Letter from the Director!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are starting the new year off right! Our office enjoyed a refreshing break and feels rejuvenated as we head into the new year, ready to continue meeting the needs of our communities. 

We are excited to share that our office has been fully staffed for over a year now, and it truly feels like the 21 Central District has found its footing. We hope you, as a community member, are beginning to see and feel that progress as well. 

If you haven’t stopped by the office in a while, we encourage you to come in and say hello. We would love to visit with you, hear about any needs you feel aren’t being met, and talk through how we can help. Your feedback is important to us and helps guide the work we do. 

As you read through this newsletter, we invite you to take a look at what we’ve been working on and what we’re looking forward to in the coming months. Please never hesitate to reach out—we’re always here to serve. 

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and successful start to the new year! 

Trisha Greene 21 Central District Director

This school year, Baley started offering a new program called ‘Farm to Pizza’ – where elementary students learn more about how each component of pizza (crust, sauce, cheese, meat) comes from agriculture. Then, the students get to assemble and eat their own personal pizzas. Baley has already visited several classrooms, with more scheduled. Reach out if you know a teacher interested!

What's Happening in 4-H?

NOVEMBER & DECEMBER

Stafford County Skill-A-Thon Team Advanced to Nationals

• Louisville, Kentucky, was the destination for the Stafford County 4-H Livestock skillathon team, representing 21 Central Extension District and Kansas 4-H. They qualified for the National 4-H Contest at the North American International Livestock Exposition after winning the state contest in August, where three members placed in the top 10. Garrett was 2nd, Cody 6th, Weston 10th, and Lainey in the top 20 percentile out of 147 contestants. The team won both the written exam and practicum, earning their spot in Louisville on Nov. 17, 2025.

• At nationals, they finished 15th, just 16 points behind. The 4.5-hour contest tested breed identification, feed ingredients, meat cuts, equipment, and quality assurance through more hands-on activities. Coach Jennifer noted the contest’s value in assessing livestock knowledge. Despite busy schedules, the teens dedicated extra time to prepare.

• Outside of the contest, the group explored Louisville with horse races at Churchill Downs, a distillery tour, underground caverns, and fine dining. The trip was supported by generous donors.

• Stafford County 4-Hers (representing 21 Central Extension District) won the state contest in August. Weston Peterson, Garrett Dunn, Cody Newdigger, Lainey Peterson. At the national contest in Louisville: Front L-R: Weston Peterson, Garrett Dunn, Easton Alpers, Cody Newdigger. Back: Coach Jennifer Pfortmiller.

Achievement Nights for the 2024-2025 4-H Program Year

Edwards County County Achievement Night

• This year’s EdC0 Achievement Night was held on Sunday, November 9th at the EdCo Fairbuilding. We joined forces with the EdCo Fairboard to make this event a buyer’s dinner as well, for all those who made purchases in the 2025 EdCo Fair Premium Auction. A huge thank you to Cargill Meat Solutions for generously donating the steaks for dinner and fairboard for covering the costs of Achievement Night.

• We had a great turnout with over 100 people in attendance! We had over 40 youth and 10 community volunteers who received awards.

• With our special award recipients being Jean Huntley for the Friend of 4-H Award, Kelsey Holguin for the 4-H Alumni Award, and The Jeremy May Family for the 4-H Family of the Year Award.

Stafford County Achievement Night

• This year’s SfCo Achievement Night was held on Saturday, November 8th at the SfCo Fairbuilding.

• We had a great turnout with over 80 people in attendance! We had over 30 youth and 7 community volunteers who received awards.

Kansas Youth Leadership Forum (KYLF)

• We had 6 4-H’ers attend the KYLF at Rock Springs this year, where they worked on their leadership skills through workshops. They also had the opportunity to cast their votes for the 2025-2026 State 4-H Council representatives.

Thanksgiving & Christmas Food Drive

• Our Edwards County 4-H’ers helped the Edwards County Health Department to provide Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets for eligible families. Our youth donate their time to help sort the food and fill the boxes for families to pick up. 

• They assisted with the Thanksgiving Food Box Pick Up on Friday, November 21 and the Christmas Food Box Pick up on Monday, December 22nd at the Edwards County Fairbuilding.

Livestock Project Planning Meeting

• Jewell and Baley hosted a District-Wide 4-H Livestock Project Meeting to cover some of the basics for our youth. We covered showmanship, handling/ training, and our Stafford County Beef Superintendent, Jeff Stump, provided insights on fitting and grooming. We also covered the general expectations and requirements for participating in the livestock project.

• We had an awesome turnout, with 30 participants in attendance!

Shooting Sports

• A huge THANK YOU to the Edwards County 4-H Foundation!

• This year we saw an increase in participation for air rifle, and we were short three guns. Thanks to the Edwards County 4-H Foundation, we were able to help fund the purchase of used guns through a neighboring county—making sure our youth had the equipment they needed to participate and succeed.

4-H Online Enrollments

• We are excited for the new 4-H year and all that is to come! So far, we have nearly 100 members enrolled across the district, with approximately 30 members in Edwards County and 70 members in Stafford County. We look forward to another year of learning, leadership, hands-on projects, and opportunities for youth to grow and succeed.

UPCOMING EVENTS

We have a lot of exciting events coming up for the New Year!

• Starting off strong, we are excited to host our very first District-Wide Club Day that will be held on Saturday, February 14th, at the Macksville Grade School. Following, we will have Regional Club Day Friday, March 13 in Great Bend.

• After Club Day we will be attending Citizenship in Action (CIA) in Topeka where our 4-H’ers will learn how the state legislative process works and how their voice and participation in decision-making can make a difference in their local communities.

• Then we get to jump into Project Fest, which will occur during Spring Break, we have some exciting projects we are hoping to focus on. 

• Finally, everyone’s favorite time of year, Fair Prep Season is here!
• The Edwards County Fair will be held from July 6 - 11 with the theme this year being “Stars, Stripes, and Summer Nights”

• The Stafford County Fair will be held from July 13 - 18 with the theme this year being “Rooted in the Past, Growing the Future - Celebrating 120 Years of Kansas 4-H”