Mrs. Bonnie Ayars, Extension Dairy Program Specialist, The Ohio State University
Tis the season to wrap up 2010 and think ahead for 2011 4-H Youth Programs. The 2011 Dairy 4-H calendar is now posted on the opening page at www.4hansci.osu.edu/dairy. Just this month, the calendar and a letter was mailed out to every 4-H dairy youth that participated in any statewide event and also to every junior dairy exhibitor at the Ohio State Fair. This provided us an opportunity to reach everyone on a more personal level.
Also, posted on the web page is the current issue of my newsletter, Bonnie’s Buckeye Moos. It includes several updates on new programming, current events, news, and notes, as well as information about our recognition program for dairy 4-Hers. Each county will have the opportunity to nominate their members who attended any statewide event (judging contest, skillathons, state fair, clinics, Dairy COWreer Day, etc.) I will review all nominees and then award Gold, Silver, and Bronze certificates based on their participation. These will be sent in the mail in January. County programs will have the opportunity to recognize youth by awarding these at county dairy banquets. It could also encourage financial support from dairy committees.
A new program on the calendar is the Dairy Palooza on April 30th to be held at the Grammer Jersey Farm. We continue to have many interested dairy youth who live in the northeastern area but who do not often make it to state events. Therefore, we decided to take the message to them. It will be a day filled with hands-on activities focused on topics of interest. Topics will include how to select your 4-H dairy project, showmanship tips, clipping and fitting, animal husbandry, and a dairy science activity, and there will also be topics of interest for only Cloverbuds. Volunteers are going to make the day special, and we offer our gratitude to the Grammers for opening up their farm and cattle for this event.