Hello 4-H Families!


I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and everyone has a
great time getting ready for the Holiday Season!


We are still trying to sell Christmas Trees so please promote the
trees to anyone who will listen and post on your social media
pages. The trees are $40-70 depending on height. We still have
some really tall trees! They are Douglas Fir and White fir.


4-H project books will be available in the office soon. Some
books are on back order at the state level, but we will let you
know when they get here and you can start working on them
over the Christmas Break!


We had a very successful steer weigh in this year. Thank you to
the Flesch Family for letting us use their scale and the Sandon
Family for letting me come up to tag their steers!


As always, please let us know if you have any questions. You can
stop by the office anytime!
Have a great December!
Kim & Jackie

4-H Volunteer Orientation Instructions
If you are a club leader or plan to be driving other people‘s children at 4-H events, please sign up as a
leader. You will be covered by insurance and eligible for leader awards.
1. Log into your Z-Suite Account
2. Select the profile of the volunteer that is taking the course.
3. Click on Clover Academy from the menu on the left.
4. Click on the blue box “Launch Clover Academy”.
5. You will be taken to the Clover Academy website.
6. Scroll down to find the Montana 4-H Orientation course. Click on “Enroll Now”.
7. On the course page you will see an overview of the course. Scroll down to see the four modules that
make up the orientation. Click the blue box “See More” under module one.
8. Follow the instructions to navigate the course.
9. When you get to the end of the module, (Slide will say you completed module). Scroll down and click on
the blue box “Mark as Complete”. Box will turn blue once you have completed the module.
10. Select the next lesson to load the next module. Your progress will be saved and you can return later
to complete the remaining modules.


HOW TO USE LIVESTOCK FEED SHEETS
Glacier County Agent, Kari Lewis, has shared a couple of options to help livestock members keep a better
record of the feed that they are providing for their livestock project. Whichever method is used, at the
end of the month, the totals from the sheet should be transferred to the Animal Journal of the record
book. Keeping good records will help you to make decisions for next year. You may want to change your
start weight, your type of feed and ration, the breed of animal etc.
Livestock Daily Feed Record
This PDF can be printed and is meant to be kept in the barn (on a clipboard, in a folder) and the feed
amounts recorded each day as feed is fed and weighed.
Livestock Daily Feed Record (Excel)
This is the Excel spreadsheet of the Livestock Daily Feed Record.
This can be downloaded and saved to your computer and daily weights added to the spreadsheet.
There is a tab for each month which will then calculate the monthly total automatically.


Save the Date - 2024 REC LAB / April 19-21, 2024 / Jefferson County School / Boulder, MT
What is Rec Lab? It sounds like a funny name for a 4-H event. Rec Lab stands for Recreation Lab and
means that everything is hands-on and fun! This event is a 4-H member favorite: It provides an
opportunity for youth and adults to enhance their leadership, communication, and team-building skills in
an action-packed and interactive setting. Rec Lab programming provides participants with tips and tricks
for being a better club, camp, and community leader.
This event is ideal for younger senior members to attend as a first-time state event. It allows them to
form relationships with 4-H peers from across the state, broaden their skills, and widen their network.
The cost will be around $100.00. Youth participants must be 13+ as of October 1. Adult chaperones must
be as least 21 years of age. Contact the Extension office if interested in attending.

Leadership Academy Monthly Virtual Workshops for Teen Members,
3:00 p.m. Sundays through March
Join the Montana 4-H Leadership Academy workshop on Sunday afternoons in 2023-2024 4-H year. The
leadership academy is a network of Montana 4-H members interested in exploring and developing their
own leadership skills while serving their county 4-H program in new ways.
Local county leadership groups will have an opportunity to join with groups from around the state as well
as the Montana 4-H Ambassador Officer team, virtually and in person when possible, to work on skill
building, planning, and mentorship.
Each month the officer team members will present a different workshop topic that they have found to be
important as they have grown their own leadership abilities. This workshop should be paired with a local
county leadership meeting to work on county projects that serve the local 4-H program and community.
Leadership Training Dates are:
December 10: Effective Brainstorming
January 14: Fake It Till You Make It!
February 11: Tools for Facilitation
March 10: Authenticity & Self Awareness
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87240913270?
pwd=S1pReVphbFFoT095WVMzYjg4V29OQT09


You’ve Got To Be Kidding Workshop
MSU Extension- Cascade County is offering a free webinar series on how to assist livestock giving birth.
The webinar will also discuss neonatal care, dystocia, colostrum, and other helpful topics. Each Webinar
will start at 7pm.
Topics, speakers, and dates are:.

Farrowing with Anna Forseth on December 21, 2023
Lambing and kidding with Brent Roeder on January 4, 2024
Calving with Megan Van Emon on January 18, 2024
Foaling with Rose Malisani on January 25, 2024

Click this link to Register: https://montana.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dd63ZSVTGHsiZLM

Attention Swine Members/Jr. Leadership Members
The livestock committee would like to purchase a swamp cooler/large fan for the swine barn. This would
be a great Montana 4-H Foundation People Partner grant (due February 1). We are looking for a 4-H
member (or few) to take the lead on the project and submitting the grant (livestock committee will serve
as a partner). If you are interested, please let Kari Lewis or Jesse Fulbright know.

Project Age Requirements
You must meet the minimum required age by October 1, 2023 in order to enroll in each project.
Cloverbuds - 5 years old
Regular 4-H - 8 years old
Shooting Sports - 9 years old
Market Beef & Beef Breeding - 10 years old
Teen Leadership - 13 years old
Ambassador - 14 years old
Colt to Maturity - 11 years old and have completed Horsemanship Levels 1, 2, and 3

Beef Weigh Ins
The minimum weight for 2024 Marias Fair is 1,100 pounds; max pay weight is 1,500 pounds. All steers
must have been born after January 1, 2023. 4-Her must be 10 as of Oct. 1 to show a market beef animal.
Information to bring to weigh-in:

Steer’s birth date
Breed of steer (including percentages of each breed)
Breeder’s name and address. 
Beef members, as you are purchasing steers, please be sure to get a Bill of Sale as this will be needed at
the fair. Unless the steer is from the 4-Her’s immediate family (father/mother), they need to have a Bill
of Sale indicating a Change of Ownership. A Bill of Sale IS needed if purchasing from cousins, uncles,
aunts, grandparents, neighbors, etc. They are also encouraged to have a Show Cattle Permit as well for
transportation purposes. If you have any questions on what is needed, please call Jeff Jergens, district
brand inspector, at 406-450-0001.

Beef Workshop
There will be a Beef Workshop focusing on Nutrition and Feed on December 15th, 2023 at 1pm at the
Northern Ag Research Center in Havre. Please register on Z-Suite to let us know if you are planning on
attending. We will have the Nutritionist from CHS presenting on feeding your beef and there will be a
tour of the research feedlot.
If you have any questions please email hill@montana.edu or call their office at 406-400-2333


Record Books: We Want Your Feedback!
The Montana Curriculum Advisory Team is seeking to make changes to our Montana 4-H record books,
and we want feedback from youth, volunteers, and families! Please complete this survey to tell us how
you use them, what you like, and what changes you’d like to see in the future.
Whether a 4-H member, 4-H alumni, 4-H parents and guardians, or fellow volunteers, everyone’s input
is encouraged! Thank you for your help in improving our record book system.
https://montana.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bmuj5V90ZtAygGq

DECEMBER
3rd- Christmas Tree fundraiser at the Christmas Stroll 1-6pm
5th- EV3 Robotics after school- 5pm @ Ambulance Barn
5th- Farm to Table St. Luke’s Lutheran Church 6-8pm
6th- Cloverbuds @ Elementary Cafeteria
7th- 3rd-5th Grade Robotics after school- 5pm @ Ambulance Barn
7th- Office will be closed at 3:15pm
10th- Kountry Kids Meeting & Christmas Party. Meet @ Albertsons 1pm
19th- EV3 Robotics after school- 5pm @ Ambulance Barn
20th- Cloverbuds @ Elementary Cafeteria
21st- 3rd-5th Grade Robotics after school- 5pm @ Ambulance Barn
25th- Christmas Day- Office Closed


JANUARY
1st- Office Closed
2nd- EV3 Robotics after school -5pm @
Ambulance Barn
3rd- Cloverbuds after school- 5pm @ Elementary
Cafeteria
4th- 8-11year old Robotics after school- 5pm @
Ambulance Barn
6th- Sewing with Ashely @ MRE 9-2pm
16th- EV3 Robotics after school -5pm @
Ambulance Barn
17th- Cloverbuds after school- 5pm @ Elementary
Cafeteria
18th- 8-11year old Robotics after school- 5pm @
Ambulance Barn