Today, on St. Patrick's Day, we will see a lot of people wearing shamrocks (trefoil clovers) and other green accessories to be fashionable. At Louisiana 4-H we know it is not only fashionable but honorable to wear green and the 4-H clover all year round.

But before you print up a club t-shirt or put the 4-H clover on your cookery contest poster, make sure you know the rules to respecting the 4-H Name and Emblem.

The Basics (from 4-H Name and Emblem User Guide for non-Extension Entities)

The official 4-H Emblem is a four-leaf clover with the letter "H" in each leaf and the stem turned to the right. The official color for graphic designers is 100% PMS 347 green but the clover can be green, white, black, or metallic gold.

• Use the whole Emblem.
• Do not remove any leaves.
• Do not place text or other images over or on top of the 4-H Emblem.
• Keep it upright.
• Maintain proportions and do not distort.

For more information on using the 4-H Name and Emblem visit the official website.

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Did You Know? The 4-H Name and Emblem is a highly valued mark within our country's history. As such, it was granted a very unique and special status; it is in a category similar to the Presidential Seal and the Olympic Emblem. This federal protection makes it a mark into and of itself with protection that supercedes the limited authorities of both a trademark and a copyright. As a result, responsibility and stewardship for the 4-H Name and Emblem were not given to the U.S. Patent Office but were given to a higher level of the federal government - a member of the Cabinet, the Secretary of Agriculture.