Social Media Training for 4-H Volunteers

You asked for it and it’s here!  After our volunteer training last fall several advisors expressed an interest in hearing more about how to effectively use social media to connect with their members and families.  On Monday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the Extension conference room our 4-H Tech Changemakers will teach a social media workshop complete with tips and tricks to make social media work for you.  We will primarily focus on Facebook, including scheduling posts, creating and sharing events and 4-H policies.

Be sure to bring your laptop as this will be an interactive workshop.  If you don’t have a laptop we will have a few devices available.  We hope to see you there!

Give a Hand – Give a Can for Hunger Food Drive

Adams County 4-H is once again ready to kick-off the Give a Hand – Give a Can for Hunger food drive benefiting the Interfaith House.  The drive will begin March 1 and run through March 31.  4-H Clubs are encouraged to collect canned food, dried goods, personal hygiene and cleaning products.  Members should mark the bottoms of donations with their club number (listed below) and the club collecting the most donations will receive a pizza party courtesy of the 4-H Advisory Committee.

Donation bins are being placed around the county and can be found soon at the following locations:  Adams County Regional Medical Center and Church 180 in Seaman, Save A Lot in Peebles and West Union, First State Bank in Winchester and Peebles, TSC, the MEAC in Manchester and here at the Extension Office.  Clubs with large donations can drop those off directly to the Interfaith House during their hours of operation; Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m. – 2:45 p.m.  If you drop off directly to Interfaith, please remember to report your item count to the Extension Office to be included in the final tally.

Look for these donation bins and encourage your members, friends and family to donate to this worthy cause!

 

Thank you to the Stirrin’ Up Dust 4-H Club for heading up the food drive in 2020 and the Liberty Farmers 4-H Club for their work the past several years.

1 Adams Co. Beef & More
2 Adams Co. Jr. Dairymen
3 Adams County Junior Leaders
4 Adams County Show Stoppers
5 Barnyard Buddies
6 Bentonville Buckeyes
7 Buckeye Barn Busters
8 Cannon Hill Kids
9 Climbing Clever Cloverbuds
10 Country Crew
11 Curious Clovers
12 Denim & Dirt 4-H Club
13 East Tiffin Aggies
14 Fantastic 4-H’ers
15 Good, Better, Best
16 Green Hustlers
17 Hillcrest Hillbillies
18 Jacksonville Clovers
19 Lawshe Shadow Riders
20 Liberty Classy Clovers
21 Liberty Farmers
22 Lucky Charms
23 Nitty Gritty
24 Stirrin’ Up Dust
25 Unity Farmers
26 West Fork Wonders

Hog and Goat Clinic Scheduled for March 21

On Saturday, March 21, 2020 the Adams County Junior Fair will hold a Hog Clinic at 9 a.m., Quality Assurance at 10:30 a.m. and Goat Clinic beginning at 12 noon.  Junior Fair exhibitors wishing to attend the Quality Assurance session to meet the annual requirement should also plan to attend either the Hog or Goat clinic in order to meet the QA requirement.

Market Hog exhibitors, we especially encourage you to attend the Hog Clinic as we discuss important changes to the 2020 County and State Fair rules.

 

Note – this date is a change from the original published 4-H calendar.  In order to bring our members the most complete information we have pushed back the clinic.

2020 Adams County 4-H Scholarship

The Adams County 4-H Advisory Committee awards several scholarships each year to graduating high school seniors in an effort to help these members continue their efforts toward becoming self-directing, productive, and contributing members of society.  The number and amount of scholarships varies each year depending on the success of the countywide fundraiser.  The 4-H Advisory Committee is also honored to oversee the awarding of up to five Chad Downing Memorial Scholarships each year.

Applicants must be a high school senior at the time of application with a minimum 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale, a member of 4-H for at least 4 years including the current and previous year, active in school and community activities, and planning to attend an accredited college or post secondary program.  Applicants need to submit the completed application, a current high school transcript that includes GPA and one letter of reference from an Adams County 4-H advisor that is not related to the applicant.

Applications can be found at https://adams.osu.edu/program-areas/4-h-youth-development/events-and-opportunities and must be submitted to the Extension office by the close of business on the last Friday of February which falls on February 28, 2020.

 

Adams County Fair Market Hog Show Ractopamine Free in 2020

The Adams County Fair Market Hog show will be Ractopamine, known by brand names Paylean, Engain, etc., free this year.  This is a market driven decision that will give our junior fair exhibitors the best chance to receive a fair packer bid on their market hog project.  The process to ensure a ractopamine free show is still being finalized.  Exhibitors and their parents or guardians should expect to sign an affidavit certifying their project has not been fed ractopamine.  These documents will be sent via email to all members enrolled in a market hog project and will be available on our county website as soon as they are approved.

When choosing your animals, you should confirm that they have not been fed ractopamine and you should not offer it as a feed.  In order to prevent cross contamination from previous market hog projects, exhibitors should thoroughly clean pens, trailers, feeders, fans, etc.  The attached fact sheet provides further information to consider.  Additional information compiled by the Ohio Pork Council, The Ohio State University, the Ohio State Fair and the Ohio Department of Agriculture can be found at https://ohiopork.org/ractopamine-free/.

 

PetPALS Comes to Adams County 4-H

Adams County 4-H is excited to offer the PetPALS project for members in 2020.  4-H PetPALS is a leader-directed, experience based, program linking young people and their pets with senior adults. The program utilizes the natural bond between youth and animals to promote positive youth development. Youth gain a greater appreciation for their pets, and experience compassion and caring for senior citizens through the 4-H PetPALS program.

In order for Adams County to offer PetPALS to its members, we needede trained Master 4-H PetPALS volunteers.  We currently have two Master 4-H PetPALS volunteers who will conduct a minimum of 20 hours of training for members, teaching them the skills needed for socializing and training their pets, and learning procedures and protocols for visiting various people and places.  These trainings must be attended by members enrolled in the program and their parent or guardian.  Dates, times and locations for these trainings will be set after the enrollment deadline in order to determine level of interest.

Many different types of pets are eligible to be part of the PetPALS program.  Dogs must have passed their American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen test and be retested regularly.  Other pets are evaluated using a Socialized PetPALS test to make sure they are suitable temperament for the program.  For more information on the PetPALS program visit Ohio PetPALS, check out the attached brochure or contact the Extension office.

Shared Horse Program New for 2020

Adams County 4-H will offer a unique opportunity for youth who want to enroll in a horse project but do not own a horse.  The Shared Horse Program will allow two 4-H members within the same club to share a horse for exhibition at the Adams County Fair.  The horse can be shown in a limited number of classes at the county fair and only one member can attempt to qualify through PAS.  Applications to share a horse must be submitted to the Extension office and approved by May 15.

For more information on the Shared Horse Program or to download the form visit https://adams.osu.edu/program-areas/4-h-youth-development/horse-projects or contact the Extension Office.