Upcoming 4-H Livestock Educational Sessions

What: North Carolina Showmanship Clinic

Where: East Carolina Ag & Education Center, Tarboro NC

When: February 28- March 1

What: Clover Classic Livestock Show

Where: Dixie Classic Fairgrounds

When: March 14-15

What: Wes! tern NC L ivestock Judging Clinic and Mock Contest

Where: NC Mountain State Fairgrounds

When: March 21

What: Rowan County Livestock Judging & Skillathon Contest

Where: Rowan County Fairgrounds

When: March 7, 2015

For more information contact Thomas Cobb at 704-216-8970

What: Pitt County Livestock Challenge

Where: Pitt County Agricultural Center

When: March 7, 2015

For more information please contact Andy Burlingham atandy_burlingham@ncsu.edu

Horticultural Science Summer Institute

Horticultural Science Summer Institute, July 5-10, 2015

The Horticultural Science Summer Institute will be July 5-10, 2015 and is sponsored by North Carolina State University and North Carolina Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Program with the Department of Horticultural Science.   High school-aged youth (rising sophomores, juniors and seniors) are invited to apply to a weeklong, residential horticultural experience on the campus of NC State University. 

Youth will have hands-on opportunities to explore a broad range of horticultural possibilities from breeding better fruits and vegetables, growing a diverse selection of woody ornamentals, lengthening the life of cut flowers, learning sustainable production practices and delving into practical tools that enhance our understanding of plant processes. Participants will visit a variety of horticultural businesses. Youth will also be introduced to career possibilities, college-making decisions and leadership development and enjoy evening entertainment and team-building activities.  

The cost of the institute will be $600 with a $150 deposit due upon application acceptance. All lodging, workshop materials and field trips and meals are provided. Scholarships may be available. Applications are due Friday, April 1st and notification of acceptance will follow shortly thereafter. 

Please contact Liz Driscoll at liz_driscoll@ncsu.edu or 919.513.7346/ 919.886.3424 with any questions or comments. 

NC 4-H Horticulture Contest Announced

 The NC 4-H Horticulture Contest, is Saturday, May 2nd, 2015! Register your team or individual here by Friday, April 24th.

The Horticulture Judging and Identification Contest is a great way to introduce the very cool stories that plants are hoping to tell. This contest is a training program concerned with teaching youth to recognize and identify some of the most important horticultural crops, to learn criteria influencing quality and to be able to answer questions and solve problems relating to the art and science of horticulture. There are three portions of the test, including knowledge, judging and identification.

The 2015 North Carolina 4-H Horticulture Contest will be Saturday, May 2nd at 12:00pm in Kilgore Hall on the campus of NC State University, registration is free and lunch is provided!  Teams and individuals can register here by Friday, April 24th. This year's winning state Senior Team will be eligible to receive scholarships attend the National Junior Horticultural Association's (NJHA) annual convention in Orlando, Florida!! (October 9-12).  Any and all other plant-loving friends are also welcome to attend. 

Still want to know more? If you are a hort contest newbie, give Liz Driscoll a call at (919) 513-7346. You can also reference all contest rules and materials at ourwebsite and download multiple tools for coaching a team from dropbox here.

Bee Keeping Essay

All 4-H club members are invited to submit an entry for the 

ANNUAL BEE KEEPING ESSAY CONTEST:

The essay provides a platform for youth to creatively express their working 

knowledge and research of the craft of beekeeping.

This year's theme: “Planting for Bees from Backyards and Up”

"Beekeeping has become difficult due to a lack of native plants for forage. In this essay, you will be required to discuss ways that habitats can be modified to become “bee friendly”. Does your community allow roadsides and open land to grow wildflowers and encourage native planting of bee friendly plants?

Survey your community to see what is being done to help honey bees. Include your state in your survey to see if there is a wildflower planting program available or any other program that could aid the honey bee.

Essays are due February 15th at 5p and should be emailed to me at: liz_driscoll@ncsu.edu

Upcoming 4-H Horse Opportunities

Did you know:

The NC 4-H Hose Program Eligibility Cards are now available.  You can find it here and also on the Extension Horse Husbandry web site:

http://equinehusbandry.ces.ncsu.edu/

On January 24, Mock Horse Bowl and Hippology contest will be in Rockingham County. Anyone may attend, to learn what these contests are like! You don't have to participate this year, you can attend and prepare to participate next year! 

District 4-H Horse Bowl Contest will be on February 14th in Rockingham County.

If you would like more information about the 4-H Horse Project, give us a call at: 336-318-6000.

4-H Youth Livestock Information

4-H Volunteer Leaders and 4-H members interested in 

4-H Youth Livestock take note of these upcoming opportunities:

*North Carolina Sheep Producers Association Meeting*
What: Educational meeting for all interested in Sheep
When: January 17, 2015
Where: Guilford County Extension Office
Who:  This event is open to anyone interested in Sheep, youth and adults alike. For more information visit the NC Sheep Producers website athttp://www.ncsheep.com/.

*Judging in January*
What:  This is a livestock judging contest/clinic.  This event offers a great opportunity for youth to come and showcase their livestock evaluation skills and also prepare for future livestock judging contests.
When: January 24, 2015
Where: NCSU Beef Educational Unit, located on Lake Wheeler Rd
Who:  This event is open to all youth under the age of 18, as of January 1.

*Nance Family Meat Goat Leadership Institute*
What:  This event is designed to encourage leadership and self development while learni! ng about the Meat Goat Industry.  Youth do not have to be currently involved with the goat industry to participate in this program.  It is totally free to participants and includes two meals.
When: February 7, 2015
Where: NCSU Beef Educational Unit, located on Lake Wheeler Rd.
Who: This event is open to all youth ages 10-18.  Interested youth must fill out the  application and submit by January 9 (THIS FRIDAY).  Applications can be found here: http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/animal/4hyouth/ah4h.html.

*NC 4-H Livestock School*
When: February 28- March 1
Where: Eastern Carolina Ag & Education Center, Tarboro
Who:This event is open to all youth ages 9-19.  Youth have the opportunity to learn about all aspects of showing livestock.  Youth are asked to pick one species of livestock to be covered the entire weekend (Swine, Meat, Goats, Lambs, and Cattle).  This is a hands on clinic and youth are encouraged to bring their own animal but it is not required.

*Western NC Livestock Judging Clinic*
When: March 21
Where: Mountain State Fairgrounds, Fletcher
Who:This event is open to all youth ages 9-19.  Youth have the opportunity to learn about judging sheep, meat goats, swine, and cattle.  Additionally, their will be a practice contest to help kids be more familiar with the event. 

For additional information you can contact our Extension Livestock Agent Jonathan Black at 318-6000 or Brent Jennings Extension Associate, Animal Science brent_jennings@ncsu.edu

(919) 515-4467

4-H Recordbooks Due

Friday, January 9 - is the deadline for 4-H members in Randolph County to turn in your 2014 4-H project record books. The books will be judged and awards will be presented at Honors Night on February 17 at the Sunset Theater in Asheboro.

If you need some help with the finishing touches, give us a call at 318-6000.