In This Issue: Interim 4-H Program Coordinator. Project Learning Opportunities

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1 MINNESOTA 4-H CLOVER UPDATE ROCK COUNTY JULY 2016 In This Issue: Interim 4-H Program Coordinator Kelsey Hokanson Contact us: University of Minnesota Extension Rock County 2 Roundwind Road Luverne, MN Kelsey Hokanson Interim 4-H Program Coordinator hokan085@umn.edu Sheila Steinhoff Office Manager ssteinho@umn.edu Karen Beranek, Regional Extension Educator Judy Christians Executive Admin. Specialist county/rock New Interim 4-H Program Coordinator... 1 Project Learning Opportunities... 1 Presentation Night... 2 Day Camp-The Amazing Race... 3 Important Dates for Summer... 3 Fashion Review... 4 Fair News Announcements State Information Calendar of Upcoming Events Interim 4-H Program Coordinator Hello, Rock County 4-H families. My name is Kelsey Hokanson and I am your new Interim 4-H Program Coordinator! I am from Cannon Falls, MN and just recently graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in Animal Science-Business and Production. I was an active 4-H er in Goodhue County where I participated in both the Livestock and General project areas. I am looking forward to meeting all of you and learning more about Rock County 4-H! Project Learning Opportunities As we are in the full swing of summer, be aware of all the project learning opportunities available in our communities. Opportunities can be found at parks, local businesses, community groups, libraries, Community Education programs, and more. 2014, Regents of the University of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Extension is an equal opportunity educator and employer. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this publication/material is available in alternative formats upon request. Direct requests to

2 PAGE 2 Presentation Night Thursday, July 7 th at 6 p.m. Grace Lutheran Church Basement (Register by June 24) Presentation Night will be here before we know it! Register by June 24! If you have a major conflict for our date, let Sheila know, and we will check if you can attend in one of our neighboring counties. Presentation Night includes: Foods Review, Performing Arts, Demonstrations, and Club Poster-Banners. Members may enter ONE exhibit in each area. There are age categories and time limits in each of these areas. Premiums are awarded in all areas, and state fair trips are awarded in the eligible age categories. Call the office for more details or questions. Foods Review is a chance to plan a meal for a special occasion or theme. 4-H ers: plan a menu for their meal, make & bring one item of food they have prepared from their menu, bring a place setting for their theme, and a display of their menu. The participants are evaluated on the actual food, their management and nutrition knowledge, the menu, and the table setting. Performing Arts: Just about anything goes! Got an idea give it a try! Demonstrations: A demonstration is where you show the audience and a judge how to do something. Illustrated Talks are included in the Demonstration category. Doing your presentation using computers & software (ex: Powerpoint) is acceptable. Generally both Demonstrations and Illustrated Talks include three basic parts: 1) introduction a catchy way to get the attention of your audience and tell what you will do. 2) body the actual steps of what you are telling about. Answer how, what, when, where, why, how much. 3) conclusion summarize. Display the finished product. Ask for questions. Demonstrations can be: One or 2 person teams A presentation to teach others how to make or do something step-by-step, with a finished product at the end, often with posters for enhancement. An Illustrated Talk, which is a speech on a specific topic using visual aids. A Youth In Action Presentation, which invites the audience & judge to participate. Club Poster Banners : Banners from each club making a statement about 4-H. Use posterboard: size 22 x 28, and design to hang vertically. 2-3 delegates should represent the club in conference judging. The actual fabric banner will be made by the winning clubs before County Fair. * mime * skits * comedy * puppetry * instrumental recital * dance and more! You may also choose to do a display, poster, or notebook on performing arts just sign up for a performing arts exhibit and bring it to be judged.

3 PAGE 3 Daycamp The Amazing Race Friday, July 8 th 9 a.m.-12 noon Rock County Fairgrounds Get ready for an AMAZING 4-H Race With a team, you will experience an adventure full of challenges and science through the fairgrounds on an amazing race of 4-H fun projects. You will experience 12 different project areas such as health and nutrition, wildlife, gardening, aerospace and much more! Who: Students Grades 1-4 (Use your school year grade) When: July 8th from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon Instructors: Rock County 4-H Program Coordinator and 4-H Ambassadors Where: Food stand at the Rock County Fairgrounds Cost: $15 Class size limited to 40. Important Dates For the Summer Weekly Shooting Sports BB, Air,.22 rifle, archery practices (Saturdays and Sundays) Weekly Horse practices (Wednesdays and some Tuesdays) July July 7: Presentation Night & Club Poster/Banners: (sign up due June 25) July 8: Day camp gr 1-4 July 12: English Horse Session July 18: Pre-fair Clean-up: July 25: Pre-Fair Judging Day: July 25: Fashion Review Judging: July 27: Fair Entry & Judging Day July 28-July 30: Rock County Fair August Aug 1: Post Fair Clean-up Aug 1: State Fair trip meeting Aug 3: Horse Fun Show Aug 11: State Fair Exhibits due to office Aug 11: Youth Leader Trip Aug 24-28: State Fair Livestock Weekend Aug 25- Sept 5: Minnesota State Fair Aug 29: Lego Robotics Kickoff September Sept 1-3: State Fair General Encampment Sept 5: Labor Day Extension Office Closed Sept 8 or 12: Federation Meeting; Executive Meeting Sept 10-11: State Shoot Sept 12: Records Due to Leader Sept 16-19: State Horse Show Sept 24-25: State Dog Show Sept 29: Records Due to Extension Office Sept 29: Round-Up, New Officer Forms, & Ambie Applications Due Dog Project Sessions Unfortunately we did not receive enough registrations to conduct dog training sessions in Rock County. Interested participants may attend sessions in Nobles County, but must register immediately! Sessions began in May. Regional Dog Shows Dog Project Members who ID their dogs by May 15, and attend training sessions are invited to take part in one of the two Regional Dog Shows held in Southwest MN, either in Lyon County or in Nobles County. These shows will follow MN 4-H Dog Show guidelines. Participants who receive a blue or higher will be eligible to advance to the MN State 4-H Dog Show to be held at the

4 PAGE 4 State Fair Grounds in September. Dog project members must have attended 4 Obedience/Showmanship trainings to participate in Obedience/Showmanship classes and must have attended 6 Agility trainings to participate in Agility classes at the fair. Members who turned in Dog ID sheets will receive more information. Rock County Fashion Review July 25: 11 a.m. Judging July 29: 6 p.m. Show Need a good excuse for a new outfit? Did you get a new outfit for a spring concert? Or maybe you are planning for a trip? Think about how easy it would be to incorporate that into a Purchased Garment Display for Fashion Review! Fashion Review will be part of the county fair again this year, but will take place on Friday evening at 6 p.m. Judging will be Monday, July 25, beginning at 11 a.m. Participants must attend both judging and the show. Further information will be sent to Clothing & Fashion Review project members, or check with the office. We would like to establish a Fashion Review Planning Committee to choose the theme and plan the event. Call the office if you can help in this area, or to sign up now for the Rock County Fashion Review! Livestock Exhibitors Check those Eartags! This is the time of year when 4-H families occasionally report missing 4-H eartags in beef, sheep and swine. If one of the animals you ve ID'd has lost their tag, you should immediately report the missing tag to the Extension office. Report any missing tags as soon as possible. Don t wait until fair week, do it now! Calling All Youth Leaders & Adults --Sign up for County Fair Jobs We need many people to lend a hand and help with some of the jobs that keep our fair running smoothly. We need judge s helpers; livestock show helpers, and more. All older youth or adults are welcome to help. Don t get bored on entry day sitting around waiting for another family member-- sign up and help out! PLEASE fill out the helpers sign-up sheet, and hand it in with your entry form by June 30th! Judging at County Fair Pre-Fair Entry Day, Monday, July 25, 3:30 6:30 p.m. This day is for judging of all nonperishable exhibits. Fashion Review is also judged, beginning at 10 a.m. Here is what you need to do: 1. Stop at the registration table set up in the Foodstand. Double check your entries, and receive your entry cards. (If you do not have an exhibit for each card, tell the person at the registration desk that you have dropped that project so they can inform the judges.) 2. Take your exhibits and your entry cards into the Exhibit Building. 3. Find the area where your project will be judged - signs will be posted to show you where to go for judging. 4. Wait in line to confer with the judge about your exhibit.

5 PAGE 5 5. Be prepared to tell the judge about your exhibit and what you learned while doing the project. (Reminder: Parents are not to speak to the judge.) 6. The judge s assistant will put your ribbon sticker and entry card on your exhibit, bring it to be scanned and the project superintendent will display it for you. Entry Day, Wednesday, July 27, 3:30 6:30 pm This day is for judging all perishable exhibits (basically foods & gardening), Cloverbud exhibits, and Club entries, and the day Livestock is brought to the fair. (Livestock arrives at specific times per species.) Follow the same procedures as above to enter foods, gardening, Cloverbud, and Club exhibits. Livestock exhibitors need to get their cards from the 4-H office by the Arena. REMINDER - Perishable foods should be accompanied by recipe and photo displayed in an 8 x10 vertical plastic frame. Cloverbud Judging Cloverbuds may bring up to 3 exhibits of any sort to the judging on July 27 th. Cloverbuds can also participate in Fashion Review (& may have done Communication Contest in Feb/March), but are NOT in any Livestock shows or judging situations other than that. So, if you want to exhibit something or share your pet, bring it to judging on Wednesday, from 3:30 6:30 pm. Absentee Judging at County Fair See the State Policy for specific details at: h/policies If you will not be available for the general project conference judging, you can still exhibit at the County Fair. You need to complete your project as you normally would. Then you should write up a narration or record a videotape that describes how you did your project, what you learned, cost, etc. Think of the questions the judge might ask when you write your information. This narration must accompany your exhibit and both must be present at judging time. FAIR SHOW SCHEDULE Fair Project Signup JUNE 30 Pre-fair Entry Day (general projects) Monday, July 25 Livestock, Foods, Plants, Club, Cloverbud Entry Day Wed, July 27 Poultry show- Wed 6:00 pm Rabbit Show Wed 7:30 pm Swine Show Thurs 8 a.m. Dairy Show Thurs 11:00 a.m. Goat Show Thurs 2:00 p.m. Sheep Show Thurs 3:30 p.m. Beef Show Friday 8 a.m. Horse Training Friday 10:00 a.m. Horse Showmanship Friday 10:30 a.m. Horse Pleasure Show Friday, approx. 12 noon Pet Show Friday 4:30 p.m. Fashion Review Show Friday 6 p.m. Livestock Ribbon Auction Sat 9 a.m. Scholarship Auction following ribbon auction Horse Games Show Sat 11 a.m. Premier Showmanship Contest Sat 4:00 p.m. Parade of Champions Sat 6 p.m. Release of 4-H GENERAL Exhibits is Sat. July 30 at 9:00 pm

6 PAGE 6 Release of 4-H LIVESTOCK Exhibits is Sat. July 30, at 10:00 pm (Early removal = loss of any 4-H funding) State Fair Trip meeting Monday 5:30 p.m. Post Fair Clean-up Monday 6:00 p.m. Fair Schedules Make sure you are signed up to work! Clean- up Schedule: In order to have more people helping with the areas that need more help, an additional club has been assigned to the Foodstand & Exhibit Areas, and the areas of Arena, Horse Barn, 4-H Office, & Popstop were combined into one. Please remember to bring the cleaning supplies that are needed for the area that your club has been assigned. That might include: brooms, washcloths, buckets, or even rakes. Pre-fair Cleanup on Monday, July 18 at 7 p.m. year s exhibit display superintendents are as follows: Monday: Springdell Natural Resources/Self Determined County K9 Family Sciences/Personal Growth/Needle Arts/Clown Blue Ribbon Clothing & Textile Arts, Quilting, Fashion Review Livewires Photography/Video Denver Go-Getters Crafts & Fine Arts/Scrapbooking Springdell: Livewires: Denver Go-Getters: Arena/Horse Barn/ 4-H Office/Popstop Foodstand Exhibit Area Willing Workers Mechanical Sciences/Vet Sciences/Animal Sciences Wednesday: Post-fair Cleanup on Monday, Aug 1, at 6 p.m. Adult Volunteers: Cloverbuds Plant Sciences/ County K9s: H Office/Popstop Willing Workers: Blue Ribbon: Magnolia Juniors: Exhibit Display Schedule Arena/Horse Barn/4- Livestock/ Barn area Foodstand Exhibit Area Each club is responsible for arranging the exhibits in the various project areas. This Magnolia Juniors: Building Supervisor Schedule Foods & Club Entries Each club is assigned a time slot to be in charge of supervising the Exhibit Building. That includes: answering questions, providing information about 4-H, & preventing the loss or vandalism of exhibits. Day & time slots rotate between clubs each year and clubs may decide how to fulfill their time slot (1 person/4 hours, or 4 people/1 hour each, etc.). Sign-up

7 PAGE 7 sheets will be given to club leaders. Personally I think this is a great opportunity to have time to really look over all the wonderful exhibits we have! Thursday 10 a.m. 2 p.m. Livewires 2 p.m. 6 p.m. Willing Workers 6 p.m. 10 p.m. Denver Go-Getters Friday 10 a.m. 2 p.m. Magnolia Juniors 2 p.m. 6 p.m. County K9s 6 p.m. 10 p.m. Springdell Saturday 10 a.m. 2 p.m. (BR, K9, LW, MJ will each have 1 hour of supervisor role) 2 p.m. 6 p.m. Blue Ribbon 6 p.m. 10 p.m. Extension Staff Foodstand update: Gayle Wenzel will be our foodstand manager this year. THANKS! Make sure you know when you are scheduled to work, and BE THERE! 1. Keep Your Hats On!! The health inspector requires that everyone working in the Foodstand must wear a cap, bandana, visor, hairnet, or some kind of head cover. You can choose what you want to wear -- all we ask is that it is clean! If you do have something to wear, we will supply hair nets for you! 2. Wash your hands, and wear clean clothes. 3. Sign in when you arrive for your shift, and wear your name tag The revised schedule with shorter shifts has been a hit! However, this means fewer families per shift, so attendance is more important than ever. Sign-up will be done online. The Foodstand sales, along with the Fruit & More sale, provide the funds for all 4-H activities ranging from camp to project meetings to Round-up. We need everyone s help! Each club has been given a variety of shifts so you can work around any conflicts. If you absolutely cannot work during your scheduled shift, YOU are responsible to trade with someone else; (you can call the office to see if we know of any openings). For Foodstand scheduling, a family unit is considered to be a minimum of 1 adult and 1 youth. Families/parents of older youth who are chosen to work in the Popstop instead of the Foodstand will still need to fill their family s slot in the foodstand. Families that have ONLY Cloverbud members are encouraged to work 1-2 hours during one of their club s shifts, but are not counted toward the family units assigned to each club. Each club will need an adult cashier & person-in-charge for their shift. Pop Stop Workers Earn $$ for trips Thanks to Teresa Kinsinger for managing the PopStop. Profits from the Popstop have helped support the Rock County 4-H Exchange Trips, Wild Water West trip, Valley Fair trip, Twins trip, & Omaha zoo trip for ALL youth leaders over 7 th grade. Any youth leader may sign up to work in the Popstop, but if we get more workers than time slots, preference will be given first to Rock County Ambies, and then to those in grades 9 on up beginning with

8 PAGE 8 the older members first. Even if you are chosen to work in the Popstop instead of the Foodstand, your family MUST still fill their timeslot in the foodstand. You will be notified if you receive a Popstop slot; if you are not notified you did not receive a spot. New in 2016 Popstop Cards!! We are offering families to stop in to the 4-H Fair Office to purchase $20 cards to use at the Popstop. These are like the food stand ones but will only be used for the Popstop, refunds will not be given if they are not completely used. Ribbons: In order to save some money, most projects will receive ribbon stickers instead of the actual ribbon this year. If you would like the actual ribbons, they will be available in our office at the fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon, or in the exhibit building after 9:00 p.m. on Saturday when you are removing your projects. Parade of Champions: You MUST have a thank you written to the award sponsor BEFORE you can participate in Parade of Champions and receive your award! There will be a collection box and check-off list in the 4-H office at the fairgrounds. You must write your thank you (& have the sponsor s name on the envelope,) place it in the box, and check off you name by noon on Saturday. The sponsors names and addresses are on the sheet you are handed with your champion ribbon. (Horse members must turn them in as soon as the show is over.) The thank you s will then be available for you to hand to the sponsor as you receive the trophy. If the sponsor is not there, they will be mailed out. Auction Sign-up Livestock exhibitors are eligible to sell one RIBBON (red or higher) of a MARKET animal in the 4-H Livestock Ribbon Auction on Saturday morning. You must sign up and pay the $2 entry fee by 2:00 p.m. on Friday to take part in the auction. The buyers will write out one check to the Rock County 4-H Foundation, and the exhibitor will receive their percentage from the county if attendance, registration, and thank-you note requirements have been met, and after the appropriate accounting practices have been followed. Minnesota State Fair Livestock Encampment August General Encampment = Thursday-Saturday, September 1-3 State Fair Trip Sign-up: This is VERY important, so read carefully! Everyone (first place AND alternates) who is eligible for a state fair trip MUST decide and notify a staff member by the deadline (Noon on Saturday). We have too many youth that don t decide until the last minute, and some alternates have lost out on trips because they didn t find out soon enough to make plans. If you are eligible in more than one place, tell us what would be your 1st choice, 2nd choice, etc. It is your responsibility to check the chart in the Exhibit building to see if you are a winner or alternate. After the deadline, if you have not indicated Yes or No, your name will be moved to the bottom of the list, and the first alternate that has said Yes will be awarded the trip!

9 PAGE 9 WANTED! Rock County Chaperones for the Minnesota State Fair The state dormitory staff requires at least 1 male and 1 female chaperone for both the General encampment and the Livestock encampment if Rock County members are to use the dormitory. I realize you may not want to commit until you know if your child has received a state fair trip, but if you re even remotely interested, we d like to know, AND you need to have your volunteer screening status up to date!!! We need to know if staying in the dorms will be an option we can offer this year, so we need to know before the state fair trip meeting on Friday (see below). *Adults need to let the Extension office know if they will chaperone and be signed up by Aug 3 rd. State Fair Trip Meetings State Fair Trip meetings for those who have received a state fair trip will be held at the Foodstand on Monday, August 1, at 5:30 p.m (before clean-up). At this time you will receive the information about the trip along with the forms that must be filled out and signed by yourself and a parent or guardian. Also, remember to bring a checkbook or $$ to pay for meals and lodging. If you win a trip and want to go to state fair Be There! Social Media (Facebook) Policies and Standards The University of MN Extension/MN 4-H has recently released standards and policies for all 4-H social media. One of the most important policies is designed to keep our children safe. Posted photos should never include a child s last name and there should be NO tagging of photos. If your club has a Facebook or other social media page, please remind our youth that their safety is one of our top concerns and ask them not to tag the photos on 4-H pages. LQAE (livestock Quality Assurance & Ethics) Training Remember, if you are in 6 th grade or older, and are fortunate enough to get a Livestock State Fair trip, you MUST have had this training to attend the state fair. Rock County held training on April 23. If you did not already attend a training, you may try to find one in a surrounding county Remember: No Training = No State Fair Trip! For other county dates, go online at: malscience/lqa&etrainingdates.html Announcements Office Hours The Extension Office is open Monday Thursday only; we are closed on Fridays! Please plan accordingly and remember you can leave papers in the black drop box right outside our door!

10 PAGE 10 4-H county fair exhibitor tips and natural resource projects webinar 4-H exhibitors: Are you ready for county fair exhibit judging? Are you curious what 4-H judges are looking for? Are you interested in natural resources? Are you looking for natural resources project ideas? This webinar will first give you insights and tips from 4-H exhibit judge and Extension educator Gary Wyatt for preparing and presenting your 4-H exhibits for county fair judging. You will learn about how to best tell the story of your 4-H exhibit to the judge and there will be time for your questions. Then, in the second part of this webinar, Gary will talk specifically about his personal and professional area of interest, natural resources. He will share information and encourage you to explore any of several current and relevant topics that would make great 4-H learning opportunities and exhibits. There will be another question and answer period after this second part of the webinar. The entire webinar is expected to last about minutes, beginning at 10 a.m. on July 12. Suggested connect time is between 9:30 and 9:45 a.m. For those unable to attend, the webinar will be recorded and posted later at To access this webinar by computer: 1. Go to webex.umn.edu - enter meeting number and click Join. 2. Follow any prompts to run or install WebEx/Cisco software. 3. Once you ve joined the meeting, click the pop-up to join the audio conference. You can test your computer s speakers by clicking on the menu bar at the top Audio, then Test Computer Audio. To access this webinar by smartphone: 1. Go to webex.umn.edu 2. Click on Join by Number 3. Unless you have previously installed the WebEx App, you will be prompted to install it. 4. Once the WebEx App is installed, you will then be able to enter meeting number and join the meeting. Please feel free to pass this information along to anyone who may be interested. Learn more at Any questions about the content can be directed to Gary Wyatt at wyatt@umn.edu or Any questions about connecting to the webinar, including testing connections and equipment ahead of time, can be directed to Todd Mehrkens at toddmehr@umn.edu or Calendar JUNE 30 County Fair Registrations Deadline, Youth Helper Sign up Due to Office, Horse Tic-Tac-Toe Due to Office JULY 2-9 Citizenship Washington Focus 7 Presentation Night, 6 pm, Grace Lutheran church Basement (register by June 24) 8 Amazing 4-H Race Day Camp, 9 am-12 noon, Rock County Fairgrounds 12 State Cattlemen s Tour

11 PAGE H County Fair Exhibitor Tips & Natural Resources Project Webinar, 10 am 18 Pre-Fair Clean-Up 25 Pre-Fair Judging, Fashion Review Judging 27 Fair Entry Day Rock County Fair AUGUST 1 State Fair Trip meeting 5:30pm 1 Post-Fair Clean up 6pm 4 State Fair Registration Due 3pm 11 State Fair Exhibits Due to Office 11 Youth Leader Trip State Fair Livestock Encampment 25 - Sept. 5 Minnesota State Fair 29 Lego Robotics Kickoff September 1-3 State Fair General Encampment 5 Labor Day Office Closed 8 or 12 Executive Meeting 6:30pm, Federation Meeting 7:30pm 9-11 State Shoot in Alexandria 12 Records Due to Club Leaders State Horse Show State Dog Show 29 Records Due to Extension Office, Round-Up, New Officer Forms & Ambie Applications Due