Clover Connection 4-H Newsletter

Volunteers Hour Reporting

Are you a 4-H Volunteer? Use the link above to report your hours each month. If you missed a month, you can still submit them.

Enrollment Deadline -November 30th! 4-H Enrollment Tips!

• Enroll today! https://v2.4honline.com
• Check that the phone number listed as the family phone number on your home page is a number you check.
• Add any project areas you might be interested in. We do not hold you to it, but we do send out reminders filtering by project area.
• If your club pays for part or all of your fees, do not pay with a credit card online. Instead, call 319-377-9839 and pay over the phone or stop by the extension office.
• Use Financial Assistance: Email linn4h@iastate.edu to get our new financial assistance form from the Iowa 4-H Foundation emailed to you.

The deadline to re-enroll is November 30^th!

To exhibit animals at the 2025 Linn County Fair, all returning members must be re-enrolled by November 30^th, 2024. New members may enroll until March 1^st and still be eligible to show some animal exhibits.

Beef & Equine Blasts

Beef and Equine Blasts are programs for 7th-12th grade students interested in beef cattle production or horses. The program focuses on real-world topics that impact the beef and equine industry and youth producers. Students do not have to be enrolled in 4-H or own beef cattle or equine.

Feedlot fundamentals are the theme of Beef Blast and will cover nutrition, selection, welfare, and marketing of beef cattle. The Equine Blast theme is Horse Ownership 101 and includes programs on nutrition, welfare, and tack.

December 7, 2024 - All Day 7:00am-5:00pm

Location: Iowa State University - Transportation provided from Linn County Extension Office

Grades: 7th-12th

Cost: $40 for youth, $15 for adults - includes lunch - Beef Blast Registration covered by Linn County Cattlemen. Select bill later for Beef Blast.

*Financial assistance is available for youth registration fees.

Space fills up quickly, so register today! Questions email otter@iastate.edu

This will count as a Beef Workshop for the All-Around award.

Join Youth Council! Calling all 9th-12th graders

New and Returning Members will need to join the 2024-2025 Youth Council Band App to receive communication about council events for the 2024-2025 year!

2024-2025 4-H Year Enrollment!

Time to enroll in Linn County 4-H!

• Go to https://v2.4honline.com and log in with the same login you used last year! Click “Enroll Now” and work your way through enrollment!
• Financial Assistance? Email linn4h@iastate.edu

The deadline to re-enroll is November 30^th!

Enrollment fee for 2024-2025 is $45 for 4^th-12^th Grade members and $20 for K-3^rd Grade Members. Thank you to Youth Programs Committee for continuing to sponsor $5 per member.

Short-Term Summer Volunteer Opportunities!

Help out with the 2025 Linn County 4-H Summer Day Camps! These camps are fun and educational. They run through the entire summer and connect 4-H with hundreds of kids! If you like working with kids, doing science experiments, and having fun, this would be an awesome opportunity for you! Be on the lookout for more information soon! Want to be the first in the know email linn4h@iastate.edu

Pick up your Premium Checks! Deadline - Dec. 2nd!

What are premiums?

A premium is money paid to youth for each ribbon they received at the county fair.

Who gets premiums?

Any 4-H or FFA member (4th-12th grade) who received a ribbon at the county fair for any exhibits, static, animals, etc.

How do you get your money?

• Pick it up - from the Extension Office. We are open M-F 8:00 am-4:30 pm
• Coordinate with your club leader - Reach out to your club leader to see if they can pick it up for you and bring it to a club meeting.
• Have it mailed to you - email otter@iastate.edu or call 319-377-9839 to request your check be mailed to you.

Thank you to the Linn County Fair Association for paying over $3,000 in premiums for 4-H and FFA Exhibitors each year! 

Linn County Cattlemen to Support Performance Beef Class!

The Linn County Cattlemen are partnering with the Beef Committee to enhance the Performance Market Beef Class. From cash prizes, guaranteed market, and more learning, this is an opportunity you want to learn about! Below, you will find an overview of the class and the changes for this next year.

What is the Performance Beef Class?

This class is to show the production of animal characteristics. Animals will be judged four times with rate of gain, carcass merit, live class placing, and new this year grid evaluation. The Linn County Cattlemen will award the final cash award for this class after the fair. Beef workshop attendance will be considered when determining a winner for this class as a large goal of the Linn County Cattlemen and 4-H is continued learning by all. All animals must be broken to lead and cannot have been fed any feed with Optaflexx, Actogain, or any other Beta-adrenergic agonistics class of feed additives. After the beef show, all animals in this class will be taken to NFO by the Linn County Cattlemen, and a grid evaluation will be completed on the meat product. Youth will be paid the best market rate available from NFO through the Linn County Cattlemen for their animal. These animals are not eligible to participate in the Fair Auction.

What is new?

• Cash prizes sponsored by the Linn County Cattlemen!
• Youth must sign an affidavit at the November Weigh-in and at the county fair stating they will not feed any feeds with Optaflexx, Actogain, or any other Beta-adrenergic agonistics class of feed additives.
• Cattlemen will cover the cost of Carcass Scanning provided the youth is signed up for the carcass class in FairEntry by May 15th. Youth not signed up for the Carcass class may still participate but must pay for the carcass on their own.
• Beef Workshop participation is considered when determining the overall winner for Performance Beef.
• Overall Winners will be awarded at the Cattlemen's Banquet
• Animals must be sold through the Linn County Cattlemen through NFO at the market price for the day on the hook.

Questions: please email JD at otter@iastate.edu or ask questions in the Beef Band group or Beef Facebook page.

Beef Weigh-in

November 24th at Walker Sale Barn

• County- Only Calves 1-2:30 pm
• Iowa State Fair Calves 2:30-4:00 pm

Cost:

• County Only Calves = $5.00
• Iowa State Fair Calves = $10
• Due to the increase in tag cost (due to better tags), re-tags will be at the expense of families.

ALL Market Beef MUST attend weigh-in! If you cannot attend the Linn County Weigh-in, please reach out to JD at otter@iastate.edu ASAP.

NOTE: Breeding Heifers needing a 4-H Tag: Please come to weigh in to have a tag put in the heifer’s ear. If a heifer is purchased after the weigh-in, please contact JD at otter@iastate.edu. 

Fair Book Rule for Breeding Heifers: All breeding heifers, registered, commercial, or home-raised, must have a tattoo AND a secondary ID method.  

Secondary Forms of ID include: 

• Registration Number 
• Calfhood vaccination #  
• Official 4-H ear tag  

Single Source Market Rabbit

This unique class ensures that all participants have a level starting point. The rabbits will be sourced from the same breeding background and born on or near the same date to meet market requirements. Participants will be judged on overall care, condition, and rate of gain for this project area at the Linn County Fair and Iowa State Fair if participants want to exhibit there.

TIMELINE:

• January 4: Required Informational meeting
• February 1: Deadline for intention of participation
• March 1: Pick-up Rabbits and County Workshop
• April 13: State Workshop
• May 17: County Workshop
• June 27: Linn County Rabbit Show

Fill out the Single Source Rabbit Interest Form if you or your 4-H/FFA member are interested in participating.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the following: Hannah Dunlap: dunlha00@gmail.com, Christopher Caldwell: christophe3.16@gmail.com, and JD Otterbein: otter@iastate.edu

Rabbit/Cavy Orientation!

When: Sunday, January 4th, 9:00am-10:30am

Join the Rabbit/Cavy Committee to start the year off strong! These orientations count as a workshop for 3^rd+year members.

Where: Extension Office (1770 Boyson, Rd Hiawatha)

Note: 1st and 2nd year 4-H and FFA Members must attend one Linn County Rabbit/Cavy

orientation and two workshops. 3rd+ year members must attend two workshops/meetings or another rabbit event. See Fair Book Rabbit Rule 2 for more info.

RSVP: starting in December in 4-H Online