Ramsey County

January 4, 2005

Dear Ramsey County Family:

Enclosed are many items of interest for Ramsey County 4-H’ers. Please contact our office at 662-7027 if you have any questions on these items or any other 4-H topic.

Bill Hodous
Extension Agent/Ramsey County

Brenda Langerud
Extension Agent/Ramsey County

Cindy Olson
Ramsey Co Extension Secretary

Project Day will definitely, absolutely be held on Saturday, April 23^rd. The last change was due to a local basketball tournament. Several sessions are already planned but we are always open to suggestions and volunteers. We hope to have registration forms out in early February. See you on April 23^rd.

Midterms will be mailed out the beginning of February. If you have any changes, add or delete projects, they must be made by March 15^th. This is also the last day for any new enrollments.

Pony Pals 4-H club was recently awarded a $1700 grant form the National 4-H Council to be used to plant trees at the new horse arena. Congratulations and thanks to the club for their efforts and success. We can all look forward to enjoying some shade at the arena thanks to their work.

Shooting Sports

For anyone interested in being a shooting sports volunteer, "here is your chance". We are offering a North Dakota shooting sports certification class for interested volunteers in Archery, Rifle and Fishing. These classes will take place January 21 (5-9 pm) and January 22 (8 am to 5 pm). Interested volunteers will be registering for one of the shooting sports or fishing classes.

THIS WOULD BE AN IDEAL TIME TO VOLUNTEER IN A GREAT LEARNING EXPERIENCE AND TO LEAD OUR YOUTH IN THE DIRECTION OF SAFE SHOOTING SPORT AND FISHING ACTIVITIES.

The intent of the class is to get certified instructors, which in turn, will teach shooting sport classes to all ages of community members. THE LONG RUN GOAL OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION TO ALL AGES AND TO ALSO GAIN NEW 4-H MEMBERS IN OUR COUNTY.

The 4-H council has agreed (to encourage participation) to defray the registration fee of the first 10 participants. The registration fee for the class is $45.00 per shooting sport and $20.00 for the fishing class. Each volunteer will be required to fill out a Child Protection Policy, at the class, and a Back Ground check is also done to protect our Ramsey County Youth. For more information about the classes and to pre-register for the class call the Ramsey County Extension Office at 701-662-7027.

A few changes in the Communication Arts Program for you to be aware of:

1. The Interpretive Reading category will be divided into two categories, humorous and serious.

2. Participants in the District Communication Arts Event must follow the 4-H dress code (light colored top with 4-H emblem and dark bottoms). Exceptions to this are those youth participating in the Dramatic Presentation and Commercial categories where costumes are allowed. Note: This applies only to the District Events, not the county events.

3. Youth are encouraged not to use presentations that have been used in previously judged competitions. Note: This isn’t a requirement, but an encouragement.

Idea of America Essay Contest is open to 11^th grade students with a deadline of April 15, 2005 and a top prize of $5,000. Check their website at:

www.wethepeople.gov/essay/guidelines.html for details.

NDSU will be hosting a Horse Judging Weekend Workshop with Jon Wolf on Saturday and Sunday, January 22-23.

This event is for anyone interested in judging horses. We encourage leaders and coaches, as well as persons who enjoy judging 4-H and open shows. We recommend parents and leaders use their judgement when enrolling youth for this workshop. We encourage youth participation, but realize this may be a very long day for some young people. Look at the itinerary to determine if this workshop is appropriate for your youth. Please complete the registration form and return to Bobbi Bingeman as soon as possible if you are interested. They would like to receive registration by January 7^th. Additional information is provided in the mailers of those members & leaders in the horse program.

The North Dakota Crop Improvement & Seed Association sponsors four (4) $500 scholarship to the NDSU College of Agriculture each year. Two of them go to incoming freshmen and the other two to undergraduates. Enclosed is a brochure outlining the criteria and an application for those 4-H members that are in the 12^th grade and older.

To encourage participation, in our Achievement Days, we have opened the rules to allow leased livestock into our show. This change will allow 4-Her’s the opportunity to show livestock, if their parents do not own livestock or if they live in urban communities, without ownership. We do need to understand that management control needs to be in place to compete at any level of competition. Management control will be monitored by Ag. Extension Agent. Leased Horses are presently allowed for county 4-H competition.

I visited with the state office about the livestock lease agreement and they have no problem with a lease agreement at the county level. You do, however, need to understand that showing leased livestock in State Fair competition is Prohibited. Presently, leased horses are allowed at State Fair competition.

Included find the lease agreement and the requirements needed to meet the lease agreement. If you have any questions, please contact Bill Hodous at the Extension office at 701-662-7027.