March2013 4-H Clover Power Newsletter

March2013 4-H Clover Power Newsletter

Dear 4-H Families,

I hope everyone is getting as excited as I am about spring begin right around the corner! It’s also the right time of year to start getting involved in 4-H activities outside of your club. Project workshops for March and April have been posted. We would welcome any families, but especially new families to join us for the next two New Families Workshops focused on communication. Other ways to get involved are the Senior 4-H Night at SkyZone, Kansas City Intermediate Trip, and State 4-H Conference. Details are enclosed in this newsletter.

Also, I like to extend a thank you for the support you’ve given our office as we’ve been transitioning this winter. Diana Sosalla, our 4-H Volunteer Coordinator, will be retiring next month. Diana’s dedication to volunteer orientation, training and support will be missed greatly, with the consolation, that she has agreed to again join the 4-H volunteer ranks in the near future! I hope you will join us in honoring her at an open house on April 2.

I hope to be announcing to you two, new County Youth Coordinators this spring to help continue the wonderful program we have in Polk County.

Sincerely,

Andrea R. Nelson

Andrea R. Nelson

Executive Director

Upcoming Workshops

• Bread Making, March 9th, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m., Polk County Extension Office
• Sewing Basics
• 1st Session, April 13, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., JoAnn Fabric & Craft, Clive
• 2nd Session, April 20, 12:30 – 4:00 p.m., Polk County Extension
• Sewing with Patterns
• 1st Session, April 27, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m., Hancock Fabrics, Ankeny
• 2nd Session, May 4, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m., Polk County Extension Office
• Horse Clinic, June 15, 11:00 a.m., Beth Smith’s barn, NE of Elkhart

To RSVP for these workshops, please contact:

Amy Marek

957-5763

Retirement Open House

Join us in thanking Diana Sosalla for her seven years of hard work and dedication to the Polk County Extension and the 4-H program. We will be hosting an Open House at the Extension Office in her honor on Tuesday, April 2 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

DiscoverKansas City – Intermediate (7th & 8th grade) Trip

Make plans to join the fun on June 11th & 12th and discover some great places in the Kansas City area. You will meet 4-H’ers from Dallas, Jasper Mahaska, and Marion, Polk, Poweshiek and Warren counties.

The itinerary includes stops at the Steamboat Arabia Museum, Bass Pro Shop, the Moon Marble Company, a Kansas City Royal Game, and a trip to Worlds of Fun. The bus will leave Des Moines at 7:45 AM in June 11th and return home in the evening on the 13th. Cost is $225 due by March 25. For more information contact Marisue Hartung at 641-752-1551 or . Registration form is online.

4-H’ers for 4-H Campaign

This annual campaign runs March 1 – May 15. Funds raised support the State 4-H Council program, Iowa 4-H Youth Conference, and to support 4-H’ers in the form of scholarships for out-of-county and out-of-state 4-H experiences. The Iowa 4-H Foundation encourages each member to donated $2.50. In 2012, Polk County rose over $1,100 and was recognized as the third highest county for receiving contributions!! For more information, go to

New Families Workshop

If your family is new to 4-H, or has an interest in learning more about 4-H communications, be sure to join us on March 14 at 6:30 p.m. This session will be focusing on recordkeeping.

The May 9 workshop will be about communication, basic presentation skills, and how to make effective posters.

To attend either workshop, call and register with our office at 957-5763.

Ag Enhancement Scholarship

Polk County Farm Bureau is offering a $2,000 Ag Enhancement Scholarship to a Polk County resident, graduating senior of an accredited Polk County high school, enrolling in a post-secondary school in the state of Iowa as a full-time undergraduate student majoring in an agricultural related field. Scholarship applications are available from local high schools, Polk County Farm Bureau, or online at Applications are due on March 31.

IFAA 2013 Winner’s Circle Scholarships

Thirty scholarships will be awarded to freshman entering any Iowa two- or four-year post-secondary institution this fall, and 27 scholarships are available for current undergraduates attending ISU. Application and information can be found at: Freshman applications are due May 1, Undergraduate applications are due April 1.

World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute

Students wanting to participate in the Iowa Youth Institute work with a teacher to prepare a research paper about a global issue concerning hunger and poverty. Schools nominate students to participate in the day-long event at Iowa State University. Visit for more information.

Dog Obedience Classes

The first dog obedience class begins at the Des Moines Obedience Training Center at 1423 SW Army Post Rd. on Sunday, March 10. A copy of your dog’s vaccination record is required before you can start attending classes. A waiver form is also required, and your dog will need to be ID’d in the 4-H On-Line system before you may begin classes as well.

Classes will continue on Sunday afternoons up to the fair in July. Beginners will start at 1:30 and everyone else will begin at 2:30. Please contact Sally Martin at 515-967-5358 if interested in participating.

FSQA 2013

All food producing livestock exhibitors currently in the 4th-6th grades are required to attend FSQA training. 4-H’ers currently in the 7th-9th Grades will be eligible to take the intermediate test, and those in 10th-12th grades will be eligible to take the senior test. These eligibilities will no longer be tied to the 4-H’ers age. These include exhibitors in Beef, Dairy, Sheep, Swine, Goat, Poultry and Rabbit project areas. This also includes breeding divisions of those exhibits. Polk County will be offering FSQA Training in the evening of March 12th and 13th from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. These are currently the only two sessions scheduled for Polk County. Registration isREQUIRED due to limited physical space. To register, call Amy at 957-5763 or email .

An additional certification workshop will be offered in the early summer, but now is the time to get this requirement completed.

Veterinary Experience Workshop

ISU College of Veterinary Medicine’s V-SMART team is hosting a Veterinary Experience Workshop for 7-12th graders on April 6. Students will spend the day learning about different veterinary disciplines. They will rotate between sessions and tour the ISU veterinary school. For more information and how to register go to:

Horse Jamboree

The 2013 Youth Horse Jamboree will be held April 13 and 14 at Iowa State University in Ames. Entries accepted in Hippology, Quiz Bowl, Presentations, Model Horse Show, Painting, Photography, Creative Writing and many more areas. The rules, schedule and online entry forms are available at Deadline to enter is March 15.

Weigh-In Dates

Swine – Saturday, April 6 from 8:00 –11:00 at Don Timmins’ farm in Altoona.

Sheep and Meat Goats– Saturday, May 4 from 8:00 – 11:00 a.m. at the State Fairgrounds – Sheep Barn

Livestock ID’s

All livestock ID’s will be done through 4-H Online (iowa.4honline.com) going forward. As has always been the case non weigh-in species ID’s will be due by May15th. To enter non-weigh in species, you will need to log into your 4-H online family record, and add the pertinent Animal ID’s to the member record. Weigh-In animals will be entered into 4-H online by county extension staff. It will be the responsibility of the members to log into 4-H On-line to verify that all information is correct within one week of the weigh-in date. Information that is not verified by the members within the verification timeframe will be locked and will not be able to be changed after that date. If you have questions about this process feel free to contact Amy (957-5763 or ).

2013 4-H Livestock Rule Changes/Updates

The official Iowa 4-H Animal Identification, Weighing and Exhibiting Requirements for County, State and Interstate Shows (or sometimes referred to under its publication number 4-H 202) has been updated for 2013.

You can view 4-H 202 at:

And you can review the changes and FAQ sheet here:

Senior 4-H Night at SkyZone

All 9th – 12th graders are invited to join the 4-H County Council at SkyZone on April 6 from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Cost to jump for one and half hours is $17 and will need to be paid at the door. All those wishing to participate must RSVP by March 27 to guarantee your ability to jump during our reserved time. A waiver must be signed by a parent as is available on the SkyZone website. For more information or to RSVP contact Michelle Temeyer at or 515-783-4648.

Iowa 4-H Youth Conference 2013

Every June over 1,000 teenagers converge on the campus of Iowa State University for three days full of speakers, workshops, mixers, dances, a banquet, and community service activities. If you’ve completed the 8th grade, you’re eligible to attend. You don’t even have to be in 4-H to attend this conference. It is a great way to experience campus life and meet new people from across the state. The 2013 Iowa 4-H Youth Conference will beJune 25-27. The Conference theme has been set:Unmask Your Opportunities. Cost to attend is $150.

If you have specific interest in animal science, you might want to look into becoming part of the ROUND-UP track. There will also be a special track devoted to agronomy called CSI: Crops.

To learn more go to: or contact your state 4-H council representative Michelle Temeyer at .

2013 Polk County Fair Dates

The 2013 Polk County Fair is scheduled for July 17-22 at the Iowa State Fair Grounds.

2013 Polk County Fair Theme

The Polk County Fair Board received more than two dozen ideas from numerous clubs and 4-H’ers for this year’s theme. This year’s fair theme will be: iPlan, iGrow, iLearn. The winning theme was submitted by Jester Dreamers 4-H Club.

Thank you to the following for submitting their ideas! Janean Stewart, Jacilynn Worthington, Chase Daniels, John Adkins, Josiah Cole, Matt DeDecker, Addison Stewart, Anna Feldstein, Kendra Fulton, Elly Fulton, Jessica Cole, Paige Kruse, Hannah Formaro, Lauren Arechavaleta, Emma Hay, Zaccary Miller, Allison Vincent, Freedom Riders 4-H Club, Lauren Zenti, Johnston Forevergreens 4-H Club, Beaver Creek 4-H Club, and Jenna Pastour.

Phone Numbers, E-Mail and Website Addresses

Diana Sosalla – 957-5772

4-H Volunteer Coordinator

Amy Marek – 957-5763

4-H Internal Program Coordinator

Jeff Macomber – 993-4281

Youth Development Specialist

Andrea Nelson – 957-5775

Executive Director

Dates to Remember

March

9Bread Making Workshop 1-4pm

12FSQA 6:00 – 8:00 pm

13FSQA 6:00 – 8:00 pm

14New Families Workshop 6:30 pm

25Intermediate Trip Forms Due

April

2Open House for Diana Sosalla 4-6 pm

24-H Program Advisory Board 7-8:30 pm

3County Council Meeting 7:00 pm

6Swine Weigh-In 8:00-11:00

13Sewing Basics Session #1, 1-3pm

17Fair Board Meeting 7:30 pm

20Sewing Basics Session #2, 12:30-4pm

25Leader Meeting 1:00 – 3:00 pm

Or 6:30 – 8:30 pm

25Deadline for Financial Aid for Conference from the 4-H Foundation

27Sewing with Patterns Session #1, 1-4pm

May

1County Council Meeting 7:00 pm

4Sheep Weigh-In 8-11am

4Sewing with Patterns Session #2, 12:30-4:30pm

64-H Program Advisory Board 7-8:30 pm

9New Families Workshop 6:30 pm

15Livestock ID’s due

15Last Day to Enroll in 4-H

15Polk County Fair King and Queen

Applications Due

15Fair Board Meeting 7:30 pm

27Office Closed

June

1King/Queen Candidate Interviews

44-H Program Advisory Board 7-8:30 pm

5County Council Meeting 7:00 pm

11-12Intermediate Trip

13New Families Workshop 6:30 pm

15Horse Clinic 11:00 am

19Fair Board Meeting 7:30 pm

TBAPhotography Camp

25-27 State 4-H Conference

July

1Polk County & Iowa State Fair Entries Due to Extension Office

24-H Program Advisory board 7-8:30 pm

3County Council Meeting 7:00 pm

4Office Closed

10Fair Board Meeting 7:30 pm

13Clothing Event

17-22Polk County Fair

August

8-18Iowa State Fair

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Many materials can be made available in alternative formats for ADA clients. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964.