Leader Information

First 4-H Horse Club in the State of Oregon

DID YOU KNOW???

Wallowa County has the honor of originating the very first 4-H Horsemanship Club. This club was called the “Midnight Raiders” and was organized in 1948 under the leadership of Loren Freels of Wallowa with the direction of Andy Landforce, 4-H Club Agent of Wallowa County, at that time. There were nine members in this first club. The “Liberty Buckaroos” were organized later the same year with nine members under the leadership of Glenn Allen of Wallowa. 

This first club received nationwide publicity and as a result, Mr. Freels received letters from as far away as Germany seeking information about organizing 4-H Horsemanship Clubs. Now there are many such clubs everywhere.   Today there are eleven 4-H Horse Clubs in Wallowa County with an enrollment of 105 members.

Oregon 4-H Leaders’ Forum April 5-6

Attention All Leaders and Older 4-H Members!!   Here is your chance to get new ideas and meet other leaders from around the state.  Benton County will be hosting the 2002 Oregon 4-H Leaders’ Forum in Corvallis, April 5-6.  Participants will be able to attend workshops and network with others from around the state.  Events start the evening of the 6^th with a few classes and a social event. Saturday will bring a full day of classes including a catered lunch for the afternoon program, where Eileen Williams will be recognized as Wallowa County's Leader of the Year.  The registration deadline is March 25^th.

Registration materials are in!  Call for your packet.  If you have any questions, please call Debi at 426-3143.

Award letters sent out

The award letters have gone out to sponsors of awards for the Spring Fair and County Fair.  If you are donating an award, please fill out the form and return it as soon as possible.  If you are donating an award and did not receive this letter, contact the Extension Office.  The awards are a very important part of the 4-H program and we thank you for your continued support.

Newsletter prepared by:

Debera Schrieber, 4-H Agent;

Marsha Svendsen, Secretary

Oregon State University Extension Service offers educational programs, activities and materials – without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, disability, and disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran status –as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Oregon State University Extension Service is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Youth Opportunities

Camp Counselor Training

If you are interested in being a counselor at 4-H Summer Camp this year, please return your registration to the Extension Office by March 25^th.  (The deadline has been extended!) There are a series of camp counselor training sessions planned that will help you gain skills to be a great counselor.  The dates of these are:

            April 2, 7:00 p.m., LaGrande

            April 22, 7:00 p.m., LaGrande

May 10 & 11, Overnight at Blue Mountain 4-H Center

Counselors are required to attend at least one of the evening sessions and the overnight training sessions.   You should’ve received an application in the February CloverPatch. Stop by the office if you need one.

Camp counselors will be chosen from 9^th—12^th grade members, however 8^th grade members are encouraged to participate in the training sessions.  8^th grade members may be selected to be a part of camp if there is a shortage of older members.

Know Your State Government

May 2—4

The 2002 Know Your State Government Conference will be May 2-4 at the New Kings Inn – Best Western in Salem. This is an opportunity for 4-H members in grades 9-12 to learn first hand about Oregon’s government through a series of Capitol visits, presentations, workshops and role playing.  Participants will be actively engaged throughout the event, with a chance to take part in a mock legislative session.  The fee for attending is $110. Leaders pay ½, so you only pay $55.  Registration deadline for this is April 10^th.  One or more chaperones will be needed to attend the event with Wallowa County Participants. 

Please contact the Extension Office for your registration materials.

Oregon 4-H Ambassador Program

Members in grades 9-11 are invited to apply to become a 4-H Ambassador.  Being a 4-H Ambassador is a privilege reserved for 4-H members who are proven leaders and promoters of 4-H.  As an ambassador you are expected to participate in county programs, be a positive role model for 4-H, and assist the 4-H agent in recruiting new members and leaders.

Ambassadors attend the OSU 4-H Summer Conference and return with ideas and goals for 4-H in Wallowa county.  Easy to complete applications for the 4-H Ambassador program are available in the Extension Office and are due by April 15.

We now have a Website!

Wallowa County Extension Office is now on the Web.  Levi Bobbitt is the technician keeping our website up-to-date.  The address is:

http://osu.orst.edu/extension/wallowa/

·        Click on 4-H and find Permanent Record pages (in the RTF format) that you can save to your computer in your word processing program.  Then you can pull them up on your computer and keep your records up-to-date on your own computer!

·        Under 4-H Resources, you will find the project and a material lists for 4-H projects listing all materials available for many 4-H projects.

·        Click on Fair Results and see fair results for 2001.

·        Click on Newsletters and find issues of The CloverPatch and The Prompter/ Rancher Review – Wallowa County’s Agricultural newsletter.

Check it out!!

Livestock

Livestock Judging

Tour, Saturday

April 6^th

The annual Livestock Judging Tour will be held on Saturday, April 6^th.

• 8:00 a.m. – Meet at Cloverleaf Hall for orientation.
• 8:30 a.m. – Begin tour

Lunch provided by 4-H Leaders Association and Gilbert Trucking. All participants are asked to bring a dozen cookies. Please RSVP by March 23^rd if you plan on attending so there will be enough food for all of you!  Sign up by calling the Extension office @ 426-3143. Leaders may sign up their entire club at one time.

Livestock Weigh In Dates

Hogs: Weigh-in will be Saturday, May 4th from 8:00 a.m.—12:00 noon, at the fairgrounds.

All pigs will be vaccinated and wormed at this time.  Pfizer Animal Health donates the vaccine and wormer.

Donations for fairgrounds improvements are accepted during the weigh in.

Sheep:  Weigh-in will be Saturday, June 1^st from 8:00 a.m.—12:00 noon at the fairgrounds. 

EOLS Trophy & Pizza Certificate Donors Needed

Donors are needed for the following EOLS trophy and pizza certificates:

• Team Presentations – Senior (2 needed)
• Horse – English Equitation Intermediate
• Sheep Herdsmanship Pizza Certificate

The cost for the awards will be $17.00.  If you are interested in sponsoring one of the awards, please call Lori at the Union County Extension Office @ 963-1010.

Auction Animal Clinic

April 19^th

6:30 p.m.

@Cloverleaf Hall

There will be Market Animal nutrition & management clinic to help 4-H & FFA members raise quality market animals. All 4-H & FFA members and their parents raising livestock are encouraged to attend.  Plan on bringing pen and paper to keep notes on the presentations. Refreshments will be available.

Thursday, April 19^th, 6:30 p.m. Randy Mills, OSU Extension livestock agent from Umatilla County, will be in Wallowa County to work with 4-H & FFA members and their parents on several aspects of beef and sheep management. He will talk about feeding and management techniques. 

Gay Newman will be here to work with members and parents on swine management.

This is an awesome opportunity for kids to get a head start in raising a quality market animal. These presenters are very knowledgeable and the presentations will be well worth your time.

Market Lamb Tail Docking Guidelines

Modified from correspondence from

State 4-H Office.

The State 4-H Office has developed the following rule for market lamb tail docking for all Oregon 4-H Livestock Shows held after January 1, 2002.

To qualify for exhibition in Oregon 4-H Livestock Shows after January 1, 2002 market lambs must be docked in such a way that the tail (dock) can be lifted.

Those in the sheep business are familiar with the many issues that have surround the management practice of extreme tail docking in recent years. The practice of tail docking is a standard management practice. This husbandry technique helps prevent fecal and urinary contamination of the rear legs, which can in turn contaminate the carcass when processed.  Soiled or contaminated wool around the leg area attracts fly-strike and encourages flies to lay eggs with the result in maggots that then feed on the wool, skin and flesh of the animal.

The practice of extreme tail docking through the complete or almost complete removal of the tail increases the incidence of rectal prolapses. Genetics, diet, transporting, stress, and conditions causing the lamb to cough, such as dust or respiratory disease, can also influence the likelihood of prolapses. Extreme tail docking does not enhance the breeding quality or overall health or welfare of the animal.

If you plan to raise and exhibit a market lamb, sell lambs to other 4-H or FFA members, or purchase your lamb from a commercial producer, be sure to follow these guidelines.  Lambs should be docked early and watch signs for fly-strike.  Enough tail should remain to allow it to be lifted (typically placing a pencil under the tail should provide a means of lifting the tail). 

While this procedure is the rule only for market lambs, it is a good guideline for docking techniques of breeding stock as well.

4-H/ FFA Memorandum of Understanding

Scrapie Eradication Program

As of November 19, 2001, all breeding ewes, rams and lambs (wethers included) under 18 months of age must have an official USDA identification if they are to be shown or sold.  This also applies to goats. The USDA tags will show either the farm or individual production number.

Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats.

It is thought the Scrapie agent is most commonly spread from the ewe to her offspring and to other lambs in contemporary lambing groups through contact with the placenta and placental fluids. Signs or effects of the disease usually appear two (2) to five (5) years after the animal is infected but may be longer. Sheep may live one (1) to six (6) months or longer after the onset of clinical signs, but death is inevitable.

Signs of Scrapie vary widely among individual animals and develop very slowly. Due to damage to nerve cells, affected animals usually show behavioral changes, tremor (especially of head and neck) progressing to death.

Early signs include subtle changes in behavior or temperament. Scratching and rubbing against fixed objects, apparently to relieve itching, may follow these changes. Other signs are loss of coordination, weight loss despite retention of appetite, biting of feet and limbs, lip smacking, and gait.

Since the disease takes so long to manifest itself, a tracking system that allows diseased, exposed and high-risk individuals to be traced back to their flock/herd of origin so spread of Scrapie within and from these flocks or herds can be prevented. 

The Scrapie Eradication program is relatively simple for the producer.  Following are the steps a producer needs to take to be in compliance with the program.

Step 1   Determine if your sheep or goats need official ear tags.  All breeding ewes, rams and lambs (wethers included) under 18 months of age must have an official USDA identification if they are to be shown or sold. This also applies to goats.

Step 2    Request a Premises (Flock) ID Number by calling the USDA number in step 8.

Step 3    Determine which of the approved ear tags or other approved ID systems work best for you.  A brochure is available at the OSU Extension office or you can get information by going online at www.animalagriculture.org/scrapie

Step 4    Set up a system to record the ear tags or other official ID that are applied.

Step 5    Apply official ID before sheep/goats leave your premises or are shown (or arrange for application elsewhere).  This can be done anytime between birth and the shipment.

Step 6    Get a health certificate if your breeding stock is going to cross state lines.

Step 7    Retain ID records for 5 years.

Step 8    Call toll free for help and to order flock number and tags.  The Toll-free number is 866-USDA-TAG (866-873-2824) or refer to the Internet at www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/scrapie.htm

Wool can be donated to 4-H

Horse

Spring Horse Judging April 7^th

The Spring Horse Judging Contest will be held on Sunday, April 7^th at Char Williams’ arena at 2:00 p.m.  The members will judge several classes of horses and have two identification classes.

Congratulations Horse Bowl Team!

Regional Horse Bowl was held in Grant County on Saturday, March 18^th. 

The senior team consisted of  Keely Hopkins, Celeste Hillock, Joy Kuppinger, and Jacinda Mitchell.  They placed third with some tough competition.  Congratulations girls!

Thanks to Gail Hillock who coached the team and chaperoned them at the contest.

State Gaming

State Gaming will be held prior to the State 4-H Horse Show at the Oregon State Fair again this year. Individuals must qualify with times to compete at state. If anyone is interested, please contact the Horse Activities Chairman, Vixen Barney, at 432-3867.  If she does NOT hear from anyone, we will NOT set up a time for qualifying.  Fair times do not qualify you to go to state in these events.

State Horse Classic

April 27^th & 28^th

The State Horse Classic will be held in Ontario on April 27 & 28.  This is the state competition for horse presentations, public speaking, judging and horse bowl.  This activity brings together many of Oregon’s top 4-H youth members to exhibit their knowledge.  Wallowa County will send intermediate and senior horse judges and presentation contestants.  Doris Noland will be chaperoning the group. 

Jump Clinic

April 13^th

Tonya Aitkin will be giving a jumping clinic on April 13^th from 9 a.m.—4 p.m.  Warm ups will begin at 8:15 a.m. and she will expect participants to be ready to learn promptly at 9 a.m.  Cost is $15 if registered and paid by April 1 and $20 after that.  Tonya will help members prepare to be qualified to jump at fair.

Pre-qualification Required to Jump at Fair

The Wallowa County Horse Leaders voted to require 4-H members to pre-qualify before they jump at fair.  Most other Oregon counties already do this to ensure that jumpers are ready to compete safely and are at the right level.

There will be two pre-qualifying days at the fairgrounds.  Please get these on your calendar and make sure you attend one or you will NOT be allowed to jump at fair—NO exceptions.

There is no cost to attend but you must register for the date you will be attending.  Choose from April 14 (held in the morning) or June 17 (held in the afternoon).

Horse Members & Leaders Take Note:

Reminder of Helmet Requirement

Everyone involved in the horse project area is reminded of the helmet requirement that took effect on January 1, 1996.  All 4-H members and others under 18 years of age are required to use a helmet while riding at any 4-H associated event.  This means club practices, clinics, or any other activity related to 4-H.  Leaders are responsible to encourage and make sure each 4-H member is riding with a helmet.

The video Every Time, Every Ride is available for clubs to check out.  This video reinforces the importance of using your helmet.

Home Ec

Enroll your Clubs Now

Independent 4-H member project enrollments due!

All clubs that haven’t turned in their member & leader enrollment forms should be sure to turn them in as soon as possible.  You and your club are not covered by the proper amounts of insurance until you are enrolled!  Stop by the office and take care of that small but important step today.  Clubs really shouldn’t be having activities until they are enrolled and covered by insurance.

Even after your club is enrolled you may add members as they decide to join.  Please be sure to watch all the appropriate project deadlines so that you won’t be surprised.