Special Conference to Learn About Business Cooperatives to be Held for Virginia Teens

The Virginia Institute of Cooperative Education is being held April 1 - 3 at Graves Mountain Lodge. This is a wonderful opportunity for our oldest teens to learn about business cooperatives and to network with other teens. All of the members we have sent in past years have reported a great experience!!! We are very fortunate to have the support of local coops like Orange-Madison Coop, Farm Credit, and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, so delegates only incur the cost of travel to the lodge in Madison County. 

Delegates must be ages 16 – 19. You can read more about what happens at the conference by visiting www.virginia.coop. Participants run a coop and compete against other teams to make decisions that businessmen make everyday. This is not a youth vacation but a working conference.

If you are interested in attending, let contact one of the local coops or let us know in the Extension office and we'll point you in the right direction.  

Orange Farm Bureau Announces College Scholarship

High school seniors are encouraged to apply for Orange County Farm Bureau's college scholarship. We are very fortunate to have had a number of local 4-H members win these funds in past years, so we hope to continue recruiting qualified applicants again this year.

The application is posted online and completed forms are due Monday, April 4, 2016 (that's the first full day of spring break, so don't let the deadline sneak up on you!).

Submit Your Suggestions for the 2016 Orange County Fair Theme!

It's that time of year again...and the Orange County Fair Association is looking for suggestions for a 2016 fair theme. Submitting your ideas is quick and easy, and there's no limit as to the number of suggestions you can make.

Use this link to submit potential themes, please: http://goo.gl/forms/cuXP7FsdgK

Thanks in advance for your help. This year's fair dates are July 20-23, 2016.

Sign-ups Now Open for 4-H County Contests on March 24

Most Orange 4-H clubs will be doing presentations or similar public speaking opportunities in the month of March. Advance to the next level by competing in 4-H County Contests on Thursday, March 24, 2016. We'll start at 6:30 p.m. at the Extension office.

Both junior and senior contestants have the option to advance to district contests on Saturday, April 9, in Caroline County. Senior contestants (ages 14-18) can advance to state competitions during 4-H Congress in Blacksburg in June.

Available county-level contests include: presentations, public speaking, radio spot, extemporaneous speaking, Share-the-Fun talent, and table setting - new for 2016! An overview of these contests is available by clicking here. The full Virginia 4-H Competitions Website is also online.

All youth need to pre-register for the March 24 county contests. Click HERE to do so. You may also call the Extension office at 672-1361 and they can enter your information online.

Details Announced for Junior Beef Roundup at the Virginia Beef Expo

Information about the 2016 Junior Beef Roundup to be held in conjunction with the Virginia Beef Expo is now posted. The Junior Beef Roundup will be held April 15 – 17, 2016, in Harrisonburg, VA. Please pay special attention to all of the rules, as several items have changed since last year. Please note: Entry fees are now $25 per head and all cattle must be owned by March 15^th!

 

In 2016, they will again feature the Cattle Fitting and Cattle Sales contests. Contest formats have changed slightly since last year; please review the rules carefully for team composition and contest components.

 

The State Stockmen's Contest will also be a part of the Junior weekend. The State Stockmen's Contest will be held on Friday, April 15^th. Entry forms and rules have been posted to the youth livestock web site.

 

Entry deadlines vary by contest. Please be aware of the respective deadlines, as late fees will apply. For rules, schedule and online entry system, please visit: http://www.ext.vt.edu/topics/4h-youth/youth-livestock/shows/beef-expo/index.html .

 

Rules and entry information for the Stockmen's contest can be found at: http://www.ext.vt.edu/topics/4h-youth/youth-livestock/competitions/stockmens-contest/state-contest/index.html

Bit 'N' Bridle Club Earns Awards at State-Level Horse Judging Contest

Orange 4-H's Bit 'N' Bridle Club participated in this past weekend's Virginia Tech Block & Bridle Club Horse Judging Workshop and Contest.

Congratulations to the senior team of Charlotte Manvell, Ruth Martin, and Emily Wright, who placed first overall! Individually, Manvell placed second, Martin placed third, and Wright placed eleventh overall.

In the junior division (ages 9-13), Orange 4-H combined with Rockingham 4-H'ers and they placed third as a team. Individually, Cora Hoemann placed fourth overall, and Claire Deplazes placed ninth.

Congratulations to these young people who have worked very hard in preparation for the contest!

Save the Dates - Virginia Beef Challenge and Market Animal Boot Camp

Here are two great events for you to save the dates! 

 

Virginia Beef Challenge:  April 15 at Virginia Beef Expo

Using a mystery bag of ingredients, teams prepare a dish in 40 minutes and present it to a judging panel.  Youth explain their preparation steps, serving size, food safety concerns, nutrition value.  Each team will be provided an equipment supply kit and will be provided the name of the key beef ingredient in advance.  Teams are challenged to be creative and develop their own recipe with the ingredients provided.  This is perfect for food challenge teams!

 

FYI:  Virginia Beef Ambassador will not be offered this year due to requirement restructuring at the state and national level.

 

Market Animal Boot Camp:  April 30 at Rockingham County Fairgrounds from 10AM-2PM

A fun and informational family event geared toward 4-H & FFA members interested in showing market animals. Stations, vendors and demonstrations cover species including goats, hogs, steers, lambs and beef heifer.  Vendors will include feed representatives, breeders, equipment dealers, animal health specialists and more!  There will be a pen sale and live auction again this year.  A YMQA training will be provided from 8-10AM.  Online registration will go live on March 1^st.

 

Livestock Cloverbud Club Meeting Rescheduled

Because schools were closed today, tonight's Livestock Cloverbuds meeting has been postponed. Please mark your calendar for Thursday, February 25, at 6:30 p.m.

Is This the Year for Your Family to Host a 4-H LABO Japanese Exchange Youth?

Konnichiwa! (That's hello in Japanese.) The list of 4-H LABO youth from Japan wanting to spend a month of their summer in Virginia is now available. You may have been considering it, but this is the year to finally make it happen.

For a list of Japanese youth, please contact program coordinator Deb Johnson at 540-659-2697.

Two Orange 4-H families - the Bryingtons and the Connells - hosted last summer, so you may wish to talk with them about their experiences. The Japanese youth are ages 12-14, so host families must have at least one youth in the 10-16 age range, and one host sibling must be of the same gender as the delegate.

Please consider taking advantage of this great opportunity! Remember the "and my world" part of the 4-H pledge.

Photo of Yuta, 2015 delegate to Orange