Marion County Extension Office

130 Kelly Park Rd

Jefferson, TX 75657

(903)665-2421

4-H Newsletter

April 2007

Dear 4-H Members, Leaders, & Parents,

This newsletter comes to update you on what's going on, and what's available for you to participate in. Lots of exciting things are happening in 4-H!

Check out the reminders and other information in this newsletter.

Looking forward to seeing all of you at these functions. There is something available for everyone in 4-H. Give us a call.

Sincerely,

Brock A. Fry	Paulette T. Cooper

CEA-Ag/NR	EA-CEP, 4H/CD

Extension programs serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. The Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas cooperating.

Livestock Update:

We've received word of when the livestock validations are due, if any of you are going to be competing in the district or state shows. The following information is on swine, steer, horse, lamb and goat.

State Fair Swine Validation is due between April 10 and May 11 for early tag orders, and May 12 to June 15 for late tag orders. Orders placed between June 16 and June 20 will incur an additional $10.00 tag charge, plus a $20.00 priority postage and handling fee. These late orders must be faxed to the state

FFA office at (512)617-8219, and NO orders will be taken after June 20th, no exceptions. All official validation and tagging will occur through June 30th. Any change of ownership must be faxed on or before June 30, 2007. All completed materials must be returned to the FFA office, postmarked on or before July 6th.

More information is available from Agent Brock Fry at the Extension Office.

Steer validation: As the 2006-07 show season will be coming to a close within the next month, it's time to start thinking about steer validation for the 2007-
08 season. The deadline for placing tag orders for 2007 is April 25th. This will be here before you know it, so keep in touch with Mr. Acker at school or Mr. Fry in the Extension Office.

Horse certification/validation: It's that time of year again to certify 4-H'ers' horses for the show season. Just to refresh your memory, each 4-H'er must complete a Project Certification/Validation form for your horses. Additionally, you must submit a copy of your horse's registration papers or a copy of your grade horse certification from with your Project Certification/Validation forms. The Futurity Project Nomination forms should be completed and in the Extension Office by April 30th as they are due to Brett Scott by May 5th.

Lamb and goat validations will be done in June. If any of you want to show a lamb or goat at the State Show, let us know on or before April 17 so we can order tags.

Horse Quiz Bowl and Beef Quiz Bowl Contests will be held April 28th at Round-Up. Any youth interested in either of these fun contests should call Mr. Fry and get registered before April 13th. Teams consist of 4 people. Study materials are available at the Extension office.

REMINDERS:

4-H County Round-Up will be Monday evening, April 9, at 6:30 p.m. at Kellyville Center. All youth interested in participating in Round-Up need to be ready. Sign-up for District Round-Up will be immediately following county round-up.

County Council meeting will be April 10th at 5:00 p.m. at Kelly Park. All club presidents and other Council delegates are expected to attend. Vanessa Spearmon has the program. There will also be a Club Managers meeting for leaders at this time.

District 4-H Fashion Show will be Saturday, April 14th at SFA. Congratulations to Marion County 4-H'ers participating in the District Fashion Show: Bryan Carr, LeAnna Mack, Rhonda McTyre, Vanessa Spearmon and Marion Taylor.

ON THE MAY CALENDAR:

County Council meeting will be May 8, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. at Kelly Park Center. Jerica Wilson will have the program.

County Record Book Workshop, May 8, 2007, following Council meeting. Come prepared to work on your record books. Record books are an important part of your 4-H experience. Many 4-H awards and rewards are based on your record book, so you want to be sure you include all your accomplishments and turn out a really nice record book. District Record Book Judging will be held at SFA on June 25th.

INTO THE SUMMER:

Career Awareness & Youth Leadership Lab will be June 12-14, 2007 at Prairie View A&M University. Deadline for registration is May 18th.

District Leadership Lab will be June 27-29, 2007. Call the Extension Office for more details and registration deadline.

H. S. Estelle 4-H Camp is scheduled for July 23-27, 2007 in Huntsville. Deadline for registration is Friday, June 8, 2007. Registration is $100.00. You may pay 50% of the registration fee at the time of registration if you wish. Some scholarships for partial payment are available. Ask Mrs. Cooper about this.

Any youth wishing to attend any of these events should call the Extension Office at (903)665-2421.