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A Letter from the Extension Agent


At the 2021 Broadwater County 4-H Club Leaders Training, I asked participants, “Why did you want to become a 4-H Volunteer Leader?”.  I received many wonderful and heartwarming responses.  I summarized the responses using a word cloud which can be found on page 5 of this newsletter.  The larger words represent words that were more frequently mentioned.

We have amazing volunteers, and I want to thank them for all they do! They spend countless hours supporting the 4-H program through organizing club activities, leading workshops, serving on committees and coordinating activities and events. 4-H would not be possible without them!

We are currently recruiting volunteers for the 2021-2022 4-H year. Do you see a word in the cloud that resonates with you? If so, then consider volunteering with Broadwater County 4-H! Contact the office to see how you can make a difference in the lives of local 4-H youth.

Sincerely,

Allison Kosto, Extension Agent, MSU Extension Broadwater County

 

Christmas Tree Fundraiser

Each year, the 4-H Council conducts a Christmas Tree Fundraiser at Rocky Mountain Supply.  The proceeds from the sales benefit the entire county 4-H program including project work, awards and activities. Thank you to all who helped cut and gather trees this year. Now the lot needs to be cleaned up and stocked! Each club has been assigned a week. Check with your leaders for more details. The schedule is:

·         Toston: November 28 - December 4

·         Rocky Mountain & Winston: December 5 – 11

·         Old Baldy: December 12 – 18

·         Crow Creek: December 19 – 25

·         Radersburg: Clean up (Tree Lot and Fairgrounds)

 

Greytak Calendars 

The calendars are now available at the Extension Office!  Don Greytak is a Montana artist that draws beautiful scenes of rural life. They make great gifts! Calendars are $15 and proceeds support the 4-H Council.

 

Multi-County 4-H Camp - Camp Counselors Needed!

Applications for Camp Counselors are due Friday, December 17th to the Extension Office. Camp is June 6-10 at Camp Rotary near Monarch. Applicants must be in grades 9-12 at time of application. Counselors are required to come a day prior to camp on June 5th and attend the entire camp in addition to a training in the spring. Please include your resume with the application that details your skills, training, and accomplishments. The application process can be highly competitive, so complete and timely applications make the best impression! Application and more details are available from the Extension Office. 

Beef Tagging and Weigh-in

The event is on Saturday, January 1st at 9:00 am at GaLor Genetics (8393 US Hwy 287, Townsend).  It doesn’t take long, so please be on time!  We may not wait!  All market beef animals are required to attend.  If you can’t be there, you must make arrangements for your animal(s) to be there.  Breeding animals are welcomed to get weighed but are not required to attend.  A brand inspector will be available if needed.  Also please be prepared to share information about your animal including breed, breeder and date of birth.  If you have any questions about the beef project, contact Marlo Leachman at 406.581.0531, John Ferrat at 406.949.7911 or Samantha Ferrat at 406.949.0995.

4-H Directory

Attached along with the newsletter email is the 2021-2022 4-H Directory.  This is your resource list of 4-H leaders in our county.  It includes contact information for club leaders, committee members and project leaders.  We are continuing to recruit leaders and will send out updated lists as needed.  We suggest printing the directory, so you have it handy.  The individuals on this list are great resources for many of your 4-H questions so don’t hesitate to contact them in addition to the office.  

                                                                                                                                                     

Statewide Carcass Results

Statewide carcass results have been released and emailed to last year’s market livestock participants. Congratulation to our 4-H members who placed at the state level!  Grace Kroeger placed 11th in the heavyweight hog division.  Alex Kitto and Benson Judd placed within the top 50 lightweight hogs in the state.  Dylan Kamps placed 16th for the steers!  Great job!!!

 
New 4-H Family Night

New to 4-H?  Been enrolled a couple of years but still have questions?!  Then join us for a family night on Monday, January 3rd at 6:00 pm. Location is TBD. This is a great time to learn more about the 4-H program, expectations, meet others and ask questions.  The evening features ice cream sundaes, games, presentations and an opportunity to meet leaders and ask questions.  It will cover general expectations of the 4-H program and discuss key components including projects, record books and 4-H activities. Hope to see you there!

 
Seeking Project Leaders in Photography and Embroidery

Do you have a passion or skills in photography or embroidery?  If so, we need you!  We are looking for a project leader in these areas. The purpose of a project leader is to coordinate educational experiences for the project that will enable youth to learn and build skills and knowledge. These can be done at any point throughout the year, depending on the availability of the volunteer. It does not require you to be an expert in these project areas.  It just means you are willing to coordinate these learning experiences using available curricula and resources.  It could also mean coordinating guest speakers or field trips.  Look at page 5 for some of the reasons why people are currently volunteering for 4-H!  Please contact Allison in the Extension Office if you are interested or would like more information.  Project leaders are required to complete a Montana 4-H Volunteer Application and undergo a background check.  

 
Committee & Council Meetings
 

INDOOR COMMITTEE: The next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 25th at 6:00 pm at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend). We will be discussing project leaders and workshops. Contact Karen Noyes at 406.949.4852 if you have any questions or agenda items.

4-H COUNCIL: Next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 25th at 7:00 pm at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend). Contact Karen Noyes at 406.949.4852 if you have any questions or agenda items. 

LIVESTOCK COMMITTEE:  The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 4th at 7:00 pm at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend). If you have any questions or agenda items, please contact Jason Noyes at 406.949.4851. 

HORSE COMMITTEE:  The next meeting will be Wednesday, February 16th at 5:00 pm at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend). Any horse project members and parents are welcome to attend. If you have any questions or agenda items, please contact Jan Finn at 406.266.4992 or [email protected]

TEEN CLUB: The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 18th at 7:00 pm at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend). Teen Club is open to all Middle or High School aged members. If you have any questions, contact Karen Noyes at 406.949.4852.

 
4-H Non-Animal Project Activities


Interstate Exchange

The next meeting will be Wednesday, January 19th at 5:30 pm at Infinite Hope Counseling (108 N Front St, Townsend). If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Beatty at 406.490.1362 or Todd Beatty at 406.490.1361.

 

Cloverbud Workshops

There will be a Cloverbud workshop on Thursday, December 9th at 6:30 (note this is a date change!) at the Extension Office (416 Broadway, Townsend). If you have any questions, please contact Renee Kockler at 406.220.2820.

 
Sewing Workshops

The next workshop will be on Saturday, January 8th at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend).  Level 1 members will meet from 9:30-11:30 am and Level 2 will meet from 11:30 am-1:30 pm. Please bring your sewing machine. If you have any questions, contact Sarah Holland at 406.266.3473

 

.22 Rifle Workshops

The .22 rifle project will meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month from 6:30 to 8:00 pm starting December 9th and 23rd at the Broadwater County Rod and Gun Club Indoor Range (96 Canton Lane, Townsend). Participants are welcome to bring their own rifles (no scopes) or use rifles provided by the Rod and Gun Club. This is a great opportunity to learn and practice gun and shooting safety, develop your shooting skills, and have fun. This project is led by John Pavao, Courtney Pavao, and Todd Kitto.  Please call or text John at 406.422.9590 if you have any questions.

Archery Workshops

Archery workshops will be starting on December 7 and will run until March 1st. They are scheduled for Tuesday evenings from 5:30-8:00 pm at the 4-H Building at the Fairgrounds. If you have any questions, contact Jason Noyes at 406.949.4851.

Cake Decorating Workshops

There are two more cake decorating workshops scheduled. They will be Sunday, December 5th at 3:30 pm and Sunday, January 23rd at 3:30 pm in the kitchen at the Extension Office (416 Broadway, Townsend). If you have any question, please contact Jessica Erickson at 406.980.0521.

Baking & Cooking Workshops

There are multiple baking and cooking workshops planned over the next few months. Due to the enrollment numbers, the workshops will be broken down into two time slots by age. Member ages 8-10 will be from 5:30-7:00 pm and ages 11+ will be from 7:00-8:30 pm. Workshops will be held at Trailhead Christian Fellowship Church (20 Trailhead View Dr, Townsend) unless otherwise noted. A $10-15 donation if possible, would be appreciated. However, do not let this deter your child from attending. Please RSVP for each workshop to Jennifer Beatty at 406.490.1362

The schedule follows:

·         Thursday, December 2nd:  6:00 pm @ Trailhead Christian Fellowship.  All ages at same time.  Guest Speaker — Sacajawea Hotel Executive Chef Matt Israel

·         Thursday, December 9th.  Topic:  Service to Others, Christmas Cookies (younger members), & Baklava (older members)

·         Thursday, January 6th:  Topic:  Menu Planning, Nutrition

·         Thursday, January 13th at Bob’s Supermarket.  Topic: Grocery Lists, Budgets, Reading Nutrition Labels, & Grocery Shopping for the next class.

·         Thursday, January 20th: Topic:  Nutrition, Lasagna

·         Thursday, January 27th:   Topic:  Club Member Baking & Cooking Demonstrations

 

4-H Animal Project Activities

Beef Project Workshop

There is a workshop scheduled for Sunday, December 5th from 1:00-3:00 pm at the Ferrat Ranch (191 Ferrat Lane, Toston). There will be a special guest speaker, Cash Yount, who is an animal nutrition specialist. He will give a dynamic presentation followed by a Q & A session. There will be door prizes and light refreshments. You are also welcome to bring your animals to these workshops for a weight check or help with halter breaking, showing, etc. Please RSVP to Samantha or John for this workshop. The next Beef workshops will be February 6th and March 6th and in April and May, the beef leaders will be making home visits. Any questions, please contact Marlo Leachman at 406.581.0531, Samantha Ferrat at 406.949.0869 or John Ferrat at 406.949.7911. 

 

Horse Project Update

The updated Horse Committee Officers are: Chair- Jan Finn, Vice Chair- Brandon Henke and Secretary- Donna Richards. They are always looking for parent members to join the committee. Indoor meetings for the horse project have been cancelled.  We will start riding workshops in April, weather permitting. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jan Finn at 406.266.4992 or Donna Richards at 406.521.0717

 

Dairy Goat Workshop

There are two Dairy Goat workshops scheduled for January. They will be held Fridays, January 7th and 21st at 5:00 pm at the Extension Office (Flynn Building, 416 Broadway, Townsend). For more information or if you have any questions, contact Brandon and Danyel Henke at 406.980.0995. 

Vet Science Project Workshop

There are two Vet Science workshops scheduled for January. They will be held on Sundays, January 16th and 30th from 1:00-2:30 pm at the Extension Office. If you have any questions, please contact Samantha Ferrat at 406.949.0869

 

Rabbit Workshop

There will be another rabbit workshop on Saturday, January 15th at 4:00 pm at the Extension Office. No rabbits at this workshop, you will be going over diseases and ailments. If you have any questions, contact Danielle Douglas at 406.465.3318.

 

Statewide 4-H Opportunities
 

Montana Shooting Sports Leaders Trainings

The schedule for the upcoming Shooting Sports Leaders Trainings has been finalized. Any adult interested in becoming a Shooting Sports Leader must complete training in that particular discipline. The trainings include four online training modules and an in-person training portion. Dates are as follows:

·         December 3-4 – Kalispell, MT.  Disciplines offered: Rifle, Pistol, Archery, Shotgun, Muzzle-loader and Hunting.

·         December 10-11 – Miles City, MT.  Disciplines Offered: Rifle, Pistol, Archery and Shotgun.

·         January 7-8 – Fairfield, MT. Disciplines Offered: Rifle, Pistol and Archery.

·         Spring of 2022 – Manhattan Wildlife Association, Logan, MT.  Disciplines Offered: Western Heritage, Muzzle-loading, Hunting Skills and Shotgun.

The 4-H Council will help cover registration fees for a few more adults and junior leaders to attend.  For more information, please contact the Extension Office for more details 406.266.9242.

 

Virtual Leadership Academy

This fun statewide event is happening again this year.  The Leadership Academy is a network of Montana 4-H members interested in exploring and developing their leadership skills to serve their county in new ways.  Workshops are held via Zoom on Sunday afternoons at 2:30 pm, and each month features a new topic.  Dates are below.  For more information visit the Montana 4-H Youth Leadership website. 

January 9 - How to make club meetings awesome!
February 13 - Ages and Sages for Mentoring youth
March 13 - Successful Service Learning
April 10 - Lead with Purpose


National 4-H Opportunities

 

4-H International Exchange

4-H International Exchanges, both outbound and inbound, are proceeding full steam ahead!  Our partner organization, States’ 4-H International Exchange Programs (S4HIEP or S4H) has been working diligently with our international partners and has streamlined some of the application process.  Applications are no longer submitted to the MT 4-H Center for review but are instead uploaded directly to the S4H website  by December 15th, 2021. 

Additional information can be found on the S4HIEP website

Possible exchange locations for summer 2022 are: Costa Rica, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Taiwan, Romania and Argentina. 

In addition, there will also be opportunities for MT families to host international youth from participating countries, both short-term, 3-4 week programs, and academic year programs.  It is an exciting way to learn about different cultures and teach youth about our own culture. For more information, please contact the office.