New Extension 4-H Staff

We are pleased to announce that Britney James has been appointed as our new 4-H Program Coordinator and will be overseeing all 4-H programming in Jackson County.  A Michigan native, Britney grew up in Adrian and later attended Michigan State University where she received a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife. After graduating she moved to Chicago to work at Brookfield Zoo, and later returned to her hometown to continue her education, completing her teaching certificate at Siena Heights University. 

Britney comes to us from the Lenawee TECH Center Agri Tech class, where she has worked closely with FFA and the local agricultural community. She is currently coaching the Lenawee FFA Forestry Team and is a member of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) advisory committee. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and camping with her dog Sadie. She is excited to be in Jackson County and is looking forward to meeting all of the people who make this program possible. 

Britney is taking over for Renee, who will continue to be housed in Jackson but is now collaborating with the Leadership and Civic Engagement work team to develop state level programming. Please refer any 4-H related questions to Britney, or stop in and say "hi" if you're in the area.    

New Rabbit Fitting and Showing Guides

Fitting and showing rabbits gives 4-H'ers the chance to compete with others based on the skills they demonstrate, general knowledge of rabbits and the participant's preparation, attitude and behavior. This bulletin underwent a major revision in 2011 and contains objectives and guidelines for the 4-H participant in rabbit fitting and showing contests. Information covered includes feeding, care, grooming and conditioning. The bulletin provides full color step-by-step instructions with photo illustrations for completing the contest examination and includes a rabbit showmanship scorecard. We have purchased a limited supply of these updated manuals and are making them available to Jackson County 4-H'ers at no charge. Please contact our office if you would like to pick up a copy.

Upcoming Market Goat Show

Download additional information:

Flyer

Rules

Registration Form

Advertisement of this event does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned.

Woodworking Superintendent Needed

We are in search of a Superintendent to oversee the Woodworking projects at this year's Fair. If you or somebody you know might be interested, contact Britney James at 517-788-4292.

Exploration Days Orientation

For those 4-H'ers attending Exploration Days, please make plans to attend an orientation session at our office on Thursday, June 7th from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. More information is being sent via email.

4-H Clubs Needed

4-H Council is looking for clubs to help with the windshield washing fundraiser taking place at Sam's Club on Saturday, July 7, 2012. Three clubs are needed and shifts are two and a half hours long. Contact Dave Cox at 517-787-7138 for more information.

Free Tickets Available for Breakfast On The Farm

Grab the kids and join us for this year's Breakfast On The Farm. Enjoy a free breakfast while you learn about the food you eat, meet farmers, see tractors, visit animals, and more! Breakfast will be served from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 23, 2012 at Choate's Belly Acres (dairy farm) located at 11670 Culver Road in Cement City.

Tickets are available for pickup at the following locations:

Eastern Branch Library

Jackson Chamber of Commerce

Jackson County Farm Bureau

Jackson District Library

Meijer Branch Library

MSU Extension Jackson County

Adult PQA

We will be having an Adult PQA Plus Certification Training on Thursday, May 24, 2012, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at our office located at 1715 Lansing Ave in Jackson, MI. Cost is $20 per person and an RSVP is required. Please contact our office at 517-788-4292 if you would like to attend.

4-H Rabbit Royalty

The Jackson County Rabbit Royalty Contest is returning!!

Date: August 1, 2012
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: MSU Extension | Jackson County office
Who: Any Jackson County 4-H rabbit member, including Clover Buds.

What goes on at the Rabbit Royalty Contest? Some possibilities are: 

• Short (10 question) quiz 
• Breed identification 
• Interview with a knowledgeable rabbit breeder 
• Hands-on judging (either for meat quality or fur quality) 
• Above all, expect to have fun and learn something new!!

Winners for each category will receive a monogrammed jacket, and the top 3 in each category will receive a medal. There will also be, at least, one "door prize" given away at the Royalty Contest. All members participating in the Rabbit Royalty will be eligible to win.

Start studying now to be ready then!! 

Contact the Rabbit Superintendents Tim & Jackie Kingsbury with any questions. 

New Jackson County 4-H T-shirts

4-H Council is planning on having some new t-shirts made that can be worn by 4-H'ers to promote Jackson County 4-H programs. The shirts will be available for sale and will also be used as prizes for various contests and events. Two designs are available and they want YOU to decide which one will be chosen. Click "read more" to see the designs and to vote!

Note: Those reading this article as part of our email subscription program may need to view the article in their web browser in order to vote. 

Updating 4-H Contact Information

From time to time our office sends out emails to specific groups of people within 4-H (ie: rabbit members, swine leaders, parents of cloverbuds, etc), usually to notify them directly about something important related to their project area. We have discovered that quite a few of the email addresses that we have on file are no longer working. Since we very rarely send notifications through the mail, it is important that we be able to communicate with our members, leaders, and parents electronically and are asking that you notify our office if you need to update your address with us. An email was sent out this afternoon to everyone in our database with an email address. If you did not receive that message, then we either have the wrong email address on file or the one we have is no longer being used or is invalid. 

To update your contact information with us, simply send an email to our office at msue38@msu.edu and let us know that you need to have your information updated. If you are the parent of a 4-H'er, please include the name(s) of your children if you would like to receive messages on their behalf. Please be assured that we will not fill your inbox with endless messages. This website and Facebook are our preferred methods of making announcements and you will only receive direct messages from our office if there is something we need to notify you of that is of an urgent nature or specifically applies to your participation with 4-H. 

We thank you in advance for your assistance with this issue. 

Volunteers Needed

A small group of volunteers has been working diligently on coordinating the upcoming Small Animal & Still Exhibit Expo, but they can't do it alone! We're looking anyone who is willing to help make this event a success, especially leaders with experience in poultry, rabbits, or still exhibits who can assist with demonstrations and educational sessions.

If you or someone you know is interested or would like more information, contact Tina Esham at 517-795-5386 or via email. 

Small Animal & Still Exhibit Expo

We are very excited to announce that we will be having a Small Animal & Still Exhibit Expo at the Fairgrounds on Friday, June 15th from 10:00a to 3:00p. This event is open to all Jackson County 4-H members, and is an excellent opportunity to learn about different projects or to advance knowledge within a current project. The Expo will feature goat, poultry, rabbit, and still exhibit demonstrations, skill-a-thons, showmanship, fitting, tattooing, and other educational sessions. There is a small fee of $3 to attend and lunch is included. More information can be found here. Registration forms are located in the Documents tab and must be submitted to our office along with the $3 registration fee by June 1st. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

Reminder: 4-H Animal Tagging

If you are bringing rabbits, sheep, or swine to the Fair this year, don't forget to bring your animals for check-in/tagging tomorrow, Saturday, May 12 at our office located at 1715 Lansing Ave. Times are as follows:

Swine

10a - 2p
Note: PQAs have been entered into the system, but some of you may not have received your cards from the Pork Board yet. We will have an updated list on hand for reference. 

Sheep

12p - 3p

Rabbit

2p - 4p

Westside Hi-Steppers Yard & Bake Sale

Westside Hi-Steppers 4-H Club

Combination Yard/Bake Sale

Saturday, May 12, 2012

9:00a - 4:00p

Show your support for 4-H by stopping by the Westside Hi-Steppers' club house on the corner of Devereaux and Gibbs Rd in Springport, MI on Saturday, May 12 for their yard and bake sale. All proceeds will go to support club programming, fair week activities, and maintenance of their building.