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THE VOICE OF 4-H Vernon County 4-H Family Newsletter

Vol. 2020 Issue 338 April—May

An EEO/Affirmative Action Employer, University of Wisconsin-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and DA. Extending the resources and knowledge of the University of Wisconsin system to the people of Vernon County.

Requests for reasonable accommodations for disabilities or limitations should be made prior to the date of the program or activity for which it is needed. Please do so 10 days before the program activity so that proper arrangements can be made.

4-H Focuses on…..

•Decision Making

•Problem Solving

•Relating to Others

•Planning and Organizing

•Learning to Learn

•Communicating with Others

•Leading Self and Others

•Relating to Change

•Applying Science & Technology

•Developing Self Mental and Physical Health

Vernon County

EXTENSION VERNON COUNTY STAFF Emery Bork Ashley Olson 4-H Coordinator Agriculture Educator

emery.bork@wisc.edu ashley.olson@wisc.edu

Sheena Cook-Fuglsang Craig Saxe—Area Extension Director

FoodWIse Nutrition Coordinator craig.saxe@wisc.edu sheena.cook-fuglsang@wisc.edu Linda Morrison Cindy Daniels Sr. Administrative Assistant 4-H Sr. Administrative Assistant

linda.morrison@wisc.edu cynthia.daniels@wisc.edu

Vernon County 4-H Facebook Page—https://www.facebook.com/vernoncounty4h Wisconsin 4-H Website—https://wi.4honline.com or www.4honline.com & select Wisconsin

TABLE OF CONTENTS Masthead Pg 1 Upham Woods Camp & Emery’s Updates Pg 2 4-H Club News/ 4-H Youth Leadership Pg 3 June/July Calendars Pg 4 Hands On Fun! Pg 5 YQCA Pg 6 Vernon Co Fair Beef Sheep Swine Update Pg 7 Dairy/Dog Project News Pg 8 Horse/Rabbit Project News Pg 9 Horse & Pony Project Showbill Pg 10 Verno Co. 4-H Arts Fest Pg 11 Pizza Garden Pg 12 Tractor Safety Registration Pg 13 Vernon County Key Award Pg 14 4-H Photo Gallery Pg 15 4-H & Covid-19 Pg 16 4-H & Covid-19 Continued Pg 17 What’s Going On Pg 18

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Vernon County 4-H Coordinator: Emery Bork, Bi-Monthly Letter Greetings all! I hope that you will enjoy this edition of our newsletter this month. Since we do not have many events to announce, I have worked to put together some resource sheets, activity suggestions, and challenges for you. I would also encourage you to enjoy the online activities that our Youth Leadership group are working on, as well as join us for the online version of Arts Fest. I hope you are taking the time to connect with your family, whether it be cooking together, going on hikes, playing board games, etc. I have found with our family that it can be easy to get bogged down in times like these, and focusing on goals, mixing things up, or learning about something new has helped refresh things within our home. I cannot say when 4-H, and our lives for that matter, will return to normal. However, I am cherishing the new opportunities I’ve had to learn how to do 4-H in a different format, and overcome obstacles that I haven’t attempted before. I am looking forward to how we can incorporate what we are doing now, into the future of 4-H. Take care and stay healthy. All the Best!

Upham Woods 4-H Camp — July 23– July 25, 2020

CRAWFORD, LA CROSSE, MONROE

RICHLAND and VERNON COUNTIES

UPDATE!

Under the guidance of University of Wisconsin-Madison leadership in response to the spread of COVID-19, Upham Woods has canceled all scheduled residential groups starting at 9:00am March 12, 2020 until August 15, 2020. Unfortunately this means no 4-H Camp this year.

Please watch for other activities that may become available this summer, via email and our Vernon County 4-H Facebook page.

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Mapledale Motivators Rt 56—Morgan Howell November—We have had three busy months. In November, the club assembled 167 gift jars. This is our only fundraiser for the year. We use the money for our projects, our community service projects, and field trips. December—The club had its Christmas party. We played Santa take away bingo. We fight for the best homemade goodies. January— The club enjoyed doing ceramics class. The club pays $10 toward each youth’s ceramic. When we leave, we have a finished project for the fair.

Pictured below : 4-H members of our newest Vernon County 4-H Club Country Critters enjoying a sheep demonstration!

Youth Leadership Project Report and Activity The Youth Leadership Project just had their third set of online Zoom meetings. We were going to delve into a Culture Perspective series, but decided to redirect and think about how youth their age could be helping with the community during this time. After several discussions, it was decided that we would create a Zoom series, and the youth would read children’s books, called Online Story Time. The series is geared towards young children, ages 3-9 and will also feature teaching traditional 4-H camp songs. If you would like to have your children participate, whether listening or reading, please email Emery in order to get the links to log in to Zoom each time. In addition to the Story Time, there was discussion about changing the online meeting times to every other Sunday at 8:15 p.m. We are planning our next meeting for Sun-day, April 7th at that time. All youth, grades 8-13 are wel-come to join at any time, when they can! The youth should email Emery for the link to join the meetings on Zoom.

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June 2020

July 2020

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

Dog project

Registration &

1st Class

3 4 5 6

7 8

Tractor Safety

Registration

Deadline

9 10 11

12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22

Tractor

Safety

23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

Extension Office

Closed

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5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14

15 16 17 18

Horse & Pony

Project Clinic

19

Pie & Ice

Cream Social

Pizza Garden

20 21 22 23

24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

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Wisconsin 4-H Division of Extension

Fun Hands-on Learning To Do At Home Link: https://4h.extension.wisc.edu/home-activities/

Once on website please see the below buttons that will directly link you to the information for each age group noted.

Resources for Grades K-2 Resources for Grades 3-5 Resources for Grades 6-8 Resources for Grades 9+

In Wisconsin 4-H, we believe in educational opportunities that involve youth in their own learning.

We encourage critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. We want youth to DO a

hands-on activity, REFLECT on their experience, and APPLY what they learned in the current

activity and beyond.

We also know that world events could prevent some of those things from happening. Let’s not let

them!

We chose the resources on this page with busy parents, caregivers, and families in mind. We know

there’s a lot coming at you all at once, so we took some time to go through a lot of possible

activities, resources, and information. We only listed the ones we think are the best, in the current

situation.

A team of Wisconsin 4-H educators from around the state created the following list of easy-to-

access activities and curriculum. To save you time, energy, and unnecessary worry, we:

• Filtered out many activities with hard-to-find supplies and those that needed a lot of adult supervision to be safe.

• Included activities that encouraged some kind of safe social connection and/or involved getting out of the chair and moving.

• Included high quality, inclusive, and accessible resources for all ages, including parents and caregivers.

•

Note: If you don’t have exactly the right materials at home, think about what you do have. Don’t have

foam pipe insulation? Try a pool noodle. Don’t have colored construction paper? Use printer paper

and encourage youth to color a design on it. Don’t have…? Well, you get the idea.

Icon Code for Resources Listed Above

SP = also translated into Spanish

AR = also translated into Arabic

= does not meet all criteria, but is the best resource we can find on the subject right now

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To: YQCA Families RE: YQCA Web Based Certification – Flash Sale! In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the YQCA Board is announcing a 25% flash sale on the web based certification. Here is how to take advantage of this opportunity. 1. Only offered during the month of April (April 1 – April 30), YQCA will be offering a 25% discount on web-based trainings, making them $9. a. Those wishing to take part in the flash sale will need to purchase $9 web-based training coupons from YQCA. Coupon order forms are attached to this message or may be obtained by emailing sales@yqca.org. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO RECEIVE THE DISCOUNTED PRICE.

b. Once the order form and proof of payment is received, coupons will be issued and returned to the pur-chaser within 3-5 business days.

c. Coupons MUST be put towards a web-based training in the month of April. 2. Youth who have already paid for a YQCA instructor-led training (on a date that has not yet passed), may log into their account and cancel their registration. a. If payment was received via credit card, their payment will be refunded.

b. If payment was received via coupon code, that coupon code will be active again. This coupon code does not expire and would be able to be used in future years.

c. To cancel a registered training 1. Go to https://yqca.learngrow.io and login to the account. 2. Select the course - you will have an option to "Cancel Registration”. This will cancel the training and refund the payment/re-activate the coupon code. We recognize those who have typically utilized the instructor-led training option may be unfamiliar with what users receive with their registration fee. We have identified those items below and ask that they be shared with instructors who are pointing their youth towards the web-based training. • Each session purchased includes three modules – a knowledge builder, a skills lab, and a quiz. o The knowledge builder is where content is delivered, the skills lab provides an opportunity to apply the content, and the quiz tests knowledge. To receive a certification, an 80% must be achieved on the 10-question quiz.

o These modules, completed in their entirety, will provide 2-3 hours of an experience for users. • Features of the online modules include: o Characters at each age level to guide youth through the course

o Free navigation within the course so youth can spend as much or as little time on a particular topic based upon their personal needs

o Variety of learning opportunities to accommodate various learning styles and modalities

o Audio button on each slide so youth can listen to audio rather than read the on-screen text. • Users may revisit modules anytime during their year of certification to repeat the modules purchased for additional learning opportunities. If you have any questions about the items above or requests for YQCA, please do not hesitate to reach out to info@yqca.org.

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Beef, Sheep, Swine Fair Identification Update! Vernon County Fair Junior Livestock RFID Tag Pick-Up Scheduled for Saturday May 2nd 2020 Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic there will be no livestock weigh-ins for the

fair taking place this year. RFID tags for beef, sheep and swine still need to be distributed for identification purposes and thus here is the procedure for 2020. On Saturday May 2nd from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. there will

be drive through pick up of tags at the Vernon County Fairgrounds. Please enter the fairgrounds on the east side near the hockey arena like you normally would for fair animal check in. You will pull up to the booth and

let the superintendent know how many of each species tag you need and the name of the exhibitor. The superintendent will get the tags ready and hand them to you utilizing social distancing guidelines along with

further instructions on how to tag and picture the animal. All pictures of tagged animals will need to be sent via-email or mail and will be due May 22nd 2020. Again, the fair superintendents want to stress the importance of

staying in your car as this is a drive through pick-up process. We understand this is not the normal fair livestock procedures, however this is the best way to get tags and instructions out to exhibitors. If you have

questions or concerns please contact Lloyd Hardy, Meat Animal Sale Committee President at 608-606-1301.

For further individual information see below:

Beef:

Sheep:

Swine:

Again, if you have any questions or concerns with this new procedure please contact

Lloyd Hardy, Meat Animal Sale Committee President at 608-606-1301.

Please place Visual Tag in Steers Right Ear as shown in picture and RFID disc tag in Left ear also shown. Pictures of complete head of steer is required with tags in the ear along with Full body picture of the steer. Please make sure we can clearly see the steer so we can identify it come September fair. Pictures can be forwarded via email or hard copies can be sent Via Mail. Pictures are to be sent in by: May 22, 2020 Email: vernoncountybeef@gmail.com Mail: Tyler Fortun -E6938 Us Hwy 14/61-Westby WI 54667 Please indicate whose steer the picture is for when sent in as well. We apologize for this inconvenience and hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

Please send two pictures ,one of head and side view. We are not worried about seeing the numbers on the tags, but ask to write scrapie tag and RFID tag number in email for each sheep when emailing the pictures. The email address for the sheep is vernoncountysheep@gmail.com

Take one head picture of each hog with the tag showing as being in place in the left ear. Take one side shot picture of each hog. That would then be two pictures per hog to be submitted.

Photo’s are to be submitted via email to vernonswine@gmail.com Clearly note exhibitor name and the ear tag number (s) in the body of the email.

Information Example: Exhibitor Ron Smith

Hog #1 VE 101

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Updates April/May 2020

DAIRY JUDGING VIRTUAL MEETING WEDNESDAY MAY 6th at 7:30 p.m.

Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, all in person dairy judging practices as well as the 4-H Area Animal Science Days set for June 11th are cancelled. There may be a state contest later this summer TBD. I am hopeful that later this summer we will be able to hold a couple of in-person work-outs, but in the mean-time I think it is important for the team to meet up virtually! On Wednesday May 6th at 7:30 p.m. lets plan to connect via zoom to discuss potential virtual judging activities as well as the dairy project in general. Please email me at ashley.olson@wisc.edu to obtain the zoom meeting connection information. Due to new security measures with the zoom platform I can no longer post the link publicly. Please note you will need to enter the password when logging into the meeting. For more information or questions please reach out to coach Ashley Olson at (608) 385-2607.

Dairy Project News

Vernon County Dog Project 2020 Obedience and Agility Classes

Registration for the Dog Project summer classes normally would be held in May without dogs. Due to COVID-19 restrictions we tentatively are planning to have both registrations and class on Tuesday, June 2nd at the Vernon County Fairgrounds in the Hanson Arena. In person registration will be held from 5:30—6:00 p.m. Class with dogs to begin promptly afterwards. To register please email the Extension Office at cynthia.daniels@wisc.edu on or before May 29th with the following information: Owner/Exhibitor’s Name, Age, Home Phone#, Cell Phone#, Dog’s Name, Male/Female, Breed, Age of Dog, Class you are planning on participating in, (Obedience or Obedience and Agility) and is Owner/Exhibitor’s an Active 4-H Member. A registration health form for your dog is required! Forms are available at the Extension Office and on the website: https://vernon.extension.wisc.edu. Another change this year is the completed form must be received at the Extension Office on or before May 29th. Cost for this program is as follows: Obedience for 4-H $15.00 Obedience for 4-H Family $25.00 Obedience for Non 4-H $30.00 Obedience and Agility for 4-H $25.00 Obedience and Agility for 4-H Family $40.00 Please watch for emails and our Vernon County 4-H Facebook page regarding changes that might need to be made to the above information. If you have questions contact Jenni Miller: 606-9600, 625-6224, 634-7608 or the Extension Office at 637-5276.

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The Rabbit and Poultry Barn Fundraiser to be held at Nelsons will be postponed until a later time. In addition to the fundraiser, the May 2 Rabbit Day Camp to be held in Coon Valley, is also postponed. We will work to reschedule these events when things have settled down more. Right now is the time to finalize your poultry orders and start hatching for your show birds for fair, same for rabbits! If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call! Finally, NO testing of poultry is required in order to exhibit for this year’s fair. Pam Fanta, Project Leader and Mrs. Emery Bork M.Ed 4-H Coordinator .

Rabbit & Poultry Project News

I hope everyone is well and healthy! Day Clinic is set for July 18, 2020! Please watch for pre-registration and schedule to come. This will be the next time we see everyone. If you have any suggests on what you would like to learn at this event or have more practice out, please reach out to any of the leaders. We will do our best to accommodate. State Qualifying Show is set for August 8, 2020. Our judge will be Terry Lauth. We will have online registration available soon! (Show bill on page 9 of this newsletter) Please note that the Pat Stevenson Trail Clinic is cancelled due to a scheduling conflict. The Champ Show date is set for September 5, 2020 at La Crosse Interstate Fair Grounds. WWHSA show dates have been posted on our Facebook page. These are great shows to either go and watch or show at. Please watch our Facebook Page for updates and registrations! Please continue to practice, practice, practice. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to any of the project leaders. We are here to help.

Brook Strangstalien, Vernon County Horse and Pony Project Leader

Vernon County Horse & Pony Project News and Updates

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2020 VERNON COUNTY SUMMER 4-H HORSE SHOW (STATE QUALIFYING)

Vernon County Fairgrounds - Viroqua, Wisconsin Judge: Terry Lauth

SATURDAY, August 8, 2020 Registration will begin at 8:00 A.M. Show starts promptly at 9:00 A.M.

(Rain or Shine!) $2.00/class or $15.00 All Day Single or $20.00 All Day Family

Classes: 1. Open Pony @ Halter 2. Open Horse @ Halter 3. Pony Western Showmanship (grades 3-7) 4. Pony Western Showmanship (grades 8-13) 5. Horse Western Showmanship (grades 3-7) 6. Horse Western Showmanship (grades 8-13) 7. Pony Hunt Showmanship (grades 3-7) 8. Pony Hunt Showmanship (grades 8-13) 9. Horse Hunt Showmanship (grades 3-7) 10. Horse Hunt Showmanship (grades 8-13) 11. Horseless Horse Showmanship (grades 3-7) 12. Horseless Horse Showmanship (grades 8-13) 13. Horseless Horse Walk/Trot Pleasure (grades 3-7) 14. Horseless Horse Walk/Trot Pleasure (grades 8-13) 15. Horseless Horse Walk/Trot Horsemanship (grades 3-7) 16. Horseless Horse Walk/Trot Horsemanship (grades 8-13) 17. *Hunt/Western Walk/Trot-Beginner 18. Driving Class 19. Pony Hunt Equitation (grades 3-7) 20. Pony Hunt Equitation (grades 8-13) 21. Pony Hunt Pleasure (grades 3-7) 22. Pony Hunt Pleasure (grades 8-13) 23. Horse Hunt Equitation (grades 3-7) 24. Horse Hunt Equitation (grades 8-13) 25. Horse Hunt Pleasure (grades 3-7) 26. Horse Hunt Pleasure (grades 8-13) 27. Pony Stock Seat Equitation (grades 3-7) 28. Pony Stock Seat Equitation (grades 8-13) 29. Pony Western Pleasure (grades 3-7) 30. Pony Western Pleasure (grades 8-13) 31. Horse Stock Seat Equitation (grades 3-7) 32. Horse Stock Seat Equitation (grades 8-13) 33. Horse Western Pleasure (grades 3-7) 34. Horse Western Pleasure (grades 8-13) 35. Open Reining 36. Trail (grades 3-7) 37. Trail (grades 8-13) 38. Trail Lead-Line (grades 3-7) 39. Trail Lead-Line (grades 8-13) 40. Open Egg & Spoon

*COGGINS PAPERS REQUIRED* BOTH THE ORIGINAL AND COPY FOR OUR FILES

The 4-H exhibitor is the only person allowed to ride their animal while at the horseshow unless

authorized by Project Leader. No one under grade 3 is allowed to handle or ride an animal at any time. Boots with a 1/2” cutout

heel and ASTM/SEI approved helmet, buckled, are mandatory while mounted.

Required Horse & Pony Project Safety Checks Will Be Performed That Day!

Note: *If entered in walk trot may not enter canter classes. State Expo Entry Rules: Must be a 4-H member in good standing and be in grades 6-13. The horse/ pony must be carried as a 4-H project . The animal with which you qualified is the one you must use. One expo class entry MUST be a class in which the exhibitor won a blue ribbon at the county qualifying show. Qualifying classes are showmanship; equitation or driving reinsmanship; pleasure riding, or pleasure driving; trail, obstacle driving. Bareback, halter, costume, Gymkhana or other game classes are not qualifying classes. The remaining five classes may be selected in any combination. Further state 4-H entry information is available at the Extension Office or on the website: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/4h/onlinpro/HorseHandbook.cfm

For more information contact: Sally Brose—(608) 606-4756 Gail Bolstad – (608)788-8806

Joann Schultz—(608) 792-1561 Brook Strangstalien—(608) 606-4269

EEO/Affirmative Action employer, UW-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADA requirements. Please make request for reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to educational programs as early as possible preceding the scheduled program, service or activity.

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2020 VERNON COUNTY ARTS FEST Saturday, March 7, 2020

Amerman, Jordan

Amerman, Kayla

Anderson, Hunter

Aranmeta, Anna

Bartovics, Gianna

Bartovics, Magdalence

Bork, Sage

Caley, Adam

Caley, Gracie

Caley, Kendall

Caley, Lily

Corr, Ava

Cress, Anneka

Cress, Mariah

Defliger, Cole

Diehl, Abagail

Diehl, Angela

Diehl, Rachel

Diehl, Trista

Falkers, Catherine

Falkers, Hannah

Falkers, Sarah

Falter, Agnes

Falter, Cecilia

Falter, John

Farrell, Andrew

Farrell, Tullen

Farrell, William

Fuglsang, Kison

Fuglsang, Ryker

Goltz,Genesee

Goltz, Hazel

Huebner, Denali

Huebner, Odessa

Jothen, Aubrey

Jothen, McKenna

Kaeo, Eli

Kaeo, Niko

Konrad, Finley

Lange, Savannah

Marx, Temperance

Palm, Bridget

Pratt, Arianna

Pratt, Ethan

Pratt, Isaac

Pratt, Levi

Pratt, Olivia

Pratt, Matthew

Reynolds, Gracie

Roberts, Wynne

Solverson, Emma

Solverson, Harper

Sommerfeldt, Autumn

Welch, Carter

Welch, Elias

Welch, Gideon

Welch, Thaddeus

Woodhouse, Caleb

Woodhouse, Hayley

Wright, Abbi

Thank you &

Congratulations

Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers who make this event happen!

Thank you to Nerison

4-H Club for operating the Food Stand this year. Great job & great walking taco’s!

Thank you Westby High

School and staff for helping us with facilities for this

event!

Congratulations to all who participated in our 2020

competition! It was a day full of fun and amazing talent!

Congratulations to our State Youth Conference selections:

Konrad Finley—”Bear”

& William Farrell—”Fall

Theme Wall Hanging”

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Wisconsin Safe Operation of Tractor and

Machinery Certification

An educational program to

enhance the safety knowledge and skills for youth operating

tractors and machinery on Wisconsin farms

Each day please bring a sack lunch. A $40 fee to cover materials, fuel and other supplies will be charged for each

student. First priority is given to students who live or attend school in

Vernon County, based upon the age at the time of the training. Older students

have higher priority. Please note deadline, who to make the check out to,

and where to send it. Class size is limited to 40 participants.

Requests for reasonable accommodations for disabilities or limitations should be made prior to the date of the program or activity for which it is needed. Please do so as soon as possible prior to the program activity so that proper arrangements can be

made. An EEO/Affirmative Action Employer, UW-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and

programming, including Title IX and DA. Extending the resources and knowledge of the University of Wisconsin system to the people of Vernon County.

Vernon County UW-

Extension, would like to thank the following for

their efforts in developing this

program.

Vernon Co Vocational Agriculture Instructors:

Lloyd Hardy Brian Kast

Mike Fowell Erica Hoven

Mollie Biermier Hillary Bark

Crawford Co Vocational Agriculture Instructor:

Kally Bockenhauer

Implement Dealers: Coon Valley Dairy

Supply & Implement Company

Inc.. Coon Valley Portland Implement,

Cashton Tractor Central, Westby

Other Volunteers:

Viroqua Police Department, Viroqua Fire Department,

Tri-State Ambulance

Trophies provided by: Vernon County Rural Insurance

TRACTOR AND MACHINERY CERTIFICATION COURSE June 22nd, 23rd & 24th 2020

(Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday) Vernon County Fairgrounds

8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. ____________________________________ Name ____________________________________ Address ____________________________________ City Zip ____________________________________ Parent’s Name ____________________________________ Phone Number ____________________________________ Birth Date Age at Time of Course ____________________________________ School Name Grade Completed _ Male Female 4-H Club or FFA Chapter (Circle One) (If applicable) Circle Below Youth lives in or on: Farm Rural Town (10-15K) Ethnicity: White Black American Native Other: _______________________

Please include the $40 registration fee with this form. Make check payable to:

Vernon Co Extension Office

Return to: Vernon County Extension 318 Fairlane Dr., Ste 392

Viroqua WI 54665

Registration Deadline Monday, June 8th

(First come-first served with preference to

Vernon Co Youth)

Due to COVID-19 outbreak, please check our Vernon County 4-H Facebook page for any changes

or updates to this planned program.

If you have questions, or for the complete enrollment information, please feel free to call the Extension

Office at 637-5276.

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Wisconsin 4-H Key Award Application

The Wisconsin 4-H Key Award Program recognizes a select group of 4-H participants who’ve demonstrated consistent growth in their 4-H involvement, developed and applied leadership skills, and actively participated in the functions of their 4-H club and community. Selection of Key Award recipients should be based on an evaluation of the candidate’s total 4-H record. To be eligible, candidates must be in 9th grade or above and must have completed at least three years of 4-H and one year of youth leadership. The quota of award recipients is determined by county 4-H enrollment of youth ages 14 years and older. Quotas are 2% of that population or a minimum of two per county. The State 4-H Office will mail a framed certificate and pin. Key Award recipients are asked to send a note of appreciation to sponsors. This is an excellent opportunity to build your scholarship applications and resume! Deadline for Application to the Vernon County Extension Office: May 15th , please use additional paper if needed Interviews will be held via online Zoom at the Parent Leader Federation Meeting, May 17th Application: Name: _________________________________ Club: _________________________________________ Years in 4-H: _________________ Grade: ___________ Please answer the following questions: What projects have you been involved in? Have you taken a leadership role within those projects? What leadership and service have you done/held within your club? What changes or ideas have you shared with your club to help members and improve the club? Have you participated in any county, state-wide, or national trips or programs? If so, what impacts did they have on you and how have you incorporated those impacts into your life and leadership? Tell us about yourself. What are your additional hobbies, what do you plan on doing for your future? Why do you believe that you deserve this award?

Additional questions that are similar to the ones above will be asked during your interview via Zoom.

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Crawford, Monroe, Richland and Vernon County 4-H Photographers

Have you been taking photos? We'd love to see them!!! We are creating a virtual 4-H Photo Gallery!

Here are a few of the entry categories: -Signs of Spring

-Animals

-Life at Home

-Enhanced Photo (Before and After)

-Macro (Super magnified image)

-And More!!!

Entries are due by May 5th. "Judges Choice" awards will be presented during a five county 4

-H photography workshop on May 14th.

Enter your photos at https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/

SV_1zBAqn4TqIU0f2J

Are you looking for inspiration? Here are a few 4-H Resources to get you started.... If you missed the recent 4-H Photography Zooms, you can watch them on YouTube:

-Getting to Know Your Camera Settings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0xzYq6-

Cqo&t=59s

-Composition 101 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yunvgoUMI7o

National 4-H Photography Curriculum: https://4-h.org/parents/curriculum/photography/?

gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9-nLmpXZ6AIVhobACh16fAl4EAAYASAAEgJ5V_D_BwE

Hands-on Activity: Make a Pinhole Camera!

Learn how a camera works by creating your own Pinhole Camera out of a shoebox.

Complete instructions can be found as a packet with the above information on our website:

https://vernon.extension.wisc.edu/ and on our Vernon County 4-H Facebook: page.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Extension Office at 637-5276. We can’t wait to see your photos!

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What has Vernon County 4-H been up to since Covid-19? A lot, actually! These next few pages are a report of what has been happening in 4-H, some changes imple-mented for the time being, a few activities you can get involved in, and much more. On, Wednesday, March 18th, all University of Wisconsin employees were asked to begin telecommuting from their homes to prevent the spread of Covid-19. There had been a positive case on the UW-Madison campus, and following the governor’s and our dean’s orders, I began working from home. I thought about what 4-H’s role was during this time. I focused on the fact that we need to provide opportunities for families: that when they need a supplement to education, a distraction from the stress of being at home with children, goals and objectives for youth to achieve, our 4-H program would be there. Not just for 4-H families, but all Vernon County families. The first series of programs that I rolled out was centered around providing content programming. It was called “Spring on the Farm” and it included 5 nights of videos with different topics. Those videos were live streamed to our Facebook page as well. They are still on our Facebook page, but will eventually be deleted, so download them and save them for future use. The program received national attention, with over 6426 people reached, and the videos have garnered over 650 views thus far! I didn’t want to stop there and I wanted to put some of our county youth to work. Firstly, we joined into a pen pal program that Monroe County has set up. Youth (grades 3-6) that have signed up to write letters back and forth, should be getting their first informational letters soon. If you missed the sign up window, send me a quick email or call our office! Next, I asked our youth leaders to consider what could be done to help families in the community. We came up with reading children’s stories via Zoom two times per week for the month of April. We are also teaming up with Monroe county to do this. Finally, I wanted input from our county on what more we could be doing. Many people mentioned having youth write letters to nursing homes. This kickstarted an idea to go a bit beyond. Many youth in our neighbor-ing counties had prepared to perform their Arts Fest and fair entries, but were not able to perform them. My colleague Josh Goede, and myself thought—why not waste effort, let’s perform them to the residents, again, via Zoom! To say the least, ideas are flowing and being executed! I am really proud of our youth leaders, area youth, and club leaders for stepping out of their comfort zones to bring 4-H programming and values to our county fami-lies and beyond. Zoom I’ve mentioned Zoom a lot in both this newsletter and in emails to you. I want to take a moment and explain this platform. UW-Madison holds a license with Zoom to enable employees to use this virtual online meeting platform. There are two ways to join online meetings, by either clicking a link or by dialing in with your phone. It makes it efficient for a vast majority of people, especially those who do not have internet capabilities When conducting a Zoom meeting, I have the ability to share my computer screen, do online surveys, and much more with the participants in the meeting. Zoom is also offered in a free format, so if you have not used it yet, I deeply ask that you sign up for a free account. You can test out joining meetings and it is very simple to use. However, if you’re having troubles with Zoom, I am happy to help you! Zoom accounts can be made here: zoom.us Meetings Going Forward I am deeply urging all projects and clubs to now meet via Zoom instead of cancelling meetings. While I under-stand that people will be able to make some meetings or not, I believe that it is essential that we try to keep level of normalcy. Our Leader/Parent Federation has already met via Zoom for our March meeting, and will continue to meet via Zoom for our upcoming budget and April meeting. I’m expecting all clubs to meet for their May meetings via Zoom. The club leaders will be communicating those links and meeting codes to you.

What has Vernon County 4-H been up to since Covid-19? A lot, actually! These next few pages are a report of what has been happening in 4-H, some changes imple-mented for the time being, a few activities you can get involved in, and much more. On, Wednesday, March 18th, all University of Wisconsin employees were asked to begin telecommuting from their homes to prevent the spread of Covid-19. There had been a positive case on the UW-Madison campus, and following the governor’s and our dean’s orders, I began working from home. I thought about what 4-H’s role was during this time. I focused on the fact that we need to provide opportunities for families: that when they need a supplement to education, a distraction from the stress of being at home with children, goals and objectives for youth to achieve, our 4-H program would be there. Not just for 4-H families, but all Vernon County families. The first series of programs that I rolled out was centered around providing content programming. It was called “Spring on the Farm” and it included 5 nights of videos with different topics. Those videos were live streamed to our Facebook page as well. They are still on our Facebook page, but will eventually be deleted, so download them and save them for future use. The program received national attention, with over 6426 people reached, and the videos have garnered over 650 views thus far! I didn’t want to stop there and I wanted to put some of our county youth to work. Firstly, we joined into a pen pal program that Monroe County has set up. Youth (grades 3-6) that have signed up to write letters back and forth, should be getting their first informational letters soon. If you missed the sign up window, send me a quick email or call our office! Next, I asked our youth leaders to consider what could be done to help families in the community. We came up with reading children’s stories via Zoom two times per week for the month of April. We are also teaming up with Monroe county to do this. Finally, I wanted input from our county on what more we could be doing. Many people mentioned having youth write letters to nursing homes. This kickstarted an idea to go a bit beyond. Many youth in our neighbor-ing counties had prepared to perform their Arts Fest and fair entries, but were not able to perform them. My colleague Josh Goede, and myself thought—why not waste effort, let’s perform them to the residents, again, via Zoom! To say the least, ideas are flowing and being executed! I am really proud of our youth leaders, area youth, and club leaders for stepping out of their comfort zones to bring 4-H programming and values to our county fami-lies and beyond. Zoom I’ve mentioned Zoom a lot in both this newsletter and in emails to you. I want to take a moment and explain this platform. UW-Madison holds a license with Zoom to enable employees to use this virtual online meeting platform. There are two ways to join online meetings, by either clicking a link or by dialing in with your phone. It makes it efficient for a vast majority of people, especially those who do not have internet capabilities When conducting a Zoom meeting, I have the ability to share my computer screen, do online surveys, and much more with the participants in the meeting. Zoom is also offered in a free format, so if you have not used it yet, I deeply ask that you sign up for a free account. You can test out joining meetings and it is very simple to use. However, if you’re having troubles with Zoom, I am happy to help you! Zoom accounts can be made here: zoom.us Meetings Going Forward I am deeply urging all projects and clubs to now meet via Zoom instead of cancelling meetings. While I under-stand that people will be able to make some meetings or not, I believe that it is essential that we try to keep level of normalcy. Our Leader/Parent Federation has already met via Zoom for our March meeting, and will continue to meet via Zoom for our upcoming budget and April meeting. I’m expecting all clubs to meet for their May meetings via Zoom. The club leaders will be communicating those links and meeting codes to you.

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As far as face-to-face meetings, 4-H is not allowed to meet or conduct face-to-face business at this time. That means fundraisers, meetings, events, etc. There is no set deadline on this rule right now, and things seem to be changing daily. All of our events through May have been cancelled and the June youth conference in Madison has also been cancelled. Get Connected Social Media: Please consider joining or bookmarking our Facebook page: Vernon County 4H. While our official website does contain some information, it is in sore need of updating, which is a goal of mine that most likely will not be realized until after Covid-19. You do not need to be on Facebook in order to look at the page and enjoy the content posted on there. YouTube: I am working on launching a channel, however, it is more complicated that I expected with accessibility requirements. It will take me a bit to get this fully functional, but this has also been a long term goal of mine. If you don’t do computers or internet, I encourage you to give our office a call and simply ask what’s happen-ing. Cindy Daniels and Linda Morrison are still in the office, and are available to take your call. Take a little time to chat, even, as I feel it both important and essential to just ‘connect.’ Ideas, Projects and Resources Finally, here are just a few resources for educational opportunities, for your family to enjoy. Think about start-ing/taking new projects to fair! Brown County Engineering Challenges Via YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwcD-0encTS93F8ZIf6EpyQ New York State 4-H Coloring Pages: https://nys4-h.org/printable-materials

Washington State Youth Activity Collection Site: https://extension.wsu.edu/king/learning-links-4-h-and-more/

Cloverbud Activities: https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/wi4hcloverbuds/activity-plans/

Youth Challenge Pages on Facebook: Nature Challenge (research a question each day about what is happening outside): https://www.facebook.com/groups/605738260282923/

Postcard Challenge (write in postcards and/or learn about different places through postcards): https://www.facebook.com/groups/2565841750365463/

Vernon County Specific:

Vernon County 4-H Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vernoncounty4h/

Connecting with the Coordinator

I do want to warn that I am home with 3 children (1, 3, 9), and have switched to working nights and nap times. I am most responsive between 7 p.m. and midnight. The best way to reach me is through email: emery.bork@wisc.edu or through the messaging capability via our Vernon County 4H Facebook page. I am also holding Zoom Office Hours, if you’d like to video chat. This office hour time is for any type of 4-H ques-tion you may have, or just to connect with me. It is every Thursday, from 8:30-9:30 p.m. The link to join this office hour each week is different, and if you let me know you’d like to join these, I can send that out to you. Otherwise, give our office a call and Cindy or Linda can let me know, or help you: 608-637-5276.

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DATE DAY ACTIVITY TIME LOCATION

May 2 Saturday BEEF, SHEEP & SWINE RFID TAG PICKUP DATE

8:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m.

Vernon County Fairgrounds, East Gate

See page 7

May 5 Tuesday Photo Gallery Contest—Deadline See page 15 for instructions

May 6 Wednesday Dairy Judging Virtual Meeting 7:30 p.m. See page 8 for instructions

May 15 Friday Key Award Application Deadline 4:30 p.m. Extension Office

May 17 Sunday Key Award Zoom Leader/Parent Federation Virtual

Meeting

May 22 Friday Beef Swine RFID Photo Registration Deadline

online Specific email addresses See page 7

May 25 Monday Extension Office Closed

June 2 Tuesday Dog Project Registration & Class 5::30 p.m. Hanson Arena, Vernon County Fairgrounds

June 8 Monday Tractor Safety Registration Deadline 4:30 p.m. Extension Office

June 22—23 Monday—Wednesday

Tractor Safety Class 8:30 –4:30p.m.

Vernon Co. Fairgrounds, VMH Building