SEWcial Club

The next SEWcial Club meeting will be on December 17^th at the Agriculture Building in Raceland (115 Texas Street). Members may be dropped off for 5:30 p.m. and picked up at 7:00 p.m. This is a member-only event. There are many fun-filled activities planned.

Junior Leader Times

It’s getting cold outside, and Christmas is almost here! For Jr. Leaders, the time is now to enjoy some holiday cheer! Our December meeting is on the 19th, and we hope to see you then! Wear your favorite “ugly” sweater and the contest you might win! We’ll have some of our old favorites, like the tasty hot cocoa bar. And we can’t wait for you to find out what all the new ones are! We will also help our CASA children by bringing a new, fun toy that will be donated to those in need to bring them Christmas joy. At the end of the night, we’ll have a gift exchange if you want to join in on the fun. We’ll gather in a circle and play a fun game to find out what present you’ve won! Bring a $15 present to participate, and you’ll go home with one, too. Try to pick something that would be sought by anyone in our fun crew! Our meeting will begin at 5:30 P.M. in the Ag Building that night. It will end at 7:30 P.M., so you will be going home in starlight. We’ll also review all the activities planned in the new year that will be forthcoming. If you have any questions, you can call the office at 985-446-1316. We can’t wait to see you in your Christmas attire with our whole Jr. Leader mix!

Broiler Pick Up!

Broilers will be picked up on January 2nd in Raceland at the Ag Building. Please make sure to bring a box to pick up your broilers. More information will be emailed to you prior to pick up.

January 4-H Contest Day Activities:

Junior Livestock Show

We are excited to bring our Lafourche Parish Jr. Livestock Show back to our newly renovated and updated facilities this year! The show is scheduled for January 18, 2025, at the Agriculture Building in Raceland. New This Year…We will have food trucks on the premises from various vendors in the area. All beef, dairy, sheep, goats and swine will show on this day. The show begins at 8:00 a.m. Good luck to all exhibitors!

Parish Rabbit Show

The parish rabbit show will be held on January 18, 2025, at the Agriculture Building in Raceland. Check in is from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. Judging will begin at 9:00 a.m. Please try to have your rabbits entered prior to the rabbit show. Registrations must be in by January 13^th.A broadcast email was sent to all 4-H’ers in 4-HOnline with the entry form and has been posted on our Facebook page. NOTE: All rabbits should be brought in a leak-proof cage. There will be a showmanship contest. Age divisions are 9-11 years old, 12-14 years old and 15 and up. Awards will be given. In an effort to stop the spread of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus and to prevent cases in our state, the Louisiana Department of Ag and Forestry requires health papers on all rabbits attending a show in Louisiana. This includes out of state and in state rabbits attending a show in Louisiana. Without current health papers, rabbits will not be allowed to enter the parish show. Before the show you can obtain a health paper from any vet. If you already have health papers from the regional rabbit show that was in November, you can use the same papers for our parish show. You must have this paper when checking in your rabbits. Anna Ozio from Lafourche Animal Hospital will be at the parish rabbit show to issue health papers prior to the show judging to distribute papers. You will need to fill out a vet form by January 10^th and email it to her at lafourcheanimalhospital@yahoo.com. The cost is $25.00 per health paper. If submitted after this date, a late fee of $50 will be charged.

Ground Beef, Rice & Sweet Potato Cookery

The Ground Beef, Rice & Sweet Potato Cookery will be held on Saturday, January 18, 2024, at the Ag. Building in Raceland. Registration is from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

***New Safety Rules for Ground Beef, Rice & Sweet Potato Cookery***

Food Safety – Food safety is an important consideration. The risk of food-borne illness is greatly increased when foods are held at room temperature for extended periods. Therefore, the dish should be prepared and chilled to refrigerator temperature and transported on ice in an ice chest to the contest. Dishes intended to be served hot will be warmed before the tasting. Thank you for adhering to these food safety guidelines.

Rules for the contest are:

1. A copy of the recipe must be submitted with the dish on an index card.
2. Print name, grade, and school on the back of your recipe card.
3. Please do not send the entire dish, only a couple of servings for the judging.

Only one dish per commodity is allowed. Prepare your dish/dishes at home and bring it to the contest for judging. Note: The food should be exhibited in a container not to exceed 18” to allow adequate space for all entries. No serving utensils are needed. A microwave is used to heat all food for judging. Awards will be presented at noon or shortly afterwards. All dishes receive ribbons and champions will receive other prizes, as well. Dishes will not be released until after the awards program.

Ground Beef Cookery (Only one ground beef dish can be entered.)

The dish must contain at least one pound of ground beef. The Ground Beef categories are as follows:

Low Calorie Main Dish - A dish that provides less than 300 calories per serving. Can also be found on labels. Calculation of calories needs to be stated on the recipe.

Quick & Easy Main Dish - A dish that is ready to serve in less than one hour. The time for each step and for cooking or baking should be stated on the recipe.

One-Dish Meal - A dish that provides foods from at least three of the main food groups. Foods and food groups should be stated on the recipe.

Rice Cookery Contest (Only one rice dish can be entered.)

The dishes must contain at least 1 cup of cooked rice. The categories are as follows Rice Main Dish, Rice Side Dish, and Rice Dessert. Wild rice is not a cultivated rice in Louisiana and does not meet the requirement of 1 cup rice for this contest. Dishes containing rice products such as rice cereal, rice flour, etc. must also contain cooked rice. “Rice Crispy” cereal cannot be used as rice for this cookery.

Sweet Potato Cookery (Only one sweet potato dish can be entered.)

The sweet potato dish must contain a minimum of 1 cup fresh, frozen, or canned sweet potatoes. The categories are as follows: Dessert or Other Sweet Potato Dish.

Beef Illustrated Talk

Contest will be held on January 18^th at the Ag. Building starting at 10:00 a.m. The three divisions are:

Division I – (Grades 4-5) Contestant can design (a) poster(s) 22” x 28” relating to Beef or a PowerPoint presentation (b) presents a 3–5-minute maximum explanation of posters or PowerPoint presentation and (c) responds to questions from judges.

Division II – (Grades 6-8) Contestant will present a 5-7-minute maximum oral presentation on Beef relating to one of the five categories (1) production, (2) food preparation and nutritive value, (3) food safety, (4) processing, or (5) marketing. Posters or PowerPoint slides may be used. Costumes based on theme are acceptable.

Division III – (Grades 9-12) Contestant will present an 7-9-minute maximum oral presentation on beef. It can be a specific idea or an overview. Examples include Nutritional Value, Economic Value, Cooking Principles, Versatility, Food Safety, Role in Today’s Healthy Diet, Beef’s place in Agriculture and Natural Resources, Role in our National Economy, or Role in Protecting the Environment. Posters or PowerPoint presentations may be used. No audio is allowed on any PowerPoint presentations. Costumes based on theme are acceptable. There will also be an interview from the judge.

Judging Contests

4-H members from each school can participate in these Pre-Achievement Day Contests on January 18^th at the Ag Building in Raceland beginning at 9:00 a.m.:

Poultry Judging - 4-H’ers will judge by comparison pullets for egg production, class of dressed broilers, class of exterior eggs, interior eggs, and broken out eggs.

Dairy Cattle Judging - 4-H’ers will judge classes of dairy heifers and dairy cows. A class will consist of four animals, and 4-H’ers will place them 1st through 4th.

General Livestock Judging - 4-H’ers will judge classes of beef animals, pigs, and sheep. A class will consist of four animals, and 4-H’ers will place them 1st - 4th.

Meat Identification

This contest is open to all 4-H members in Elementary (4-5 grades), Middle School Division (6-8 grades), and Senior Division (9-12 grades).

For Elementary Division, contestants will identify 20-25 cuts of meat according to the following guidelines: *Species - 4 points each - Beef, Pork and Lamb

For Middle School Division, contestants will have to identify 20-25 cuts of meat according to the following guidelines:

*By Species—Beef, Pork, and Lamb, 3 points each

*By Type—Roasts, Steaks, Chops, Slice, 1 point each

For Senior Division, contestants will identify 20-25 cuts of meat according to the following guidelines:

*Species - 3 points - Beef, Pork, Lamb

*Retail Name - 3 points – T-bone, Bacon, Brisket, etc.

*Type – 1 point – Roasts, Steaks, Chops, Slice

*By Cookery—Dry, Moist, Dry Moist, 1 point each

Study information is online at www.lsuagcenter.com under parishes, Lafourche, 4-H.