Time to Order 2020 Major Livestock Show Steer and Heifer Validation Tags

It is time to order Steer and Heifer Validation tags for 2020 Major Livestock Shows.  All tag orders are due to the Leon County Extension Office by April 10, 2019.  Please use the attached forms when ordering your validation tags.  Validation for 2020 Major Livestock Show Steer and Heifer projects will take place in June.  The exact time and place have not yet be set.

2020 Major Livestock Show Steer Validation Order Form for Leon County

2020 Major Livestock Show Heifer Validation Order Form for Leon County

Become a Healthy Texas Youth Ambassador

Have a passion for health and wellness?  Interested in helping others make changes in their lifestyle and improve overall health?  Then be sure to check out the Healthy Texas Youth Ambassador program.  Click here to get more info and an application.  Application deadline is May 1st.

2019 Poultry Institute for Youth

Do you have an interest in the poultry industry?  The U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, in conjunction with the Texas A&M Poultry Science Department and the Aggie Leadership Council sponsor the TAMU Poultry Institute for Youth. The Institute is held every summer on the Texas A&M campus. The purpose of this program is to give high school students a chance to learn about the poultry industry through hands-on activities. The participants will have the opportunity to meet Texas A&M staff as well as leaders from the poultry industry. A portion of the institute will consist of hands-on experience by working directly with poultry as well as visiting poultry facilities.  This year's Institute will be held June 9-11, 2019.  More information can be found by clicking here.

Support Leon Co. 4-H

Feed your family and support Leon County 4-H - https://www.schwans-cares.com/c/42676.  When ordering from Schwan's via phone or online, be sure to provide the campaign number of 42676 for Leon County, TX 4-H.  Thank you!

Scholarships!

Our great D8 4-H Specialist Laura Huebinger conducted an online training about Texas 4-H scholarships on Nov. 28^th, and the recording is available by clicking here.  We also provide scholarship tips and opportunities that can be found by clicking here.

Mentors Needed for Mission Possible Camp

Congrats to 4-H Food Contest Participants

Congratulations to all of our Leon Co. 4-H'ers who participated in the D8 4-H Food Contests in Belton!!  Placing in the top 5 of their contest are:

Food Show:

• Tenley C - 5th in Jr Main Dish
• Mikayla S - 5th in Int Breads & Cereals
• Rylee M - 5th in Int Nutritious Snacks

Food Challenge:

• Centerville Int (Jalapeno Business) - Evangelina F, Samantha G, Hadley K, Emily P placed 3rd and received the Team Spirit Award in Int Main Dish
• Normangee Int #2 (Jalapeno Hotties) - Harlie F, Kiendrah F, Charli G, Skylar W placed 5th in Int Nutritious Snacks
• Centerville Sr (The Powerpuff Girls) - Caralen D, Abby D, Emily W placed 3rd in Sr Main Dish
• Buffalo/Leon/Oakwood Sr (Sizzling Supremes) - Emma A, Aurora M, Annika S, Zoie S placed 1st (qualified for state) and received the Team Spirit Award in Sr Nutritious Snacks

Others who participated included:  Avery F, Dixie M, Melanie P, Melanie S, Bailey B, Addyson P, Marlee S, Darren E and Eve Cantrell 

A huge thanks also to Kandace Stevens and Buck and Kathleen Buchanan for serving as judges!!  Also thank you to all of our project leaders!

Upcoming Prospect and Livestock Shows

Ellis County New Year's Bash - January 5-6, 2019

Information on other Prospect Shows can be found at:
Texas Junior Livestock Association
Junior Meat Goat Show Circuit

2018 Ag Fair

The Leon County Extension Office recently hosted an Ag Fair for 4th grade students from across Leon County.  This event would not have been possible without the help of numerous Leon County 4-H members.  Check out a video of the event by clicking here!

Attention 4-H Alumni & Supporters!!

We are trying to compile a database of 4-H alumni and supporters, and your help is needed.  We have compiled a very brief survey for 4-H alumni and supporters to complete.  Click here to go to the survey, and please share with others.

4-H Rifle Project

22 Rifle Shooting Sports will have Sign up and Mandatory Safety Meeting on Thur., Dec. 6 and 13, at 6:30 pm, at Centerville City Hall, 325 East St Mary's Street.  Anyone interested in signing up for shooting sports must attend ONE of these meetings to participate.

Major Livestock Show Information

The entry deadline has passed for junior show entries for the major livestock shows.  If you are needing schedule or other info, please click on the show(s) to see their premium book:

• Fort Worth Livestock Show Premium Book
• San Antonio Livestock Show Premium Book
• San Angelo Livestock Show Premium Book
• Houston Livestock Show Premium Book
• Rodeo Austin Premium Book

4-H Archery

The Leon Co. 4-H Archery Group has kicked off their year, so if you are interested, please either visit their Facebook page or contact one of the following leaders:

James Embry - 936-396-7014, jae@otsc.tamu.edu
Mike Watkins - 936-355-4906
Steve Schultz - 979-219-3302

Practices are taking place at the old Leon Co. showbarn, which is located off of Hwy 75 in Centerville.

Enroll in 4-H for the 2018-19 Year

Below are some tips to help everyone get enrolled.

4-H Connect (https://texas.4honline.com) is our online 4-H enrollment and event registration system.  Click here to find resources to help you navigate 4-H Connect.  Please complete your enrollment (both 4-H members and adult volunteers), and let us know if you have any questions.

Re-enrolling for 2018-19?
Your enrollment status is now “inactive.”  ALL youth and volunteers who want to re-enroll for 2018-19 will need to log into their family profile and re-enroll.

Brand New to 4-H?

You can also enroll by creating a family and individual profiles on 4-H Connect.

All 4-H members (not volunteers or Clover Kids) are assessed the $25 ($20 before 10/31) Texas 4-H Participation Fee, which you will pay by credit card on 4-H Connect.  Once you enter payment info and "submit enrollment," the enrollment status will be "pending."  At that point, our office will review and approve members, so the enrollment status will be "active," and payment will be charged to your credit card.  If there's any problem, you may need to re-submit enrollment.

Parents & Other Adults

We need you to enroll on 4-H Connect as well!!  If there's a possibility you will work with any children other than your own, you need to enroll as a 4-H volunteer on 4-H Connect.  All 4-H adult volunteers are assessed a $10 volunteer fee, but we feel it's important to cover this cost for you.  SO, when you enroll - this is JUST FOR ADULTS - you will need to go through your enrollment, but STOP at the payment section.  Leave your enrollment "incomplete," and we will take care of the payment for you.  If you submit your enrollment with a credit card payment, we will send it back to you, but we will then go in and complete the payment by 4-H club/county check.  You'll receive an e-mail saying they need to re-submit your enrollment, but you do not need to do anything.

Livestock Judging Practice Schedule

Upcoming practices for the Leon County 4-H Livestock Judging team are:  Tue., Nov. 6th and Dec. 4th, 6:30 pm, at the Buffalo High School Ag Shop.  If you are interested in livestock judging or want to find out more about what it is, come join us.

New Quality Counts System Now Open

All 4-H and FFA members will need to go through the training module and take the test, regardless if you have done this in the past.  There are a few changes in the new system from the old system:

• Exhibitors will first be required to engage in the full learning content before being presented with the verification exam
• Exhibitors will be able to start and revisit the curriculum as many times as needed
• Exhibitors will have to complete the test once it is started
• Exhibitors must achieve 80% or greater to pass the exam, but can take it as many times as needed
• Exhibitors will be exposed and tested on the content potentially 3 times in their livestock showing career: junior (grade 3-5), intermediate (grade 6-8), and senior (grade 9-12)
• Login to the curriculum site requires unique email addresses for each user - each person taking the training and test will have to use a unique email address for each account.
• Exhibitors will access the course and exam at a new website: https://www.texaslivestockvalidation.com/qc/qcregister.aspx

A step-by-step guide to get you started can be found by clicking here.

Please be aware that all 4-H and FFA exhibitors planning on exhibiting a project in the 2019 Leon County Livestock Show must take and pass this new test prior to making entry into the show.  Any exhibitor planning on making entry into a 2019 Spring Major Livestock Show must take and pass this new test prior to making entry in October/November.

Leon Co. 4-H Handbook/Calendar

Click here to view/download the 2018-19 Leon Co. 4-H Handbook & Calendar.  A hard copy will be provided for each 4-H family during your upcoming 4-H club meetings.  Use your handbook/calendar to provide you some great info.  Dates in the calendar are subject to change, so be sure to visit our 4-H website and attend your club meetings to be kept up to date.

2018-19 4-H Clubs & Groups

4-H Report Form Tool

We talk about 4-H recordbooks, but what I like to focus on this time of year is recordkeeping!!  While we would love for everyone to compile a recordbook, it's nearly impossible to put a good recordbook together without a record of what you've done - our memory just can't keep track!  There are many ways to keep records, but Richard has compiled a "Leon Co. 4-H Project Record" that will help you!  Click here to view the Word and pdf files.  Download to your computer or print to keep track!  We'll be talking more about recordbooks as they year goes along.

Great 4-H Awards Banquet

Congratulations to everyone who was recognized during our Leon Co. 4-H Awards Banquet on July 30th!  Click here to view the 4-H year highlights video (Star Studded Success) and the awards slide show.

Special thanks to Kandace Stevens and everyone who helped prepare the meal!  We also appreciate Zoie Stevens for compiling a great highlights video.  A big thanks to everyone who helped set up, decorate and clean up!  While the AC could not keep up with our large crowd (about 200 people), the room looked great!!

Texas 4-H Roundup...

Congratulations to all of our Texas 4-H Roundup participants!!  Roundup was held June 12-14, in College Station.  Highlights include:

Texas 4-H Scholarships
- Leon County 4-H members brought home a total of $34,000 in scholarships
- Natalie Uptmor - $20,000 from the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo
- James Rodell - $10,000 from Richard Wallrath Educational Foundation 
- Matthew Roach - $4,000 Texas 4-H Collegiate Scholarship

Contest Results include:
- In the Rifle Match, the team of Colton Adams, Kassidy Bell, James Rodell and Justin Vann took 11th place. 
- For the Invitational Ag Product ID Contest, Caleb Rappolee and Graci Kelley participated as Intermediate individuals, and the Senior team of Cole Rappolee, Annika Stevens and Zoie Stevens received 16th place.
- Natalie Uptmor placed 5th in the Buying Formal/Semi-formal category of the Fashion Show.
- In the Invitational Livestock Judging Contest, the Intermediate team of James Bodine, Cody Cox, Graci Kelley and Caleb Rappolee placed 16th, and the Senior team of Cole Rappolee, Gatlynn Johnson, Zoie Stevens and Annika Stevens earned 11th place.  Jake Henigan also participated as a Senior individual.
- Emily Banda, Hayley de la Garza and Megan Green all brought home red ribbons for their Photography Contest entries.
- Anthony Banda took 10th place in Share the Fun Vocal.
- Samantha Bowers placed 5th in Share the Fun Solo/Band.
- Nathan Barrett participated in the Public Speaking Contest

Normangee 4-H member John Landry was selected to sing the National Anthem during the Thursday evening assembly. 

We also want to say a huge THANK YOU to our coaches and other parents and supporters for helping our kids reach this level.

D8 4-H SURGE

Congrats to our District 8 4-H SURGE (formerly known as Leadership Lab) participants:  Emma Adams, Nathan Barrett, Makayla Gilliam, Callie Harter, Aurora Moran, Cole Rappolee, Annika Stevens, Zoie Stevens and Natalie Uptmor.  They enjoyed a great time on June 24-27 at T Bar M Resort & Conference Center in New Braunfels.  All of these 4-H'ers are available to offer programs for your club meetings. 

Special congrats to Nathan and Zoie for being elected to serve on the 2018-19 D8 4-H Council!! Nathan will also represent D8 on Texas 4-H Council.

D8 4-H Photo Results

Congratulations to all of our participants in the D8 4-H Photo Contest!  Their photos were displayed
during D8 4-H Roundup on May 5th.
Juniors:

• Jaidynn Childress - 2 Blue Awards
• Madilynn Cox - 2 Blue Awards
• Grace Hulzing - 3 Blue Awards and 1 Reserve Champion (Food)
• Mia King - 6 Blue Awards, 2 Champions (Dominant Color and People) and 1 Reserve Champion (Enhanced)
• Levi Scoma - 2 Blue Awards and 1 Champion (Motion)

Intermediates:

• James Bodine - 3 Blue Awards and 1 Reserve Champion (Details & Macro)
• Caraline Dudley - 2 Blue Awards
• Adriana de la Garza - 1 Blue Award and 1 Champion (Enhanced)
• Lanie Goolsby - 3 Blue Awards and 2 Champions (Landscape and Travel)
• Hadley Klock - 2 Blue Awards
• Emily Page - 2 Blue Awards
• Reagan Van Dresar - 1 Blue Award

Seniors:

• Emily Banda - 5 Blue Awards
• Hayley de la Garza - 1 Red Award
• Megan Green - 1 Blue Award and 3 Red Awards

To view all results and photos, click here.  Unlike most of our D8 contests, winners from the Sr Photo Contest do not advance to state.  Photos by Emily, Hayley and Megan qualified at the county contest, so we wish them the best in the state contest.