January/February 2008
Klamath Clover Co-Op
Klamath County 4-H Department
Jed’s Journal
Well, holy smokes
folks, the 4-H freight
train just keeps
building steam and
the time flies by the
window seats faster
and faster. We are
cruising right
through winter and
soon we will be coming up fast on weighins and all sorts of
other things. I hope
everyone is getting
their projects
planned out and formulated. I know
with the economy
being what it is right
now it will be pretty
tight for many if not
all of us, but we are
going to have a fun
and productive year
just the same. Keep
your chins up and
stand tall, by gum
things will come
around in time.
We are collecting a
handful of new programs to present to
you all and I have
had lots of expressed
interest in even
more. One that is
coming soon is
Windmills. This is a
really impressive
project and I think
we will have fun
learning together
with it. I just got
back from the High
Desert Leadership
Retreat for 4-H
members up at Eagle Crest, and I have
to say that was an
awesome experience.
Any interested members who are wondering what it was
all about can give
me a call or drop an
e-mail, and that goes
for parents and leaders alike. It’s great
fun whether you’re a
chaperone or participating as a member.
For any of you that
couldn’t make the
HDLR, there will be
a South West Ore-
gon Leader Retreat
coming during
Spring Break. We
are currently putting it together and
will hopefully have a
schedule worked out
by the end of February, so start thinking about it now and
contact me with
questions that you
might have.
4-H Staff
Jed [email protected]
Jenny [email protected]
Agents and Office Staff
Willie Riggs
Patty Case
Chanda Engel
To all the new and
returning members
and leaders welcome
back or welcome
aboard!
Brian Charlton
Susan Honea
Lori Fernlund
Barb Templeton
Mary Pieper
Kristy Weidman
“The ultimate creative act is to express
what is most authentic and individual
about you.”
-Eileen M. Clegg
Claudia Tosh
OSU KBREC
3328 Vandenberg Rd.
Klamath Falls, OR 97603
phone: (541) 883-7131
fax: (541) 883-4582
Website:
oregonstate.edu/dept/kbrec/
How Much Can I Expect To Get For My Pig?
As a 4-H leader, this question
comes up more and more often. As
we move
from an
agricultural and
forestry
economy
to a service and
manufacturing economy, the basic
aspects of raising a market animal
sometimes seem to get lost in a
quest for money.
Our 4-H livestock members are
coming from an increasingly urban
background as opposed to the traditional rural farm and ranch
background. This is a good thing
as it allows for “town kids” to learn
about raising an animal, teaching
life lessons which are not typically
learned in an urban environment.
The challenge as a leader comes
when asked the dreaded question,
“How much can I expect to get for
my pig (or goat, steer, lamb, etc.)?”
The expectation, in monetary
terms, is current market price.
Unfortunately, most market animal projects will not pay for themselves with market price.
The law of supply and demand
goes into high gear during time for
acquiring project animals and initial purchase price for a young
show animal often exceeds the
market price for a full grown general market animal. In defense of
breeders, show animals cost more
to raise due to rising semen costs
for top sires, purchase of top level
breeding animals, extra veterinarian care and high feed costs,
among other things. Combine this
with expensive feeds, additives,
increased veterinary care and
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equipment needed to present the
animal with a certain look in the
show ring and the cost of purchasing and raising the animal is often
three to four times market price
when the animal is ready for show
and sale.
Fortunately, the 4-H program in
Klamath County is supported by
the local community, spearheaded
by the efforts of the Rotary Club of
Klamath County in providing an
auction for 4-H market animals
during the county fair. Local businesses come together and provide
funding in the form of higher auction prices allowing the members
to realize at least a modest profit
in most cases. Members need to
realize and appreciate the gift of
community support, especially during this time of economic instability. It is not a given, but a gift,
earned by the reputation of the 4H program and its members.
While we certainly wish that every
member
earns at
least a
modest
profit
from the
market
animal
program,
there are additional rewards members can reap. The most rewarding
benefit, from this leader’s standpoint, is watching young members
move forward into increasingly
higher levels of responsibility and
maturity. Members who raise and
sell animals tend to adapt to new
and challenging situations more
readily and seem to be more fluent
in working through problems. It is
with each new crop of graduating
members that my faith in the future becomes stronger.
Participation in the 4-H program
opens up opportunities for scholarships, both through the 4-H market animal program and outside of
it. Numerous Klamath County
youth have benefitted from these
scholarships to aid in their quest
for higher education.
The fun aspect of the 4-H market
animal program needs to be maintained. Animals have unique personalities and there are many examples of unique situations created by the animal/handler relationship…most are good. Our club
tends to attend and create several
learning opportunities including
seminars, clinics, learning activities and best of all, “ROAD
TRIPS!” When fun is a major ingredient in the learning process,
the lessons are imprinted more
firmly.
Finally, there are social graces
that can be learned through the 4H program. These social graces
teach members how to get along.
Our club’s standard message is
that you do not need to like everybody but you do need to treat them
with respect and get along. I am
constantly amazed at the friendships and bonds that have developed between members, leaders
and parents who would have never
have met without the 4-H program.
So, the next time the dreaded
question comes up, the answer is,
“A great time of learning, fun and
fellowship!”
Submitted by Diane Keith
Leader for Forty Swiners
Klamath Clover Co-Op
Knights of the Round Pen Participate in a Fun Group Project!
The members of the Knights of
the Round Pen 4-H horse group
entered the Snowflake Festival’s
Gingerbread Contest this year.
Zack Gailey, Kristal Smith,
Stephanie and Carolyn Flecken,
and Madison Epperly spent three
hours on this fun, group project.
pasture. Our group won a first
place ribbon and was very excited! At our end-of-the-year
potluck we enjoyed eating it.
This project was so much fun
we may do it again next year!
Submitted by Stephanie Flecken
Reporter for
Knights of the Round Pen
We made a gingerbread stable–
complete with horses, a round
pen, gaming events and a large
Knights of the Round Pen members pose
with their blue ribbon masterpiece.
Rural/Urban Exchange
Alright 4-H’ers, are you ready to
go? It is time for our outbound
exchange portion of the UrbanRural Exchange. The host families in Portland are lining up and
getting some interesting adventures put together for those of
you who go up there. The dates
for Klamath to Portland will be
February 25-March 1, 2009.
Those members that are interested should contact us to get an
application and get signed up.
The same goes for parents or
leaders that
wish to
chaperone
for the trip.
For those of
you who are
reading this
and wondering “what in the
world are they talking about”
here is a little run down of the
program. This is the third
year that Klamath has taken
part in the Urban-Rural Exchange program with Multnomah County and Sunnyside
Environmental School. This
is an immersion program in
which urban youth from the
Portland area come to rural
counties (Klamath, Grant, and
Wallowa) and spend a week
immersed in the things and
lives that we all lead in order
to gain a better perspective of
what goes on outside of the
city. Then our rural youth
travel to Portland and spend a
week living with an urban
host family and see what it is
that they do. To date this program has involved over 147
youth and urban adults and
more than 30 rural farm and
ranch families. One result of
this program to date also includes a beef cooperative with
30 urban families buying direct
from a ranch in Grant County.
This is an excellent mechanism
to increase our rural voice in
urban areas of the state, not to
mention it is a lot of fun. I don’t
believe you could find a single 4H’er that has participated that
wouldn’t tell you this was a
great adventure that they
learned a great deal from. So if
you’re interested give us a call
at 883-7131.
Shooting Sports
There is a 4-H Shooting Sports
Leader Training coming in April!
The training will take place April
17-19, 2009. At this time we do
not have the location or cost of
enrollment, but all leaders who
are interested in being a shooting
sports leader should keep in close
contact with us and as soon as we
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have the remaining information
we will get it to you promptly and
work out the enrollment fees. It is
our intent to provide sponsorship
to those of you who choose to attend. We have a very large and
growing Archery program in
Klamath County and special
thanks to all of you leaders and
community members that
have built and operate that
discipline. We hope to get a
rifle, and
shotgun program off the
ground this
year as well.
Klamath Clover Co-Op
World Citizenship
Hosting This Summer– Finnish, Norwegian, and Costa Rican
Delegates
⇒ There will be potential hosting opportunities for Oregon families
from mid-June to mid-July with delegates from Finland and Costa
Rica, and during July for delegates from Norway.
⇒ Complete details are on the 4-H Website at: http://
oregon.4h.oregonstate.edu/4h-world-citizenship-project-overview
⇒ All delegates will be matched with host families nationally. (There
are a limited number of delegates coming from each country.)
⇒ Interested host families need to have all of the application ma-
terials completed and sent to the State 4-H Office by February
15, 2009.
Please let Jed know if you have any question concerning these opportunities.
2009 International Exchange
Program Training Scheduled
Training for faculty, staff and
volunteers (county coordinators/
assistant coordinators) is scheduled for March 13-14, 2009.
Location to be in the Tualatin
area (South Portland near I-5).
You are encouraged to attend
this opportunity to gain the latest information and insights into
youth from your county participating on an international exchange program, and families in
your county hosting an international delegate. Most costs for
the training are covered by the
program.
National 4-H Congress Applications Due March 2!
Member applications for National 4-H Congress need to be
forwarded by counties to the
State 4-H office by March 2,
2009. In mid-March the State
Recognition committee will select the Congress finalists who
will be interviewed during 4-H
Summer Conference in late
June.
Many Congress delegates describe attending this event as
the highlight of their 4-H career.
Unfortunately, over the past few
years, the number of Oregon
delegates we have been able to
send to National 4-H Congress
has decreased dramatically. In
2004 we sent a group of 27
youth; in 2008 we could afford to
send only 17.
The cost of sending a youth delegate to 2008 Congress was over
$1600; this cost continues to increase every year. Please keep
National 4-H Congress in mind
when sending out newsletters,
discussing Leader’s Association
budgets, or if you are contacted
by a private donor. We are hoping to send a delegation of at
least 20 youth in 2009; so our
fundraising goal is $32,000.
Please help keep alive the tradition of giving our outstanding
Oregon youth this wonderful
opportunity in 2009. Donate
today at http://
oregon.4h.oregonstate.edu/sites/
default/
files/2009CongressPledge_Sheet.
pdf
State 4-H and State Fair Scholarships Available
In memory of Anna Zollner, one
new $1000 OSU scholarship will
be added in 2009. Over 15 other
college scholarships (worth almost $20,000) are available to 4H members who are seniors in
high school and college bound in
2009. Scholarship applications
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and guidelines can be found at
http:/oregon.4h.oregonstate.edu/
oregon-4h-scholarships.
The guidelines are the same as
they were in 2008, and require
only a brief, topic specific essay
and an application form. All
applications must be ap-
proved by the county 4-H
agent and are due in the
State 4-H office by March 2,
2009.
Klamath Clover Co-Op
Spring Horse Classic 2009
Spring Horse Classic Registrations are due by April 3, 2009.
Forms and instructions are
posted on the Spring Hose Classic Website.
To find all the information on
SHC go to the State 4-H Website
at http://
oregon.4h.oregonstate.edu/
click on Projects, then Animal
Science, then Horse, then Spring
Horse Classic. From this page,
you can find all the specifics
about SHC plus all the information on the 2009 event.
Know Your Government Registration/Scholarship Applications Due Feb. 20
The Oregon 4-H “Know Your
Government” program is scheduled to be held in Salem, March
5 – 7, 2009.
When the
Oregon Legislature is
“in session”,
KYG delegates have a
great opportunity to meet legislators, observe legislative meetings and hearings, as well as
learn debate and interview
skills when they are not at the
Capitol building. The agenda is
jam-packed with fun and learning. 4-H and non-4-H youth, between the 8-12 grades, are invited to participate. The regis-
4-H Bee Keeping Essay Contest
The 4-H Beekeeping Essay is a
great opportunity for 4-H members to research and write about
honey bees. Cash Prizes of
$750, $500 and $250 will be
awarded to the three top national winners. The essay
theme for 2009 is “The Dance
Language of Bees.” Contest details are located at: http://
oregon.4h.oregonstate.edu/sites/
default/
files/2009BeeKeepingRules.pdf
4-H members can also use the
information they gather to make
an educational display for the
fair. Essay contestants are not
required to be enrolled in a 4-H
beekeeping project. Essays are
due in the
State 4-H
office by
February 2,
2009.
tration fee is $140 and some
scholarships are available. Registration and scholarship applications are due February 20.
For more information visit the
4-H website:
http://oregon.4h.oregonstate.edu
/know-your-government
Calling All Potential 4-H
Leaders….
The next New Leader Training
will be held on March 18 at 5:30
p.m. in the Conference Room at
the Extension Office. If you
know of someone interested in
becoming a 4-H leader send
them our way and we can get
them started in the process. Applications can be picked up at
the Extension Office.
Important Information To Be Given At The March 16 All Leaders Meeting
Topics to be discussed at the next All Leaders Meeting will the new COOL rules and the Animal Science
Code of Ethics. This will be important information to have, so we want to encourage those leaders whose
members have animal projects to make sure they make it to this meeting.
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Klamath Clover Co-Op
Horse Member News
On January 30 at 6:30 p.m.
there will be a Horse Judging/
Hippology meeting in the Extension Office Conference Room.
This meeting is open to all
Horse 4-H members. If you
qualified at County to be on the
Horse Judging/Hippology Team
and want to compete at the
Spring Horse Classic on April 24
-26, you should attend this
meeting. For more information
you may contact Amy Swindler
at 891-3793.
Beef Member News
Mandatory Beef Weigh-In
All 4-H and FFA steers, including back up steers must be
weighed at one of these three
weigh-in locations:
March 7
Barrett Livestock
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
(No straw in trailers. Please
utilize all the unloading spots so
there is no waiting between
steers.)
March 8
Brooks Ranch, Bly, Oregon
12:00 p.m.
Ear tags are $7.00 each.
Please try to have the exact
amount. Volunteers are
needed again this year to help
at the weigh-ins. Help is
needed to operate gates, scales,
administer 8-way wormer, etc.
REMINDER:
If your steer needs dehorning,
now is the time to do it. Don’t
wait until the week before fair!
Klamath Auction Yard
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Dog Member News
Pigeon Member News
A local racing pigeon club is
holding a meeting in the Auditorium on February 7 at 9:30 a.m.
on raising, racing and showing
pigeons. They have expressed
interest in getting to know our
local 4-H pigeon project
members, or
any other
members
that might
be interested
in learning more about pigeons.
Some of the topics to be addressed are types of pigeons, tips
on how to get started, connecting
with other pigeon aficionados
and planning for the 2009 racing
season. For more information
call 883-7810 or 882-4331.
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Dates for workshops and volunteer visits:
February 22– 11:00 a.m. Visit El Dorado Assisted Living. Well
behaved dogs only!
March 14- 10:00 a.m. Rally Workshop. Members bring an item for
the Humane Society (see list below).
April 5th- 1:00 p.m. Rally Workshop. Members bring an item for
the Humane Society (see list below).
June 27- Fun day at 2615 Wiard St. This prepares all members for
what is expected at fair.
***Humane Society ListBedding– blankets and bath towels (used are fine)
Kitty Litter– non-clumping, inexpensive type
Cleaning Supplies– bleach, cleanser, soap, paper towels, laundry
detergent, bathroom cleaner, general cleaning
supplies
Klamath Clover Co-Op
Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Oregon’s statehood, our theme is
Looking Back to Look Forward
Submit your design for the 2009
OSU 4-H Summer Conference T-shirt.
Winner receives a full scholarship to the
2009 OSU 4-H Summer Conference*
GUIDELINES
⇒
⇒
Should include the theme and
“2009 OSU 4-H Summer Conference” somewhere in the design.
Design should have one to three colors per location (side) and
must be reproducible on the computer.
⇒
Design can be on the front, back, sleeve or both sides of the shirt.
⇒
Should be something you and your friends would love to wear!
Please email entries to [email protected]
or mail to
Summer Conference T-shirt Contest
State 4-H Office, OSU
105 Ballard Hall
Corvallis, OR 97331
Designs must be received by March 2, 2009
Winner will be decided by the 2009 4-H Summer Conference Committee.
*The committee reserves the right to split the award between members, combine entries, or ask for slight alteration of entries.
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Klamath Clover Co-Op
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Klamath Clover Co-Op
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Klamath Clover Co-Op