2023 Northeast District Livestock Show

The dates for the Northeast District Livestock Show in Delhi are February 1-4, 2023.

4-H Calendar

January

Jr. Leader meeting - 4

Ag Photo contest due - 6

4-H Night with Pelicans - 6

Ag Expo & Jr. Livestock Show - 13-14

Golden Clover/Emerald Achievement Awards due - 17

Cookery pre-registration - 19

Honor Cord deadline - 20

Cookery Contest - 23

4-H Entrepreneurship Pitch Contest deadline - 24

Recycled Art Contest due - 24-27

February

Northeast District Livestock Show, Delhi - 1-4

Jr. Leader meeting - 23

4-H Entrepreneurship Pitch Contest

Attention 4-H members grades 8-12! Register by January 24!! Ouachita 4-H has received mini grant funding through partnerships with the Mott Foundation & Louisiana Center for Afterschool Learning. Youth will have the opportunity to share business pitch ideas to local judges. This program will provide experiential learning opportunities for teens to learn about entrepreneurship & practice career readiness skill sets, such as problem-solving, financial management, & public speaking. The program also encourages creativity & creates a pipeline to assist our youth when participating in the 4-H University Tiger Tank Contest! (see Tiger Tank information included in newsletter)

• Youth will create a 3-5 minute business pitch
• Categories:
  • Up & Running Business Pitch – where youth have a current business & have made at least 1 sale
  • Ideation Business Petch - these are business ideas from youth that do not have a current business
• To register: email youth name, grade, school & parent phone number to tgarlington@agcenter.lsu.edu by January 24
  
• Prizes – 1^st place: $50 gift card; 2^nd place: $40 gift card; 3^rd place: $30 gift card
• A workshop opportunity will be provided for all registered youth prior to the contest – details & date TBA
• The contestants will be judged at the end of February – details & date TBA

4-H Photography Club Meeting

The January Photography Club meeting will be 4:00 – 5:30 p.m., Thursday, January 19 at Layton Castle, 1133 South Grand Street in Monroe. Parents are welcome to drop-off/pick-up youth. Questions: please contact our office at 323-2251.

Beef Poster Contest

The 2023 Beef Poster Contest Theme is “Beef: A Sustainable Choice”. Participants may compete in either the poster or digital competition!Details & rules will be available soon on our Facebook page, Ouachita 4-H. First place winning entries at the parish level will win $20. Winning entry or entries will be sent for state competition. Posters or digital entries are due to the Ouachita 4-H office by Friday, March 10, 2023. This contest is open to 4-H & FFA members in grades 4-12!

Divisions:

• Division I: 4th – 6th grades
• Division II: 7th – 9th grades
• Division III (Poster): 10th – 12th grades
• Division III (Digital): 4^th – 12^th grades

Awards: All monetary awards are sponsored by the Louisiana Beef Industry Council.

• First Place: State winning posters in each division will receive $200
• Second Place: State winning posters in each division will receive $100
• Third Place: State winning posters in each division will receive $50

Camp Grant Walker 4-H Summer Camp

Save the Dates! Summer Camp is for grades 4-6.The dates for Ouachita are July 3-6, 2023. Details will be available in our February & March newsletters.

Dairy Billboard Contest

Promote the dairy industry by drawing a billboard encouraging or promoting the consumption of milk and/or milk products & their importance for health. Co-sponsors are the Louisiana Dairy Industry Promotion Board & the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service.

Who Can Enter: Any bonafide 4‑H club member
Divisions: Division I ‑ 4th, 5th & 6th grades
Division II ‑ 7th & 8th grades
Division III ‑ 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th grades

For official rules & regulations, see https://www.lsuagcenter.com/profiles/rmiller/articles/page1672937742597.

• Posters must be on 22”x28” poster board & must not contain any copyright materials.
• Do not attach anything to the poster that is more than 1/2” thick.
• A 4-H club member can win first place in each division only once.
• Include name, address, grade, school, & parish on back upper right-hand corner.

Posters are due to the Ouachita 4-H office by Monday, April 10. Parish winners will be awarded cash prizes: 1^st place - $25; 2^nd place - $15; & 3^rd place - $10. First place parish winning poster will move to the state level. Winning posters at the state level will receive cash prizes! Winning posters become the property of the Extension Service & will be displayed at statewide events.

Don’t Forget to Recycle!

Begin by dropping recycling materials to the West Monroe Recycling Center. The Recycling Center is open on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information about recycling, visit https://www.cityofwestmonroe.com/216/Recycling & https://ouachitagreen.org/

Facebook

Be sure to follow us on our Facebook page, Ouachita 4-H. Our Shooting Sports Facebook page is Ouachita 4-H Shooting Sports.

February & March Are Demonstration Months!

A demonstration should consist of introduction, procedure, & summary. Don’t forget your visual aid. Most importantly, practice your demonstration! 4-H’ers may present demonstrations during their February & March club meetings. Click the following link “How to Demonstrate the 4-H Way”. Parish Contest: 1st Place winner will receive $30, 2nd Place winner $20, & 3rd Place winner $10.

Golden Clover/Emerald Achievement Awards

The Golden Clover & Emerald Achievement Awards reflect the years of 4-H club work, club offices held, project records completed, participation in workshops, clinics, & events, awards programs, leadership participation, etc. In an effort to incentivize local programming & recognition, both awards have been transitioned to parish awards. For application form & details, please contact Tara Garlington at 323-2251. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, January 17, 2023.

4-H Golden Clover Award

All items are optional, but a total of 250 points must be earned for award. Points are accumulated based on your total years of work in 4-H.

• Must be 14 years of age or under by January 1 of the club year application is made
• Must have at least two (2) years of 4-H club work, including award year
• Must score at least 250 points on the application & scorecard
• A club member may only win this award one time.

4-H Emerald Achievement Award

All items are optional, but a total of 360 points must be earned for award. Points are accumulated based on your total years of work in 4-H.

• Must be 15 years of age (or older) by January 1 of the year application is made.
• Must have three years of 4-H club work, including award year.
• Must have completed one year of active Junior Leadership work excluding award year.
• Must score at least 360 points on the application & scorecard.
• A club member may only win this award one time.

Honor Cord

In an effort to recognize graduating 4-H seniors, the Louisiana 4-H Foundation sponsors the 4-H Honor Cord awards. Please visit the following 4-H Honor Cord link to view the qualification information & to fill out the application by Friday, January 20, 2023: Senior Honor Cords

Jr. Leader Meeting

Our next Jr. Leader meeting will be held 4:00 – 5:00 p.m., Thursday, February 23 in the 4-H Office Auditorium. The Ouachita 4-H Jr. Leader Club is now open to grades 6-12

Junior Leadership Conference (JLC)

Save the Dates! JLC is open to 4-H members 14 & older. The dates are March 9-11, 2023. Details will be available in our February & March newsletters.

Mental Health Awareness

The 2022-2023 club programming focus is Mental Health Awareness.

Ouachita 4-H Cookery Contest

Pre-registration deadline is Friday, January 19, 2023.

To Pre-Register: contact the 4-H office via phone (318-323-2251) or email (ouachita@agcenter.lsu.edu) stating contestant’s name & dish category. The Ouachita 4-H Cookery Contest is scheduled for Monday, January 23, 2023, 5:00-7:30 p.m. in the 4-H auditorium.See Ouachita 4-H Cookery Contest for complete cookery rules & dish category rules.

Dish Categories: Rice Main Dish, Rice Any Other, Pecan, Sweet Potato, Egg, Chicken, Quick-N-Easy Ground Beef, Main Dish Beef, & Corn.

Recycled Art Contest

Contest entries are to be dropped off at the Ouachita 4-H Office from January 24-27, 2023. Our office is open 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Projects should be picked-up from the 4-H office by January 31. Please include a label with the following information: youth name, grade, school. The label may be placed anywhere on the project. First, second, & third place winners will be announced January 30. Participants do not have to be present to win. Prizes: 1^st place - $20; 2^nd place - $15; 3^rd place - $10. We can’t wait to see your creativity!

Scholarships for Seniors

Detailed scholarship information will be emailed to all senior families by January 12. Please be sure to check for the details.

Tiger Tank Contest

This contest will be available at our upcoming 4-H University in June! The Tiger Tank Entrepreneurship Contest Challenge offers 4-H members, grades 8-12, an opportunity to apply their strengths, talents, & abilities to design innovative business ventures. The goal of this upcoming contest is to inspire students to think outside the box & pursue their goals through experiential learning. More information about this 4-H University contest will be available at a later date.

Welcome to Ouachita 4-H!

We offer a Shooting Sports Club, Photography Club, Jr. Leader Club, Livestock opportunities, workshops, camps, contests, & more! Do you want to join 4-H? Four-H is a club for boys & girls ages 9 to 19. For detailed payment information & online enrollment instructions, please see our Facebook Page “Ouachita 4-H” or visit our website, Ouachita 4-H Online Enrollment

To enroll/re-enroll: https://v2.4honline.com/#/user/sign-in

The general 4-H enrollment fee for 2022-2023 is $7. Note: If a club is available at your school, follow the school club leader’s enrollment guidelines. If your school’s 4-H club enrollment is closed for the school year or if there isn’t a club at your school, you may still join 4-H as a Member-At-Large. Call the 4-H office at 323-2251 for details!!