Vernon County 4-H – Newsletter
A Wonderful Year of Service
June marks the end of our Youth Leadership Challenge season. Clubs have submitted their reports in to us, and the word ‘impressed’ doesn’t begin to cover the amazing work all of you have done this year.
Our clubs performed 13 acts of service related to our food theme throughout the year, several examples include:
-Building a small 24/7 food pantry in partnership with a local bank in an area with no free food access
-Planting a 2-acre county-provided plot with fruit trees and perennials, creating a community orchard
-Packed 145 meal kits for the Hillsboro area, and provided meal kits for officers to hand out while on duty
-Prepared a free dinner open to the community, and organized Thanksgiving meal baskets
-Built and planted raised garden beds, learned how to raise two pigs and donated meat to pantries
-Offered free cake to folks during Valentine’s Day to encourage mental health and connection
The youth leaders are excited to announce next year’s service topic to club leaders in August! Congratulations all! I hope that you’ve found these accomplishments to be impactful and meaningful in your life. Feel free to read the full service report!
4-H Youth, Rubi, places a class of 4 guernsey heifers.
Upcoming Programming
Summer Photography Workshop: July 18th
Who: All Vernon County 4-H Youth, Grades 3-13
Where: Second Nature at Reads Creek
When: 9-10:30 AM
Join our photography leaders outdoors! Learn tips and tricks to capture flowers, insects, and nature. Come prepped for the outdoors and bring either your phone or a camera! Deadline is July 15 to register.
Summer Social: July 19th
Who: All Vernon County 4-H Members
Where: Vernon County Fairgrounds, Building TBA
When: 4 To 6 PM
Join in on our annual Summer Social event, planned and hosted by our Youth Leadership Project. There will be fun carnival games, a dunk tank, dinner, club competitions and more! Deadline to register: July 13
Rubbish Revival: July 19th
Who: Groups of 4 youth, under age 18
Where: Summer Social at the Fairgrounds
When: 4-6 PM
Turn used tires into beautiful planters displayed during the Vernon County Fair! We are partnering with the Vernon County Fair to have this contest be a part of our annual summer social gathering held on July 19th.
Teams of 4 will need to register ahead of time by July 10th. Tires will be made available for groups at the summer social. We will provide approximately 1 hour for teams to get started with their builds.
Foods and Clothing Revue: July 25
Who: Foods Revue is Open to All Vernon County 4-H Youth, Clothing Revue is Open to any Youth Eligible to Show at the Vernon County Fair. Deadline to enter is July 17.
Where: Westby Community Center
When: Foods Revue at 10 AM & Clothing Revue at 1 PM
Foods Revue is so much fun! Youth prepare fun dishes, table settings, and menus for our judge to evaluate! After everyone presents, all youth and families have a potluck consisting of the entries!
Clothing Revue is part of the Vernon County Fair. It involves sewing a garmet and wearing it, so that the judge can evaluate. Information the classes can be found under Class D, in the Department 26 – Clothing.
Note: Cloverbuds may enter the clothing revue, but will only receive a participation ribbon.
Requests for reasonable accommodations for disabilities or limitations should be made prior to the date of the program or activity for which it is needed. Please do so 10 days before the program activity so that proper arrangements can be made.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming in compliance with state and federal law.
Updates – What You Need to Know
Dairy Project Announcements
We want to congratulate all Vernon County 4-H Youth who participated in our dairy judging competition. They did an amazing job!
1st place Junior Team consisting of Rubi K., Lydia K., Aimee M., and Rylan K. (&TAQ)
1st place Senior Team consisting of Maci K., Jed O., Lexi M., Sarah B. and Myle T.
1st place Junior Individual: Rubi K.
2nd place Junior Individual: Lydia K.
2nd place Senior Individual: Maci K.
3rd place Senior Individual: Lexi M.
6th place Senior Individual: Sarah B.
7th place Senior Individual: Jed O.
9th place Senior Individual: Nadia H.
Winning the Showmanship Contest was Katy T.
Congratulations to all the youth that participated today!
We will be sending the two teams to State in August to compete.
Food Stand Shift Announcements
Food Stand shifts are a mandatory part of being a 4-H member. Each family must have one adult work a shift, no matter the age of their children. Every 12+ youth must also work a shift. The sign up form will be released to clubs via the following schedule:
June 30: All Certified/Approved Adult Volunteers
July 2: ViroquaTeers
July 6: Springville Superstars
July 9: Country Critters
July 13: Hillsboro Hotshots
July 16: Seas Branch Smithies
July 20: Davis Diggers
July 23: Lucky Clovers
July 27: Mississippi Steamers
July 30: Liberty Pole Boosters
August 3: Riverside Badgers
August 6: Nerison & Enterprise Eagles
Shooting Sports Project Announcement
The season will be hosted at the Viola Sportsman’s Club: S64565 Sportsman Road, Viola, WI 54664
Sunday, July 26 @ 1 PM: 4-H Invitational Shoot Competition
Sunday, August 30: Vernon County Fair Premium Shoot
5 pm: Archery & Air Rifle
6 pm: Shotgun & .22
Little Hands Orchard
Our Vernon County 4-H community orchard project is in the ground and growing away. With the help of the Springville Superstars 4-H Club, the orchard was planted in the beginning of June.
At this point, we have plums, peaches, raspberries, cherries, currants, aronia, grapes, blackberries. We have lots more room to fill, but are currently watching to see what thrives and what doesn’t–as well as pest impact.
Watch a video recap of planting day!
Time to Sign Up for Fair!!
The Fair has opened up its portal to allow you to register for your fair entries.
Remember: 4-H participates in fair, but doesn’t run it. You will turn your entries into your club leaders, and they are in charge of turning them in and handing out your tickets. They will also make sure you are in the correct projects and have met your requirements in order to show at fair.
Do you have a question? Please refer to the Vernon County Fair Question Guide
