2016 Newsletters
Dear 4-H Members and Families, June 2016
Hello! Wow, can you believe how fast fair is quickly approaching?! Our next meeting is this Thursday, June 16th at 7:00pm in the new Dairy Feeder Calf Barn. Registration will begin at 6:45pm. We have lots to do! We will be working in our new barn and around the Calfe’. Come prepared to help with one of the following projects: 1. Help install new calf panels. 2. Mulch and landscaping around Calfe’. (Bring shovels, rakes and buckets) 3. Paint office. (Bring paint brushes)
Essays are due! If you did not participate in one of the two service projects, you need to complete an essay. Topics and length requirements can be found on the website.
Stall Requests are due!! If you would like to be stalled with someone outside of your family, you need to complete a stall request. In order for your request to be honored, you must have sold a flat (18 plants) of geraniums or pay the $10 stalling fee. This is per 4-Her. No forms will be accepted if we do not have all money turned in or signatures on the form. We will double check geranium sales as well.
Don’t forget to sign up to work in the concession stand if you have not done so already.
How are your calves doing? Are they dehorned and castrated? Do you have any lingering ringworm? Remember, everything needs to be healed by fair time. If these are things that still need to be done, make it top priority to get them completed!
Club t-shirts….. If you still haven’t checked your old shirt out to see if it fits or if you can even find it, please do so. Let me know asap if you are needing a new one. Returning member’s cost is $10 per shirt. New members receive their shirt for free.
Passes….. There is a big change in fair passes this year. Passes will look different for parents and 4-Hers. These passes will have a bar code on them and will be scanned as you enter the fairgrounds. Your ticket can only be scanned 8 times. It’s important that you don’t scan your ticket more than once per day or you’ll run out of scans before the end of fair week. If you are leaving and will be returning to the fair, you will need to be stamped on your way out. They say you’ll need to show them your ticket in order to receive this stamp. For those that are worried your stamp will be washed off because you may be going home to chore, etc., you can request that they stamp you higher up on your arm. If you are still worried, you can ask them to mark by the stamp with permanent marker. This is all new for everyone. Please be very patient with all this. I will be giving you more information about this in your packet that you will pick up at the July meeting. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions. We will do our best to answer them.
Have you entered your calf on the online database? This needs to be done by July 15th! You all should have received the email from the extension office regarding this. If not, below is part of that email explaining how to do it.
4-H members need to enter all their animal classes for fair at https://elkhartcountyin.fairentry.com/Fair/SignIn/397 this database is open for animal entries from now to July 15, 2016.
Beef, Dairy, Dairy Feeder, Goats, Horses, Lambs, Llama, and Swine animals must have been entered on 4HOnline by May 15 to qualify for showing at the 2016 fair. On FairEntry you will “Choose an Existing Animal Record” and the database pulls information from 4HOnline. You may “share” animals within the family until checking into the fair, so don’t worry if you select one and bring a different animal to the fair, it will be changed/updated at check-in if need be.
Cat, Cavy, Dog, Poultry and Rabbits will “Enter a New Animal Record” once per animal on FairEntry; if using the same animal in more than one class “Choose an Existing Animal Record” for additional classes.
There is a new choice (#22 instructions) this year if you want to “Add another Entry in this Division” which will save key strokes. Select “Add another Entry” for an entry in a different division (same member). “Register another Exhibitor” for additional members in same family prior to submitting.
You will be locked out until our office approves submitted entries; at which time you may make additional entries.
Mark your calendars:
- July 19th: Work night and receive your fair packets
- July 22-30: Elkhart County 4H Fair
See you Thursday!
Your Leaders
May 2016
Hello 4-H members and families,
Can you believe fair is only 67 days away and school will be over soon for most of you!?!? Our next meeting will be this Thursday, May 19 at 7:00pm in the Beef/Dairy show arena. Registration will begin at 6:45pm. This will be our demonstration meeting. We will have calves there and you are welcome to bring your own. The older experienced members will help the new members with proper showing, handling, and tying of their calf. We will have a tack box talk along with the usual clipping demonstration. This is a beneficial meeting for new members and we would love for our experienced 4-Hers to get involved helping.
Concession stand sign up….. This is very important!! Without everyone helping, we would have to hire help. Therefore, it is required/mandatory to sign up for one shift before you will receive your fair passes at the July meeting. Please come to the meeting prepared to take care of this!!
We had a very successful weigh in day on Saturday, May 7. We weighed in a total of 297 calves. A BIG THANK YOU to all the organizers and workers that made it a successful day! Everyone did a great job! Also, thank you to all the parents and friends that hauled calves to the fairgrounds. We realize everyone is busy with other activities and appreciate all the cooperation. Thank you to Milford Animal Clinic who was on hand to give vaccinations, dehorn and castrate calves. If you get a chance, send them a thank you note in the mail for all the hard work they put in to help our members.
If your calves still need to be dehorned and castrated, now is a good time. Get it done now while there are fewer flies to worry about. They need to be completely healed by fair time!! We also noticed there was a lot of calves with ringworm. Make sure you are treating this now. This needs to be completely healed as well before fair time.
If you are a returning member, please check to make sure your DFC tshirt still fits!! If you are in need of a new shirt because you have grown out of your old one or you have lost your shirt, you can purchase a new one for $10. Please email Erica, dfcclub@gmail.com, your size. Sizes: Youth M & L, Adult S, M, L, XL, XXL.
**Service Projects…. If you would like to opt out of writing the essay, you have two service projects you can participate in this year. Our first community service project will be at the fairgrounds on Saturday, June 4th from 9:00-11:00am. Bring shovels, rakes, buckets, gloves and a smile! Be sure and sign in when you get there! Our second day will be Saturday, June 11th from 9:00-11:00am. This one will be located at LoveWay in Middlebury (54151 CR 33, Middlebury). Again, make sure to sign in! Dress accordingly!
**Essay….. For those writing the essay, all essays are due at our June meeting, June 16th. Check the website for length requirements and essay questions.
**Stall Requests… All request are due at the June meeting, June 16th! We will start accepting stall request on June 1st. If your family would like to be stalled next to another family, you need to fill one out. These can be printed off the website. Remember, if you are turning a stalling request in, you either need to have sold 18 geraniums (a flat)/4her or pay a stalling fee of $10/4her. All names and money are due with the request form, not exceptions. Remember, requests are for who you would like to be tied with, not your location in the barn.
**Barn & Fundraising Update…. Things are looking good! We are about $8000 away from reaching our $100,000 goal!! This is exciting!! Keep raising money. We are almost there!
Mark your calendars:
- June 16th: Worknight at barn & Concession Stand
- Essays & stall requests are DUE!
- Essays & stall requests are DUE!
- July 19th: Worknight & receive your fair packets
- July 22-30: Elkhart County 4H Fair
We hope you are taking advantage of the longer evenings and warmer temps and are working with your calves often.
See you Thursday!
Your Leaders
Dear Dairy Feeder Calf Club Members, April 2016
Our next meeting will be this Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 7:00 PM in the ECCC building, with registration beginning at 6:45. Come enjoy our FFA speaker. We will also be talking about important information regarding our May weigh-in. If you have not paid your club dues, please come prepared to take care of this! Don’t forget that you need to have your dues paid before you can draw your auction number at the weigh-in. Dues this month are $12.00.
Do you have your calf yet? If you are having trouble locating a calf you can give any of the leaders a call. They would be glad to help you.
We would like to give a big THANK YOU to all of the members that sold geraniums this year. If you sold geraniums, don’t forget that they will arrive at the fairgrounds this Wednesday, April 20. All geraniums must be picked up next to the big commercial building on Wednesday, April 20 from 3 PM – 6 PM.
At our March meeting, we voted for our queen candidate. Greta Yoder will be representing us in this year’s queen contest at the fair. Congratulations and good luck, Greta!!!
IMPORTANT! Our calf weigh-in date is Saturday May 7, 7:00 AM to 11 AM at the fairgrounds. We will be holding our weigh-in around the Dairy Feeder Calf Barn. Because there are many activities going on at the fairgrounds that day, please follow any posted directions that they may have regarding traffic flow. All DFC club members are required to bring their calves on this date to be weighed and ear tagged. If you do not have transportation for your calf to the fairgrounds, ask another club member or a neighbor to help you. It is your responsibility to have your calves there. There is no minimum or maximum weight for calves at weigh-in. Each member can only tag two calves for the county fair. If your calf does not already have a RFID tag, it will receive one. It is mandatory, and will cost $5.00 to receive one if it does not have one already. Also, we will be drawing auction numbers at the weigh in. Don’t forget to draw yours! More information about the weigh in will be discussed at the meeting.
There will be three screeners at the weigh in looking for crossbred calves. If they decide your calf is a crossbred animal, you will need to talk with Ken. If this is the only calf you have, you will be allowed to bring it to the fair and show it in the crossbred class. You will not, however, be able to sell this calf in the auction.
If you are planning on showing at the State Fair, six calves may be tagged total. You may show the same calf at the county & state fairs. If you do this, though, you are not allowed to sell that calf at the county fair.
Once again, Milford Animal Clinic will be available at weigh-in to give your calves their vaccination shot, dehorning, and castration. Just to give you an idea, the costs of these services in the past are as follows (but may be more or less): Dehorn $10, Castrate $10, vaccinate $5, Deworm $5, Implanting $2.50 Because dehorning, castration, vaccinations, and moving calves to & from weigh-in each puts stress on calves, we suggest not doing all of these at weigh-in, especially if your calf has been sick. Calves need to be castrated and dehorned early enough for them to be completely healed by fair week. If you are planning to have these services done, please come prepared to pay. If you have not paid your dues, please come prepared to pay twice!!
***Everyone will need a Premise ID number. You can register for one online at http://www.in.gov/boah/2700.htm. If you have any questions about premise ID, go to http://www.in.gov/boah/files/4H_FAQs_3-2015.pdf. In order for you animal to be eligible to show at the county fair and/or the state fair, your animal needs to be identified into the 4HOnline database. This is the same database that you used to sign up for 4H this year.
ESSAY QUESTION or COMMUNITY WORK PROJECT:
**Our two service projects have been set. The first one is scheduled for June 4 at the fairgrounds. The second service project is on June 11 at LoveWay in Middlebury. Times will be announced at a later date, however, in the past couple of years we have started in the morning and have been done by noon. You only need to choose one to get credit.
**If you are unable to attend a service project or you choose not to participate in one, you must complete an essay question. This year you will have three essay questions to choose from. You only need to complete one of them to earn credit. Length requirements are listed on the website. Here are the questions you can choose from.
1. What impact, if any, does non-GMO products have on our food supply?
2. How does global demand for beef impact prices at the local level?
3. What are some possible uses for UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles) in the agriculture industry?
BARN FUND UPDATE:
We are excited to say we met our matching grant!! We still need to raise another $13,000 to make our goal of $100,000. If you have not already, please consider to donate. Thank you!
We hope to see you on the 21st!
-Your Leaders
Dear Dairy Feeder Calf Club members and families, March 2016
Hello! Our next meeting will be this Thursday, March 17, 2016 at 7:00 pm in the FAIRBOARD ROOM at the fairgrounds, with registration beginning at 6:45 pm. The Fairboard Room is located in the 4H Fair office building. Our program for this meeting will be with a nutritionist, Hannah Bollinger .
We will be voting on our fair queen representative at this meeting. LADIES…if you are interested and are 16 years old or older, please come to the meeting. If you are unable to attend, simply email us and let us know you would like to have your name placed on the ballot.
For those of you who have yet to pay the club dues, it can be done at this meeting. Like we have said before, dues have now gone up $1.00, making them $11.00 per 4Her. The dues from each member are used to help cover club expenses and auction costs. So, please come prepared to take care of this. You will not be able to draw an auction number at the May Weigh-In until your dues are paid! Dues will continue to increase by $1 every month till the May weigh in. If you wish to pay by check, make it payable to: Dairy Feeder Calf Club.
Now is a good time to get your calves if you don’t already have them. If you are having some difficulty locating calves, you can give any of the leaders a call. They will be glad to help you if they can. We want to stress that a good minimum weight at our May weigh-in should be between 135-150 lbs. We encourage you to get your calves early so you can reach this weight range by weigh in. We are not going to have a minimum weight at weigh in, but we would like to see bigger and healthier calves at fair time. Minimum weight at fair time is 250lbs. If you have any questions on this, please don’t be afraid to call one of the leaders or advisory board members.
Geranium order forms are posted on the DFC website. EVERY 4-Her listed on a stall request form must sell one flat (18 flowers) or donate $10.00 to the club. This year pink, red and white geranium plants can be ordered at a cost of $1.25 each. Our club receives $.25 for every plant sold so sell, sell, sell! Please collect the money when orders are taken. Checks should be made payable to the Dairy Feeder Calf Club. Orders and money need to be turned in to Jodi Evans by APRIL 1. You can send your stuff to Jodi at: Jodi Evans, PO Box 416, Bristol, IN 46507. We need to write one big check when we turn our order into the extension office. So please have your money and orders turned in on time! This saves Jodi from a lot of headaches! Geranium pickup is on Wednesday April 20 from 3:00pm to 6:00pm at the fairgrounds. If you are able and willing to help unload and pass out geraniums on April 20, please talk with Jodi. Many hands make light work! Top three sellers will be rewarded with choice of auction order, 1st choice of stalling or 2nd choice of stalling. Go out and sell!!
We have made some changes to the stall request forms this year. In the past we have had some issues with forms with money not turned in. Therefore, we are not accepting any stall request forms until the June meeting. At that time, all money or proof of geranium sales must accompany your requests. No exceptions.
Essay Questions & Community Service Projects:
**Our two service projects have been set. The first one is scheduled for June 4th at the fairgrounds. The second service project is on June 11th at LoveWay in Middlebury. Times will be announced at a later date, however, in the past we have started in the morning and have been done by noon. You only need to choose one to get credit.
**If you are unable to attend a service project or you choose not to participate in one, you must complete an essay question. This year you will have three questions to choose from. You only need to complete one of them to earn credit.
Length requirements are:
½ page for 3rd-5th grade
1 full page for 6th-8th
1 ½ pages for 9th-12th
The questions are:
- What impact, if any, does non-GMO products have on our food supply?
- How does global demand for beef impact prices at the local level?
- What are some possible uses for UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles) in the agriculture industry
Barn Fund Update!!
As you all know we are getting down to the wire on our fundraising. We were given a grant for $34,000 from the Elkhart County Community Foundation. What you may not know is that this is an all or nothing matching grant. This is very crucial that we meet that. Our deadline is three weeks away, April 1st. We are roughly $4000 short of meeting the $34,000!! With all that said, we have been contacted by an anonymous donor who will match all monies received up to $1500 BEFORE the deadline. What this means is that he will match your $25 to make it $50, the grant will match the $50 to make it $100! So every dollar is important! We will have a donation box at the meeting on the 17th that you can put your traceable donation in. Lets try to put this to rest this week! Dig deep and support a fantastic club!! If you have any questions, call or text Ken at 535-3018.
Remember to check out our website regularly! It has lots of good information! www.dairyfeedercalfclub.com
Looking ahead/mark your calendars:
April 1: Geranium money & orders due to Jodi Evans
April 20: Geranium pick up at the fairgrounds
April 21: DFC April Meeting
May 7: Weigh In
We hope to see you on the 17th!!
-Your Leaders
February 2016
Dear 4-H’ers and families,
Hello & greetings to everyone! Our second meeting is on February 18, 2016 at 7:00 in the Home & Family Arts Building at the fairgrounds, with registration beginning at 6:45. Remember to watch your local TV station, check your email or check the Dairy Feeder Calf Club facebook page if we would happen to cancel because of weather. Our speaker for this meeting will be a local veterinarian, Emily Blough.
The $10.00 dues from each member to help cover club expenses and auction costs can still be paid at this meeting. It goes up $1.00 at the March meeting. So please come prepared to take care of this. If you wish to pay by check, make it payable to: Dairy Feeder Calf Club.
Do you have your calf yet? This is not a rule, but a good minimum weight at our May weigh in should be between 135-150 lbs. We encourage you to get your calves early so you can reach this weight range by weigh in.
Essay Question & Community Service Projects
**Our two service projects have been set. The first one is tentatively set for June 4 at the fairgrounds. The second service project is on June 11 at LoveWay in Middlebury. Times will be announced at a later date, however, in the past couple of years we have started in the morning and have been done by noon. You only need to choose one to get credit.
**If you are unable to attend a service project or you choose not to participate in one, you must complete an essay question. This year you will have three essay questions to choose from. You only need to complete one of them to earn credit. Length requirements are listed on the website. Here are the questions you can choose from.
1. What impact, if any, does non-GMO products have on our food supply?
2. How does global demand for beef impact prices at the local level?
3. What are some possible uses for UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles) in the agriculture industry?
Geranium Sales: Geraniums will be selling for $1.25 again this year and will be available in three colors, red, white or pink. Orders and money will be due to Jodi Evans by April 1st!! Pickup is on Wednesday, April 20 at the fairgrounds. Mail all orders and money to: Jodi Evans, PO Box 416, Bristol, IN 46507. This is a fundraiser for our club. For each plant we sell, our club will receive $0.25 back as a sales reward!
Barn Fundraising: We are roughly $4000 away from making our matching grant! Please continue promoting our barn and help us bring in this amount!
Important dates:
March 17 - March meeting in Fairboard Room
April 1 – Geranium orders & money due to Jodi Evans
April 20 – Geranium pick up
April 21 - April meeting in ECCC building
May 7 – Weigh In & Auction number draw (all calves are required to be brought to the fairgrounds)
We hope to see all of you on the 18th!
Your Leaders
January 2016
Dear 4-H’ers and families,
Hello! Here we go again!! Are you ready for another great year of 4-H? Our first meeting will be on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 7:00 pm in the Showalter Room of the ECCC Building at the fairgrounds. Registration will begin at 6:45 pm. Watch your local television stations for cancellation if the weather is bad. Also, check your email or the website.
The program for the evening will consist of basic club information and a discussion about crossbred calves with Joe Zehr. Mr. Zehr has been a past screener at our May weigh in.
**IMPORTANT** The 2016 Elkhart County online enrollment is due January 15th. If you have not enrolled for this year yet, please do so immediately! You can access a link to the website by visiting www.elkhartcounty4h.org. A $15 non-refundable State Program Fee per child is due at the time of enrollment with a maximum of $45 per family for 3 or more children. There is no fee for Exploring 4-H youth. Payment of fees is due by January 15th. Enrollment is not complete until all required sections have been completed!! Please call the Purdue Extension Office (574-533-0554) if you have any questions. ***NOTE: The $15 non-refundable State Program Fee per child does not take the place of regular club dues that the DFC Club collects.
Club dues are $10.00/member which consists of $6.00 to help cover club expenses and $4.00 that covers the auction fees. We would like you to take care of this as soon as possible. So, the deadline to pay these dues is the February meeting, after the deadline we will add $1.00 per month that it is late. You will not be able to draw your auction number at the May weigh-in until your dues are paid. Please come prepared!
As most of you know, we are in the process of raising $100,000 to build a new barn to house our calves during the fair. To update you on the progress, the old barn is down and we have raised $24,673.30!! The Barn Committee has worked diligently to apply for grants and additional support. Thus far, we have received a $34,000 matching grant from the Elkhart County Community Foundation! This is a dollar-for-dollar match which means we need to raise $34,000 in order to receive $34,000 from the Foundation. This is huge, folks! We need to raise another $10,000 so we can reach the $34,000 that will be matched by the ECCF. Details, updates and payment information can be found at the following website: www.barnfund.com. Please consider making a donation. Every dollar counts, so no gift is too big or too small. Share this link with family, friends and local businesses!!
Once again, the Dairy Feeder Calf Advisory board would like to guide you on when to buy your calves for this year, so we can have healthy calves at the fair. THIS IS NOT A RULE, but a good minimum weight at our May weigh-in should be between 135 and 150 lbs. They encourage you to get your calves early so you can reach this weight range by weigh-in. As stated before, we are not going to have a minimum weight at weigh-in, but we would like to see larger and healthier calves at fair time. If you have any questions on this, please don’t be afraid to call one of the leaders or advisory board members.
After some discussion at our last advisory board meeting, we will not be accepting any stall request money UNTIL you have filled out and completed a stall request form. ALSO, your form will not be accepted unless we receive a $10 fee per 4Her or proof of selling one flat of geraniums (18 geraniums). All money needs to be turned in at once, NO EXCEPTIONS! Stall request forms are due by the June meeting. Geranium sales are due in April.
We will be using the club website to post important information throughout the year, such as newsletters, the essay question, rules, and contact information. It will serve as a good tool to look up club information. Please take note of the email address, so when you receive mail from it, you won’t junk it!
The website address is: www.dairyfeedercalfclub.com The email address is: dfcclub@gmail.com
4-H Officers for 2015:
President Justin Slabaugh Vice-Pres: Erica Stutsman
Secretary: Emerson Mast
Treasurer: Morgan Evans
Adult 4-H Leaders:
Organizational Leaders: Ken Metzler
Assistant Leaders: Erica Brenneman Tim Stutsman
Dale Miller
Lydell Troyer
Wade Hammond
Project Leaders: Brad Morehouse
Mike Lee
DFC Advisory Board Members:
President: Steve Miller
Vice-Pres: AJ Mast
Secretary: Brandi Kitson
Treasurer: Jodi Evans
Members: Lonnie Bontrager
Brenda Gawthrop
Galen Mast
Joe Caffee
Matt Hilty
If you receive this notice and you are not going to participate in the DFC club this year PLEASE let us know. Thank you!
We hope to see all of you on the 21st and are looking forward to another great year of 4-H.
Thanks,
Your Leaders
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