Click here to see this online
January, 2018
Welcome to the Moultrie-Douglas 4-H online newsletter. Some pictures may not automatically download on certain devices; to see them, click on "load all images" or the "see this online" link. If you wish to print the newsletter, click "see this online" to bring up the print-friendly version.
Events and deadlines
(Dates are tentative)
- Jan. 12: DEADLINE - Reserve your spot for the food packaging event at Lake Land
- Jan. 13-14: Illinois Teen Leadership Conference, Decatur
- Jan. 20: Food packaging event, Lake Land College
- Jan. 22: DEADLINE - Illinois 4-H Jr. Leadership Conference Registration
- Feb. 24-25: Illinois 4-H Jr. Leadership Conference, Springfield
- Jan. 31: DEADLINE – Speaking for Illinois 4-H Training Registration (for Feb. 10)
- Feb. 1 – 28: JOANN Paper Clover Campaign at all Illinois JOANN stores
- Feb. 3: 4-H at JOANN stores statewide
- Feb. 10: Speaking for Illinois 4-H training, Murphysboro
- Feb. 24-25: Illinois 4-H Jr. Leadership Conference, Springfield
- Feb. 28: DEADLINE: Farm Credit Illinois Community Improvement Grants Due
Local 4-H news
Food packaging event dealine reminder
YOU have a chance to help fight hunger in our communities, by taking part in the 4-H food-packaging event at Lake Land College on Saturday, Jan. 20. Illinois 4-H members are used to pledging their “health to better living,” and a state initiative has members battling a new health threat: local hunger.
On Jan. 20 4-H members, families and volunteers from Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Moultrie and Shelby counties will come together to address the hunger challenge within the unit. A meal-packaging event will be held at Lake Land College, where volunteers, working in an assembly line, will package food ingredients into bags and seal them shut. These bags will then be delivered to local food pantries. The meals we package will stay local, helping families close to home!
The schedule for the day will be:
9 to 10 a.m. unload van and set up assembly lines.
9:45 to 12 p.m. assembly line – fill, seal and place bags into boxes. Load boxes into vehicles for local distribution.
Four older 4-H’ers and/or adults are needed for the 9 to 10 a.m. time slot to assist in unloading supplies from the van and setting up the assembly lines. Volunteers for this time slot need to be able to lift and carry 50-pound boxes. Another 100 volunteers (4-H’ers, families, leaders, friends, etc.) are needed for the assembly lines.
You must reserve your shift(s) in advance by contacting your local Extension office This will ensure that we have enough, but not too many, workers for the number of meals we need to assemble. The sign-up deadline is Friday, Jan. 12.
Club news
On October 21st, Moultrie County Shining Stars ran a 4-H pop stand at Octoberfest in Sullivan. The majority of members participated, helping to earn over $70.00 for the club. New officers were also elected in October: Hayden Moody replaced Sarina Voegel as President, Brett Bushue replaced Hayden Moody as Vice President, Rhett Lehman replaced Addison Stollard as Secretary, Julia Moody replaced Natalie Voyles as Treasurer, and Gareth Coffer replaced Emily Miller as Reporter. At the November meeting, members discussed various community service ideas the club could do. Members also discussed ordering club 4-H shirts; Ginger Voegel volunteered to coordinate the effort. After the meeting, members made several cards for the USO.
Submitted by Gareth Coffer
Livestock birth and ownership deadlines
Market animals
Steers & Market Heifers
- Calved on or after Jan. 1, 2017
- Owned by Feb. 1, 2018
- Weighed, tattooed Jan. 27 – March 15, 2018
- Farrowed on or after Jan. 15, 2018
- Owned by June 1, 2018
- No weighing, but ear notches must be noted when making entries.
- Farrowed on or after Feb. 10, 2018
- Owned by June 1, 2018
- Tattooed within 35 days of birth. Must not weigh more than 1.0 lbs./day of age
- Lambed on or after Jan. 1, 2018
- Owned by May 15, 2018
- Weighed and tattooed at regional weigh-in between March 15 and May 15, 2018
- Wethers lambed on or after October 1, 2017
- Owned by May 15, 2018
- Weighed and tattooed at regional weigh-in by May 15, 2018
Breeding Heifers & cows
- Calved from Sept. 1, 2016 to March 31, 2018
- Owned by June 1, 2018
- Cows born before Sept. 1, 2016
- Owned by Jan. 1, 2018
- Farrowed on or after Jan. 1, 2018
- Owned by June 1, 2018
- Yearling ewes born from Jan. 1, 2017 to Aug. 31, 2017
- Ewe lambs born after Sept. 1, 2017
- Ram lambs born after Jan. 1, 2017
- Owned by June 25, 2018
- Calves & Heifers owned by June 1, 2018
- Cows owned by Jan. 1, 2018
- No age requirements
- Kids & Yearlings not in milk owned by June 1, 2018
- Milking Does owned by Jan. 1, 2018
- Owned by May 15, 2018
4-H Spotlight
Sarina Voegel is a current third year 4-H member of the Moultrie County Shining Stars. In her short 4-H career, she has become a seasoned swine showman, an impressive visual arts exhibitor, as well holding the office of president in her club during the 2016-2017 4-H year. Not only is Sarina a leader within her club, she has been a driving force the Moultrie-Douglas Youth Advisory committee. She helped plan and present at the 4-H Achievement Program as well give input on upcoming 4-H events.
Sarina has an impressive future in 4-H and we cannot wait to see what she does next!
Family Chat
University of Minnesota Extension offers many great online English and Spanish resources geared specifically for parents.
Adolescents impact families in many exciting and challenging ways. The Families with Teens program seeks to contribute to building family strengths through improving family communication and decision-making, strengthening parent-teen relationships, and increasing parental satisfaction and confidence in their parenting role during adolescence.
Stronger families translate into teens who are more successful socially and academically. They have fewer emotional and behavioral problems and less risky behavior.
Communities also gain when the need for teen intervention, treatment and other services declines.
Technology is part of everyday life in teens and children so the first series I will share is Strategies to help you monitor what your teen does on the internet. You can find the resources at
Send us your news!
Club reporters, please send Angie your monthly reports and pictures for the newsletter! You are all doing such great things - make sure to share your ideas with other clubs.
Reports can be emailed to
Club Leaders are highly encouraged to send the Extension Office a copy of your meeting locations, dates and times for the upcoming year as soon as they are finalized! When individuals contact the Extension Office interested in joining 4-H, a club program list is a great item to have.
State news
Farm Credit Community Improvment Grants
Fifty $400 grants are available to 4-H clubs and FFA chaptersimplementing valuable community improvement projects. Funds will be awarded to assist club and chapter members in bringing positive change by establishing projects that make local communities better places to live.
Eligible 4-H clubs and FFA chapters must be located in one of the 60 central and southern Illinois countiesserved by Farm Credit Illinois.
Submit yourcompleted application to Farm Credit by clicking "Submit" at the bottom of the form. The option to add up to five photos or documents to support the application can be found at the bottom of the form. Each proposal will be reviewed and scored by a grant review team, and recipients will be contacted via email addresses provided on the application.
Applications are due February 28, 2018.
JOANN rewards 4-H members
Current & lifetime 4H members, parents of members, volunteers, and 4H staff can save 15% off total in-store and online purchases every day with 4H Rewards. JOANN will give a minimum of 2.5% of every eligible transaction to 4H. Sign up online @ BREAKING NEWS: Look for a special PAPER CLOVER activity during the month of February at JOANN stores in Illinois.
The IL 4-H Junior Leadership Conference is Coming!
Mission: Adventure! Who doesn’t love an adventure? We know our 4-H’ers in the 7th and 8th grades do because they fill the Illinois 4-H Jr. Leadership Conference to capacity each year, and we’re hoping to do the same for our 2018 event! Save the dates of February 24-25, 2018 and plan to travel to Springfield to join us at the President Abraham Lincoln Springfield Hotel.
Look for more information & registration on the Illinois 4-H website: go.illinois.edu/4Hjlc. The Illinois State 4-H Youth Leadership Team creates a fun, hands-on weekend that’s full of 4-H educational sessions, lots of laughter, meeting new people, and learning new things! Take the mission and find the adventure - we’d love to see you there!
Think summer and register for 4-H camp
Get outside and start the adventure of a lifetime at 4-H Memorial Camp. Live in cabins. Hike. Swim. Boat. Make crafts. Climb rocks. Make new friends. 4-H Memorial Camp offers a quality summer camp experience. 4-H Memorial Summer Camp is open to all youth ages 8 - 16 years. 4-H members and those new to 4-H are welcome.
Adventure awaits you at every turn at 4-H Memorial Camp. Every day is packed with activities that will challenge you to try new and exciting things. Best of all, you get to choose the activities you like the most! Meeting new friends is one of the best parts of camp. Each cabin holds 8 campers and 1 counselor. Bathhouses located near each cabin have hot showers. Our famous family-style meals are served in a large dining hall.
There's non-stop action in waterfront programs, arts and crafts, nature programs, and recreational sports and games. There's lots to do: swimming, canoeing, rock wall climbing, leather tooling, fishing, orienteering, volleyball, basketball, softball, archery, the team challenge course, and more! Dozens of learning projects are also offered each week, such as model rocketry, flower arranging, geo-caching, electricity, cooking, dance, music, drama, and photography. Evening programs include campfires, games, skits, songs, campouts, and a big dance.
You can register now for your choice of weeks at 4-H Camp:
Week 1: June 3-7 (Sunday thru Thursday)
Week 2: June 10-14 (Sunday thru Thursday)
Week 3: June 17-21 (Sunday thru Thursday)
Week 4: July 1-July 4 (Sunday thru Wednesday, 4 day camp)
Arrival time is 2-3 p.m. on first day.
Departure time is 3 p.m. on last day.
Time for you to Explore ACES
Take a day and find out just what University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences offers students. Friday, March 9 is saved for prospective students and their families; Saturday, March 10 is for confirmed ACES students. Learn more online @ exploreaces.org.
Final year for market heifer division at state fair junior show
Illinois State Fair Junior Livestock officials have announced this is the final year for the market heifer division at the state fair junior beef show. Market heifers will show at the 2018 Illinois State Fair.
Moultrie-Douglas 4-H is the flagship youth-development program of University of Illinois Extension. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any event mentioned in this newsletter, or if you wish to unsubscribe, please email Angie Welker at or phone 217/543-3755. Visit the office at 122 S. Walnut St., Arthur, IL 61911. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m.
Like us on Facebook
University of Illinois • USDA • local Extension councils cooperating. University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. The 4-H Name and Emblem are protected under federal statute Title 18, U.S. Code 707.Your family's 4-H membership records are confidential; U of I Extension does not sell, rent or trade email addresses.