Important Updates for 2025:

• ALL 4-H Volunteers need to be enrolled in 4Honline as a volunteer by FEBRUARY 15. This ensures our volunteers are enrolled with consents and standards of behavior signed before meeting with 4-H youth.

• Anyone looking to become a new 4-H Volunteer must fill out an application and enroll in 4Honline by February 15. See farther down in this newsletter for link to the application.

• April 15 is the deadline to enroll in 4-H and be eligible to show at the fair. PLEASE ADD ALL PROJECTS YOU EVEN THINK YOU MIGHT TAKE THIS YEAR WHEN YOU ENROLL.   There is no penalty for not following through with a project you enrolled in. If you have a question regarding the correct project to enroll in, please contact the Extension office. 

• ***NEW*** APRIL 15 is the deadline to add projects to your 4-H enrollment.

• Please ensure your FAMILY EMAIL IN 4HONLINE is one that you use regularly as this is our main mode of direct communication with you.

• Please ensure that emails from Regmax/4honline do not go to your spam folder.  This is an important mode of communication from the Extension Office regarding your 4-H enrollment and animal identification.

•  Due to OSU Publications now charging the County offices shipping fees, most 4-H Project books will now cost $9.00 (resource books and a few other specialty books are more).   

• Project book orders will be placed on the FIRST FRIDAY  of every month (January-August) to reduce shipping costs.   Our office currently has a good supply of animal project books with a much more limited supply of still project books on hand.   If you need to order a book other than our designated order date, cost will be the amount of the book plus any shipping charges. 

• For Clubs may placing a bulk project book order, this form may be helpful https://ashland.osu.edu/sites/ashland/files/imce/2025%20Volunteer%20Order%20Form%20alpha%20order%20fillable.pdf

 

 

Help design the 2025 Farm Bureau T-Shirt to be given out to 4-H/FFA members at the Fair!

• Designer must be currently enrolled in 4-H or FFA

• Shirt needs to be in a single color/line drawing, be Agriculture related and have:

  • Farm Bureau Logo (save a spot for it, they will add the logo)

  • All or none of the following animals:  Cow, Beef, Sheep, Hog, Goat, Horse, Rabbit, Poultry

  • Please turn your design into the Extension Office by January 31.

 

NEW!  Ashland 4-H/FFA Google Calendar

The Ashland County 4-H Calendar which lists important deadlines, meetings, clinics and more is now on Google!  The 4-H calendar can be assessed through our 4HNow app. From the app, you can add 4-H calendar events right to your phone/device’s calendar!  You may also access the 4-H Calendar at https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/1?cid=ODc0ZWVmYTE5YThhNDc5ODA0M2JhNjAzYmRkZDE3YTJmNjkwZjc3NjY5MTJkMmQyMGU1MTI0YWQzZmRlYjRhZEBncm91cC5jYWxlbmRhci5nb29nbGUuY29t

 

Jr. Fair Board Application

Applications are now open to join the Ashland County Jr. Fair Board. Deadline to apply is January 6.

Apply today at https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cCvoj4nNwf0f60m !

 

 

Beef  DNA Kits

All market beef entered in the 2025 Ohio State Fair must have individual DNA samples taken from any animal that may potentially be entered. These DNA samples must be in the POSSESSION OF (NOT postmarked by) the Ohio State Fair by January 15, 2025.

DNA kits are available at the Ashland County Extension Office.

 

Market Steers and Baby Beef

All market beef are to identified in 4honline by January 31. Please upload a right, left and front picture of your animal along with the ENTIRE 15 digit EID tag number (yellow, round tag) in the RFID tag number field in 4Honline.  Watch for an email from 4Honline/Regmax that your animal has been APPROVED or has been SENT BACK for revisions. If your animal was sent back, please read the email to determine what needs corrected, make the revisions then resubmit in 4Honline.

 

 

 

Market Steer Weigh In (This weigh in IS NOT for Baby Beef steers)

 

 

LEGO Robotics Kits Available for Sale!

 

The Extension Office has several LEGO WeDo 1.0  robotics kits for sale. These have been retired from our school programming.

Cost is $50 for per kit and includes 8 instruction books on how to build  numerous different models.  All kits have been verified to contain all the pieces.  WeDo 1.0 software can be downloaded from the Lego Education website and tutorials are available online.  Contact the Extension Office at 419-281-4282 if you are interested in purchasing.

 

 

Volunteers

 If you would like to become a NEW 4-H Volunteer, you can find the application and information to apply on our website at https://ashland.osu.edu/program-areas/4-h-youth-development/become-volunteer   
New 4-H Volunteer applications are also due by February 15.

ALL volunteers will need to reenroll in 4Honline as a 4-H Volunteer by FEBRUARY 15.  This ensures all volunteers enroll and sign the consents/code of conduct before working with youth.

 

 

Scholarships Available!

Ashland County 4-H Committee Scholarship Opportunity

The Ashland County 4-H Committtee is pleased to offer Ashland County 4-H youth an opportunity to win a college scholarship.

Applicants must be a high school senior that is a current, active Ashland County 4-H member that has been enrolled and completed projects for the last 3 consecutive years.

Applications are available on our 4Hnow App or on our website at https://ashland.osu.edu/program-areas/4-h-youth-development/older-youth-opportunities

 

Top Shots Scholarship

Firelands Scholarships

 

Firelands Youth Trip:  Appy for chance to receive a free trip to Gettysburg and Washington D.C.!

Each year, Firelands Electric Cooperative sponsors up to two high school sophomores or juniors on an all-expenses-paid trip to Gettysburg and Washington, D.C., as part of the annual Youth Tour. Firelands, in partnership with Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives and the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (NRECA), offers this unique opportunity to students who live in a home receiving their electricity from the cooperative. Selected delegates will travel to our nation’s capital with students and chaperones from co-ops throughout the state of Ohio. Once in the nation’s capital, they will be joined by nearly 1,800 additional students from electric cooperatives across the country. Delegates have the opportunity to meet congressional and government leaders, visit historical sites, and make lifelong friends. To view a video of highlights from the 2024 trip, including interviews with some of Ohio’s attendees, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny5tKOnly1Y.

Applications for the 2025 Youth Tour, which is scheduled for June 15-21, 2025, are now open. Sophomores and juniors who reside in a home receiving its electricity from Firelands Electric are eligible to apply. (To see a map of our territory, visit www.firelandsec.com/service-territory.)

Information, guidelines, and a copy of the application are attached to this email. Additional information and a downloadable application are also available on our website at www.firelandsec.com/youth-tour-experience.

All Youth Tour applications must be received in the Firelands Electric Cooperative office by 4 p.m. on January 17, 2025.