibling needs the course we will try to schedule one at Green Mills Sportsman Club. You can also Register yourself for a Traditional Class, to find a list of available Hunter Safety Trainings near you: https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/HE-Traditional-Classes.aspx
Required County SAFETY Meetings for the following disciplines:
Rifle (Air & 22) & Pistol (Air & 22) Safety
The first Rifle & Pistol Safety Meeting will be held on Saturday, January 6th via Zoom promptly at 6:30 PM. Please email Lisa to get the secure link to the Rifle & Pistol Safety class.
If you missed the first Rifle & Pistol Safety Meeting a second will be held Saturday, Feb 3rd via Zoom at 6:30 PM
Zoom meeting instructions: When you enter the Zoom meeting in CHAT, please type in your Full NAME AND each of the disciplines (Air Pistol; Air Rifle; 22 Rifle or 22 Pistol) you would like to try out/or plan to shoot as each discipline will require a card before you can shoot and you will ONLY get cards for what you requested. You may try out ANY discipline before enrolling into the project BUT you MUST attend & receive a safety card to shoot EACH discipline. A Sign-up-Genius will go to your family email only unless you enter an additional email into the CHAT under your name & discipline(s).
Air Rifle & Air Pistol shooting
Air Rifle and Air Pistol shooting practices will be held inside Barn A at the Boulder County Fairgrounds on Mondays promptly 5:45 to 8:00 PM. A Sign-up-Genius - will be sent to all who have completed the safety class.
January 8th
February 12th
March 11th
April 8th
May 13th
June 10th and 24th
July 8th and 18th
Archery
County Wide Practice scheduling is in the works
Shotgun
Anyone needing 2024 information & a Shotgun Safety Class please contact Sharp Shooters 4-H Club to get in on the schedule.
.22 Rifle along with .22 Pistol
Winter Practices for .22 Rifle along with .22 Pistol will be held inside at the Longmont PD Firing Range on Sundays promptly 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM. A Sign up Genius - will be sent to all who have completed the safety class.
January 28th
February 25th
March 24th
April 28th
Beginning in April outside practices will be held at Green Mill Sportsman Club -2490 Weld County Road 3 Erie, CO 80516
The full scheduling for 22 Rifle & 22 Pistol will follow this page.
HORSE
SAVE THE DATES
HORSE JUDGING: UPCOMING WORKSHOP AND INFO. NIGHT
The Boulder County 4-H Horse Judging Team will host a kickoff for the spring season on Wednesday, January 24, 2024. Interested members are welcome to attend a fun potluck at the Boulder County Fairgrounds to learn more about the team and competitive horse judging plus fulfill their 4-H judging requirement. Enrollment in the 4-H horse project is not required. For more information, find the team on Facebook @Boulder County Horse Judging or email bouldercountyhorsejudging@gmail.com.
DAIRY CATTLE
DAIRY STEER PROGRAM
Boulder County 4-H 2-year Dairy Steer Program (DSP)
The 4-H Dairy Cattle program is offering new classes. It promotes another side of the Dairy project. Learn how this project enters into our food chain other than with milk products. The dairy sector contributed 5.6 billion pounds (21 percent) of beef to the U.S. commercial beef supply. Dairy steers are well known for their ability to produce the highest quality grades of beef (Prime and High Choice cuts).
This will be a 2-year project, you will start with a bull calf, castrate, and feed him.
Dairy Cattle Project: Did you know?
Did you know that you can also do the Dairy Cattle Project and learn all the aspects of the dairy industry without you, yourself ever having to milk her?
You can start with a calf and exhibit the same heifer for 2 years (2 fairs) by following the DHRP (Dairy Heifer Replacement Program) rules & guidelines. You will also have an opportunity to sell your heifer through the Livestock Sale once she’s bred (check the rules), knowing that she will carry on in life as a producing cow. You could even apply to the Ag Youth Loan Program where you can purchase a calf for the 2-yr program or you can purchase a bred yearling that you can sell at the 2024 fair. You must have possession & ownership by the last Thursday in April (animal ID deadline) along with turning in the DHRP nomination form to the 4-H office.
If the idea of selling a dairy heifer interests you, please check out the DHRP rules and guidelines especially prior to purchasing a new heifer for this program. For more information about these programs or on the Dairy Cattle Project itself, even help in finding a dairy heifer, or a bull calf. Call Tina (303) 828-3789 or email: runrunnerrun@aol.com
FAIRBOARD BUZZ
SAVE THE DATES
Happy Holidays from the Boulder County Fair Board!
We are looking forward to the 2024 Boulder County Fair ~ Save the dates!
Aug 2 – 11, 2024
(Pre-Fair: Fri, Aug 2 – Wed, Aug 7, Full Fair Experience: Thur, Aug 8 – Sun, Aug 11)
AROUND COLORADO 4-H HAPPENINGS
OTHER COUNTY AND STATE EVENTS
Click on images to see full view
BOULDER COUNTY 4-H
BOULDER COUNTY 4-H EVENT CALENDAR
OUR TeamUp Calendar IS UPDATED OFTEN AND IS WHERE YOU WILL FIND OUR MOST UP TO DATE INFORMATION (https://teamup.com/kstehhrw3yyee6xjph)
DATES TO REMEMBER THIS MONTH
12/06 -Winter Social
12/11 -General Projects Imagineering
12/15 -Dairy Cattle Workshop
12/22-01/01-Extension Office Closed
SHARE YOUR CLUB NEWS
The Clover Gazette 4-H Newsletter is published 11 times a year. News articles are welcomed by members, leaders and clubs! Please email your articles/entries to Jeannie on or before the 20th of the preceding month.
Do you have photos you'd like to share? Please send them to Jeannie.
Fair warning: They will probably be posted on social media and used on our marketing materials.
MEET OUR TEAM
4-H Youth Development/ Outreach County Specialist
4-H Youth Development/ Livestock & Animals County Specialist
4-H Project Assistant
4-H Program Secretary
Boulder County Extensions Office
9595 Nelson Rd, Box B
Longmont, Colorado 80501
(303) 678-6238
4hinfo@bouldercounty.org
Colorado State University Extension is an equal opportunity provider.
Colorado State University does not discriminate on the basis of disability and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations.
CSU’s Office of Engagement and Extension ensures meaningful access and equal opportunities to participate to individuals whose first language is not English.
Colorado State University Extension es un proveedor que ofrece igualdad de oportunidades.
Colorado State University no discrimina por motivos de discapacidad y se compromete a proporcionar adaptaciones razonables.
Office of Engagement and Extension de CSU garantiza acceso significativo e igualdad de oportunidades para participar a las personas quienes su primer idioma no es elinglés. Col.st/ll0t3