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State Events
NEW Deadline Alert for Kansas 4-H Scholarships!
Attention, Kansas 4-H members! The deadline for the Kansas 4-H Scholarships is Monday, January 5, 2026.
We know spring is packed with 4-H activities and deadlines, so this change is designed to make your scholarship experience smoother and less stressful. With two separate due dates for project award applications and scholarships, you’ll have more time to prepare your best work in both areas!
Plus, selections will be completed early enough for seniors to share scholarship results with their high schools, so you can be recognized for all your accomplishments.
The scholarship application is now live on the Kansas 4-H website — don’t wait, start yours today!
https://kansas4h.org/resources/awards-and-recognition/scholarships.html
4-H Dog Judges and Leader Training
The 2026 Kansas 4-H Dog Judges Training/Recertification and Leader Training will be held in Salina at the Saline County Expo Center January 31-February 1, 2026.
New judges can be certified, returning judges can get a refresher and be re-certified, and leaders can gain a better understanding of the various classes to better prepare local youth for project work. Older 4-H members are invited to observe the training and better understand how they will be judged at invitational and the Kansas State Fair 4-H Dog Show. Participants must be 16-years-old and older to attend this certification and training.
Registration will open December 1 and is due by January 2, 2026. Complete information and registration link is available on the 4-H Dog Judge and Leader Training page.
Citizenship In Action
Are you interested in learning more about how the government works? Would you like the opportunity to be in the Kansas State Capital, spend time in the Chambers, and learn about current events? If so, then Citizenship In Action (CIA) is for you. Here is some information about this fun event!
When: February 15 - 16, 2026
Where: Topeka KS - Hotel Topeka at City Center (formerly Capitol Plaza)
Who: Youth 13-18 years old by January 1 of the current year
Registration: Here - Due to Hotel room constraints, we will be capping the number of attendees so get registered soon.
Registration Deadline: January 26, 2026 at midnight OR when we reach our CAP
Cost: $225 per attendee
2026 K-State Junior Producer Days have been scheduled
K-state Junior Producer Days are one-day, educational events for families to learn about the selection and management of youth livestock projects.
Registration information will be released in the next few weeks. Once released, updates will be posted on the youth livestock program Facebook page, as well as the junior producer days page of youth livestock program website, which is under the events tab.
K-State Junior Beef Producer Day
Date – Saturday, March 7, 2026
Registration Deadline – February 13, 2026
Cost - $20/person by February 13 ($30/person after February 13)
*Only those who register by February 13 will receive a t-shirt.
**Both youth and adults attending (including parents) need to register.
***No refunds.
Online Registration - https://bit.ly/BeefJrProducer
K-State Junior Sheep Producer Day
Date – Saturday, April 11, 2026
Registration Deadline – March 20, 2026
Cost - $20/person by March 20 ($30/person after March 20)
*Only those who register by March 20 will receive a t-shirt.
**Both youth and adults attending (including parents) need to register.
***No refunds.
Online Registration - https://bit.ly/SheepJrProducer
KDA Reminds Poultry Owners of HPAI Risk
Over the last three years, an ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has threatened poultry flocks in Kansas and across the nation, primarily spread by wild waterfowl. The fall again brought a resurgence of the virus detected in wild birds across the state, and this month several backyard poultry flocks in Kansas were confirmed with cases of HPAI.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture reminds poultry owners that the threat of exposure to susceptible birds in Kansas is high. Anyone involved with poultry production, from the small backyard chicken owner to the large commercial producer, should review their biosecurity activities to assure the health of their birds. Find guidance on biosecurity measures to protect your birds from the spread of HPAI on the KDA Division of Animal Health webpage at agriculture.ks.gov/AvianInfluenza.
This virus is primarily being transmitted by wild waterfowl such as ducks and geese which are migrating through this region. The best thing poultry owners can do to protect their birds is to eliminate possible exposure to wild migratory birds and their habitat. This can take many forms, including cleaning your boots/clothing after walking near ponds and lakes populated with wild birds, keeping your poultry in an enclosure which wild birds can’t enter, and staying away from sick or dead wild birds.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is a highly contagious viral disease that can infect chickens, gamebirds, turkeys, and other birds and can cause severe illness and/or sudden death in infected birds. This outbreak has seen illness and mortality in a wider scope of bird species than past outbreaks, including wild and domestic waterfowl. Attentively monitor your birds for symptoms of HPAI which include: coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, and other signs of respiratory distress; lack of energy and appetite; decreased water consumption; decreased egg production and/or soft-shelled, misshapen eggs; incoordination; and diarrhea. Avian influenza can also cause sudden death in birds even if they aren’t showing other symptoms.
If these symptoms are observed in your birds, immediately contact your veterinarian. If you don’t have a regular veterinarian, contact KDA’s Division of Animal Health office toll-free at 833-765-2006.
HPAI is not a food safety concern; birds and eggs from infected flocks do not enter the food system. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F is recommended as a general food safety precaution. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the public health risk for HPAI is low.
As part of existing avian influenza response plans, federal and state partners are working jointly on additional surveillance and testing in areas around the affected flocks. The United States has the strongest avian influenza surveillance program in the world, and USDA is working with its partners to actively look for the disease in commercial poultry operations and live bird markets and in migratory wild bird populations.
For more information about HPAI, including current status of the confirmed cases as well as more information about biosecurity for your flock, go to KDA’s avian influenza webpage at agriculture.ks.gov/AvianInfluenza or call KDA at 833-765-2006.
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