Marsha Shellhammer, a longtime part of St. Joseph County 4-H, suffered a loss this past weekend.  Her grandson, Hunter Mosher, son of Erin Mosher passed away Sat, May 16.

Visitation is Wednesday 2-4 and 6-8 at the Ely Funeral Home, Constantine, MI

Funeral is at Riverside Church, Three Rivers, at 11:00 am

The family’s website is:
www.praiseflags.com

Please support this great 4-H family in their time of need.

The 2009 5th Grade Conservation Tour was a huge success, drawing in over 800 area 5th graders from area public and private schools.  The turnout was strong for the 2009 tour, and the weather was ideal.  Check out this article in The Farmer’s Exchange  and this article in The Sturgis Journal for coverage of the event.  

The tour included speakers from the Conservation District, the Department of Natural Resources, the Master Gardener Program, The City of Sturgis and St. Joseph County Parks and Recreation.  New for this year was a stop called “Amazing Algae” led by Dr. Jay Newman, who informed classrooms of fifth graders about the amazing properties and energy potential of algae. 

The tour was a great blend of information about the natural world and information about how to protect it.   Thanks you to all that helped out!

Presque Isle, Michigan

The April 4-H News You Can Use has just been printed and should arrive in your mailbox this week.   You can click here to see an online version.  Below are a few links to help you learn more about  some of the opportunities mentioned in the newsletter. 

First, if you are a youth or a parent of a youth who loves the outdoors, consider the 4-H Great Lakes and Natural Resources Camp.   This is a great camp in Presque Isle, Michigan that has won numerous national awards.  To encourage participants from the county, the Youth Council is offering scholarships to cover half of the $335 camp fee.   There are a  limited amount of scholarships, so call or email Monica soon (mrobinso@msu.edu) if you’re interested in attending!  Registrations are due May 1, 2009.

The camp runs from August 2-9, 2009, and you can click here to see a sample schedule of events. 

In this month’s newsletter, you’ll also notice a short survey about Still Project Workshops.  The 4-H program is considering holding county-wide workshops (with free materials for youth!) where 4-H members could make a still project together under the instruction of a leader or skilled community member.  Branch County 4-H has held similar workshops for their youth.  Click here and scroll down to page three of the Branch County 4-H Newsletter to see a sample of the types of workshops we’re thinking of offering.   You can email me at mrobinso@msu.edu or drop off the survey in your newsletter if you have any thoughts on this possible program!

The last two mandatory livestock sessions wrapped up this March.  On March 5,  Dr. Joe Domecq gave a wonderful introduction to all the great opportunities available for dairy project members in higher education.  Dr. Domecq talked about the twists of fate that took him from a young boy set on working on his family’s dairy forever to the wider world of the international Dairy industry and academia.

  Dr. Domecq also introduced 4-H members to two main agriculture tracks at Michigan State University–The Bachelor of Science in Animal Science  and the two-year Agricultural Technology Certificate Program.  Dr. Domecq is involved in the Ag Tech program, and encouraged members to contact him with questions about the program.

Dr. Joe Domecq talks about the wide world of Dairy.

The Rabbit Management and Nutrition Session on March 17 was packed.  Darrell Howe was the evenings’ speaker, and he graciously accommodated the big crowd.  Darrell Howe is a commercial breeder who raises Californians and has long been involved with several rabbit organizations, including the Californian Rabbit Specialty Club.    His talk was a great blend of nutrition and management info, and if you missed out on a handout from his session, email me at mrobinso@msu.edu  and I’ll leave one on the counter at the MSU Extension office in Centreville for you to pick up!

On Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 6:00 p.m., at the Extension Office, leader Eva Beeker will be heading a meeting to revise departments 38-42 in the 2008 Fairbook: Leathercraft, Leatherwork, Macrame, Paint-by-Number, and Other Crafts. 

 Please attend if you would like to help update these project areas!

Attention Organizational Leaders, Leaders, & Teen Leaders!  St. Joseph County has money available to help fund new programs for your club or project area.  The St. Joseph County Innovation Grant is designed to help distribute the county’s half of the 4-H Participation Fee.   The purpose of the grant is to help leaders and members start up new programs, buy educational materials, or otherwise enhance the 4-H experience.   All you have to do to receive funding is fill out an application,  and have your project approved by the Fee Use Committee.   That’s it!  You’ll be expected to keep records of your expenses and information about your project, but the process is simple and easy.   And if your project isn’t awarded money, the committee will provide comments to help you revise it so it can get funded.   Having trouble thinking of good ideas?  Here’s some examples of what other 4-H Programs did with the money:

• Iosco County held a series of Equine Educational Seminars
• Houghton/Keweenaw started a 4-H Jazz Recording Program for youth interested in music and music production.
• Mason County created an Animal Science lending library, enabling clubs to check out DVDs, books, etc related to animal science.
• Leelanau County held a Financial Literacy program for youth.
• And many more!

Those are just some ideas to get you thinking.  You can propose something ambitious and county-wide, or you can simply ask for some funds to help bring down a speaker or enroll a few members in a educational workshop, for instance.   You project can be big or small.   If you have any questions, or just want a sounding board for your idea, please call (269/467-5521) or email Monica at mrobinso@msu.edu .   You can even set up an appointment with Monica if you need help with the application.    The money is here in the county to be spent on 4-H youth programs and education!

On Tuesday, February 24, 4H’ers were treated to another great educational session.  The topic of Tuesday’s talk was goat nutrition, and included three presenters from Michigan Agra including 4-H leader Barb Weston, who works for the company.  Goat Superintendent Vicki Horsley, Assistant Superintendent Diana Yeager, and leader Kevin Yeager were also on hand to help out with the presentation.   The program was full of excellent information about goat health and management, and included visuals to keep the audience engaged. 

Bottles illustrating the importance of clean, fresh water for goats.

After the presentation, Vicki reminded 4-H’ers in the goat project about Spring Goat Day up at Michigan State University’s campus.  Goat Day is sponsored by the Michigan Dairy Goat Society, but includes valuable information about all types of goats.  There will be a potluck lunch, keynote speaker, and fun activities such as a youth skills contest.  The charge is $5 per person and $15 per family.  Click here for more information on this great program!

If you are in search of great materials for your Horse & Pony Project  youth,  please take a look at eXtension’s Horse Page.  There are several short video clips and some longer learning lessons that would be excellent for club meetings etc..  The site also provides the option of “Asking an Expert” questions, and many other resources.  Karen Waite, Equine/4-H Specialist at MSU helped create the content at the site, along with experts from other landgrant universities across the U.S.  The eXtension site  also includes information on other livestock areas, family and consumer science and more.  Check it out!

The February 17th Poultry Diseases Meeting was very well attended and full of great information. Two experts came down from Michigan State University to talk about poultry disease management. The program began with Dr. Darrin Karcher, a Poultry Extension Specialist in the Animal Science Department. Dr. Karcher talked about biosecurity and how to prevent the spread of illness among flocks. He presented some excellent tips for how to disinfect premises, set up quarantine spaces, and manage birds as to minimize disease risk.

Next, Dr. Mick Fulton spoke about poultry diseases and treatments. Dr. Fulton is a veterinarian and an Associate Professor of Avian Diseases at MSU, and presently works in the diagnostic lab. Dr. Fulton presented a program outlining the common poultry diseases, their symptoms and treatments. His presentation included photographs so members and leaders could identify these diseases by sight. If you would like a copy of the powerpoint presentations from these presenters, stop by the 4-H Office. Copies of the Dairy Feeder Presentation and the Sheep Presentation are also available at the office.

The next livestock educational session, Goat Health & Management, will be on February 24 at 7:00pm at the ISD.

The Michigan Winter Beef Classic was held in December 2008 at the MSU Pavilion. Several St. Joseph County 4-Hers had the opportunity to exhibit their 4-H beef projects at the show. Exhibitors competed in showmanship, market steer and heifer classes as well as breeding stock classes. The Winter Classic is held every year in December and is a great place to show your prospect animals for the following years fair. Members in attendance from St. Joe County were; Ben Crites, Marie Bennett, Drew Pueschel, Austin Pueschel, Hunter Clark, Ty Cool, Alexis Pueschel, Wyatt Cool, Ben Littlefield, Brady Littlefield and Andrew Littlefield.

4-H'er Marie Bennett at the Winter Classic