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The Muskingum County Sheep Producers Improvement Association is sponsoring a Lamb and Wool Senior Ambassador and a Lamb and Wool Junior Ambassador Contest for 2025. Download the Application

All persons who are 14-21 years of age as of 1/1/2024 with a 4-H/FFA sheep/lamb project or a sheep-related background are eligible for Senior Ambassador. All persons who are 9-13 years of age as of 1/1/2024 with a 4-H/FFA sheep/lamb project or have a sheep-related background are eligible for Junior Ambassador.

If you are interested and meet all eligibility requirements of this letter, please complete the application and essay and return via email or mail to:

Haley Lake at:  haleylake37@gmail.com or Haley Lake 11320 Norfield Road Norwich, Ohio 43767

Be sure to request confirmation of receipt to be sure that your application was received. If no confirmation is given, call 740-319-4307.

Applications must be received by Feb.28^th, 2025 at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Interviews will be held on March 4th, 2025 in the evening at the Muskingum County Extension Office.  Each applicant will be contacted with time and location information. Winners will be announced at our annual banquet on March 24, 2025 held in the Veteran’s Building at the Fairgrounds.

The Senior and Junior Ambassador duties will be to assist with promotional and educational events of the Muskingum County Sheep Producers Association at the state and local levels. A suggested list of possible activities and events will be provided and coordinated with the MCSPIA. If you have any further questions, please contact Director Haley Lake of the Muskingum County Sheep Producers Improvement Association at 740-319-4307.

4-H Camp Ohio is excited to announce our Pennies for the Pool campaign! Major repairs are being made to ensure we get to swim at camp this summer.  Your club can help. We are asking all 4-H clubs to collect spare change to help us open the pool for the 2025 camping season.

Every penny counts, and together we can make a big difference.

If a club collects spare change, they should deposit the money in their bank account and write a check to 4-H Camp Ohio for the amount collected. Clubs could also vote to donate a portion of their club treasury to the campaign! Checks should be dropped off at the Extension Office by May 1. For each club that donates, the Muskingum County 4-H Committee will donate $10 to the campaign.

If you are in an out of the office over the next few weeks, we will also have a change jar available to drop your pocket change in! Donated change will go directly to camp.

If you follow the news, you’ve likely seen reports related to avian flu. I want to share some information sent to 4-H Professionals this week for those planning to take poultry projects in 2025.

The Mercer County Fair Board recently made the decision to pause live poultry exhibits at the 2025 Mercer County Fair following a directive from their county commissioners.  This precautionary measure aims to mitigate the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and protect their local poultry industry, youth exhibitors, and the broader agricultural community.

Given the evolving nature of the current HPAI situation, it is possible that other counties may consider similar measures in the future.  Poultry families are encouraged to use biosecurity practices to limit the spread of HPAI.

At this time, a pause in live poultry exhibits is not in the plans for Muskingum County. Be assured that the Senior Fair Board and Junior Fair Poultry Committee are monitoring the situation closely.

But I wanted to make you aware of some things to consider, in case it would happen.

1. Members may want to consider enrolling in a second project if they want to be certain they have the opportunity to exhibit a live animal at the Muskingum County Fair. There is no penalty to the member or the club if the youth later decides not to complete that additional project and do the poultry project only.
2. There are measures in place for youth enrolled in a poultry project if the Ohio Department of Agriculture or United State Department of Agriculture would place a ban on live animal exhibition; in which case, youth are permitted to receive a premium for a grade given by the judge on an approved educational display entered in place of the live animal. Youth with market projects are permitted to sell one approved educational display entered in place of the live animal as long as they have no opportunity to participate in a Junior Fair Livestock Sale.

Let people know you love 4-H by wearing your 4-H gear to school, work and other activities on Friday, March 7! 

Help spread the word about 4-H in Muskingum County – the best way for us to grow our program is by inviting your friends.

4-H enrollment is now open! The enrollment deadline is April 1.

Family Enrollment Instructions

1) If NO members of your family have been enrolled in 4-H before, download the New Family Enrollment Guide.

2) Download the 4-H Family Re-Enrollment Guide if your family has previously used 4-H Online to enroll youth and/or approved adult 4-H volunteers.

Important: 4-H Family Update e-mails and communications from the office are sent to e-mail addresses entered in the 4-H Online enrollment system. Please use e-mail addresses that are checked regularly so you receive the most up to date information.

If you have questions about enrollment, please contact the Extension Office via phone (740-454-0144) or e-mail (muskingum4h@osu.edu).

Each year, 4-H clubs are asked to report their club, county and state level activities on the 4-H Club Year End Survey. Each activity is worth one point. Clubs with a score in the top 20% will be recognized as Honor Clubs.

Congratulations to our 2024 Honor Clubs! Honor Clubs will be announced during the 4-H Awards Ceremony on Sunday night of the fair!

Tri-Valley Country Kids 4-H Club

January 28-February 15

Popcorn Sale

Contact: Doug Lindsley, 740-683-4429

Zane Trace Riders 4-H Club

February 2-March 2

Popcorn Sale

Contact: Suzanne Delbrugge, 740-607-3493

Thank you to Lynn Wells for this great gallery of fair photos!

2024 Fair Photos