April

Hi Everyone,

We hope your spring is off to a good start and all your projects are going well. Keep in mind that the drop/add deadline is May 1^st. Sign in to your Zsuite account and check to see that you are signed up for the correct projects. If you signed up for a project that you are not going to be participating in or are planning to participate in a project you didn’t sign up for, please make those changes before the deadline. This is important for fair participation and for record books.

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

It’s back! Tiber 4-H is happy to announce that they will be hosting the Annual 4-H Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 3^rd at 10:00 a.m at the city park. Youth, nine-year old and younger, are invited to participate. Hop on over!

This Little Piggy Went To Market

It’s time for 4-H swine project members to select their swine for the 2021 Marias Fair. The weigh-In deadline for swine is Saturday, April 10^th so please contact the Liberty County Extension office to set up a time. Below are some guidelines to help you select your 4-H pig.

• The end weight range for swine eligibility for the Marias Fair is between 220 and 300 pounds. You have approximately 102 days from the weigh-in deadline until weigh-in at fair. Although a healthy pig will often grow about 1.5-1.8 pounds per day and some 4-H pigs will grow over 2 pounds per day because of the individual attention they receive, you may want to give yourself a little wiggle room due to colder spring weather, swine getting used to being outside instead of inside, etc. For this reason, it would be encouraged to plan for a 90 to120 pound pig.  For example, if your pig gains 1.5 pounds a day, your pig will gain around 153 pounds. 

• The ideal pig will be well muscled, structurally correct, and well balanced. Look for:

* Width of the chest floor between the front legs

* Definition of muscle along the loin

* Width through the ham and the shoulders

* Hour glass shape when viewed from the top

* Ability to travel with ease

* Front and rear of animal are same depth

* Straight topline and underline

* Proper structure of feet and legs

You can find the Marias Fair Swine rules and other management tips on the Marias Fair Extension website

Breeding Projects

If you are taking a breeding project this year, be sure to turn your information to the Extension office by April 10^th. Call the Extension office if you have any questions.

Lambs for sale

Emma Clark is offering 4-H lambs for sale again this year. She has ewes and wethers and all are bred for top performance. If you would like more information, please call or text Emma at (406) 450 – 4415. The lamb/goat weigh-in deadline is May 9^th. The end weight minimum for lambs is 100 pounds and the maximum is 145 pounds. The minimum weight for goats is 70 pounds with a maximum of 119 pounds. 

Livestock Judging Contest

Pondera County Agent, Adriane Good and Toole County agent, Kim Woodring are excited to announce that the will be hosting a livestock judging contest in Shelby again this year! The contest will be held at the Marias Fairgrounds on Sunday, May 16. Registration starts at 12:30, with judging starting at 1 and awards by 5 (hopefully).

There will be 10 classes – beef, sheep, swine, goat, and a surprise. Reasons will be given on 4 classes. Individual and Team awards will be given for junior (8-13) and senior (14-18) age categories.

All 4-H and FFA members are welcome. Registration fees will be $5 per participant, payable to Toole County 4-H. Call the Liberty County Extension office if you'd like a registration form. The deadline to register is Friday, May 14^th. For more information call the Toole County Extension office at 406-424-8350.

Marias Fair Updates:

The 2021 Marias Fair starts on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. This is a good time to start exhibits that can be done in advance. Remember, there are cash prizes for the top 4 high point placings.

Fashion ReVue

The Marias Fair Fashion Revue will be Thursday, June 25^th at the Exhibit Building in Shelby. Members can sign up on FairEntry along with other entries. There will be two categories: Items you sewed and Ready to Wear. Youth need to be enrolled in either the sewing, crochet, knitting, quilting or ready to wear project to participate in fashion review.  The emphasis is more on the presentation (modeling, speaking, accessorizing) with a nod to quality of construction if the garment is made by the youth.  How well the item is sewn is of less importance than the presentation. 

If youth are in ready to wear, the emphasis is on how well the colors and accessories complement each other along with modeling/presenting themselves to the judges. For more information on judging criteria, contact the Liberty County Extension office.

Bret Wanken 4-H Memorial Fund

Be sure to apply for the Bret Wanken 4-H Memorial scholarship if you plan to attend one of the following 4-H Leadership Trainings and would like some assistance with expenses:  

• Congress
• Ambassador Training
• Camp Planning
• Junior Leader for Shooting Sports  

This fund is comprised of proceeds from the sale of Bret Wanken’s 4-H steer at the Marias Fair in 2009, along with donations from other generous individuals and businesses. This list is only intended as a guide to many other possibilities. The goal of this fund is to help you develop leadership skills and share them with your fellow 4-H’ers. For more information click on the Toole County Extension link.  Applications are available at the Liberty County Extension office.  

MSU Toole County Extension

Upcoming Events:

• 4-H Congress : Montana 4-H is moving ahead with planning Congress for the MSU campus in July, with some More information will be coming.
• 4-H Camp: In order to provide a safer environment, the decision was made to split 4-H camp this year. Glacier, Toole, Liberty, Pondera, and Chouteau counties camp for 1.5-2 days, and Hill, Phillips, and Blaine counties camp for 1.5-2 days. Camp will be June 14 - 17, 2021. More information will be coming as soon as the schedule is set.  Counselors will be there for all four Thank you to Jordan Leach, Ty Backen, Martin Fulbright for volunteering to serve as camp counselors this year.

Record Books

Check out the Record book feature on your zsuite account. You can access and work on your record books from any device that has internet access. Please contact the Extension office if you need assistance. You can also pick up paper forms at the Extension office or download them on the State 4-H website by clicking on the following link. Montana 4-H

Club Meetings

Prairie Pals 4-H Meeting: Sun., Mar. 7 at Harmon’s s at 4:00.
Tiber 4-H Club Meeting: Second Sunday of the month at Wicks Hangar at 2:00 Check out     Facebook
Sweet Grass Clover 4-H Club Meeting:

• Members - Second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 at the Liberty Co. Ext. Office.
• Cloverbuds - Third Tuesday of the month at the Liberty Co. Ext. Office, right after school.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the Extension office if you have any questions or suggestions that would benefit our 4-H program in Liberty County. Also, please send any articles and photos of what your members are doing throughout the year to liberty@montana.edu.