2017 Newsletters
Dear 4-Hers & families, July 2017
Its about time for another fair!!! We, as leaders and advisory board members, have enjoyed working with each one of you. We hope you have learned a lot this year and have enjoyed working with your calf. Our last meeting for this year will be on Tuesday, July 18 at 7:00 PM in the dairy feeder calf barn at the fairgrounds. We will be putting the final touches on both our barn and concession stand to have them ready for the fair. You may want to bring your shovels and/or rakes. The base of sawdust will already be in your stalls and stall cards and the stall dividers will be up.
As always, if you or another member you know is not bringing their calf for any reason, and have not notified us yet, please give Brandi Kitson (354-0156) a call immediately so we can make the necessary adjustments in the stalling arrangements.
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING AND EVERYONE MUST ATTEND. Following are a few important reminders:
1. We will have a table set up for you to pick up your fair packet on work night. This packet will contain: fair badges, parent passes, parking hangers, exhibitor numbers (to be worn during the show), an outline of important dates and times during the fair, and the time you signed up to work in the concession stand. If you are in a local club or certain livestock clubs, you will receive your passes through them. Please ask if you have questions regarding passes. It is your responsibility to see that your packet gets picked up! Before your packet will be handed out, you need to turn in the following: care contract form, liability disclaimer, record/growth summary sheet, & your essay (if you did not participate in one of the service projects). You will also need to be signed up to work in the concession stand.
2. You will need to turn in your record/growth summary sheet. Use a weigh tape, if you have one, to get your calf's final weight and use $0.50 per pound to figure the support price. Record sheets are available on the website.
3. Every member needs to turn in a signed Care Contract Form and the Liability Disclaimer. You need to print these items off the website. There will be none available at the work night.
4. CONCESSION STAND: A big thank you to all that have already signed up. Be sure to double check the schedule to see when you are supposed to work!! If you haven’t signed up, PLEASE do so.
5. If you are in multiple clubs, the extension office needs to know what club you want to receive your completion pin in. We will be collecting this information from you at the work night.
6. New members, be sure to pick up your club t-shirt. This is what you will wear to show your calf and wear at the auction. If you are a returning member and are in need of a new shirt because yours is too small or you lost it, we will have a very limited number of extras for purchase. They are $10 each.
7. During the fair, stalls and dividers must be kept clean at all times. Stalls and dividers will be checked daily by leaders or advisory board members. There is not a set time for stall check; you’ll just have to keep it clean all the time. It is important to keep these clean because there are hundreds of people walking through the barn every day. You will be asked to clean up your stall area if the leaders or board members see that it needs to be cleaned. Ten Herdsmanship Awards are given away at the Achievement Banquet in August, and much of it is based on your stall area at the fair.
8. Please try to share wheel barrows, shovels and forks with other families so the aisles don't get so crowded during the fair. Please be sure that all personal items can be folded & stored away conveniently and can be easily moved in case of emergency.
9. You are not required to get health papers for your calves. However, the Dairy Feeder Calf Advisory Board will be screening calves as they come into the barns. It is still important that your calves are healthy. There should be no signs of ringworm. Also, calves should be completely healed from being castrated and dehorned.
10. Calves can start arriving at the fairgrounds on Friday, July 21. They must all be stalled by Saturday morning (July 22) by weigh in. All calves MUST be weighed. Weigh in is from 7am-11am, SATURDAY, JULY 22. Our show will be held on Tuesday, July 25 at 3:00 PM, or 30 minutes after the Dairy show.
11. The basketball court between the barns is for both Dairy and Dairy Feeder Calf club members--big and small, young and old.
12. We will be cleaning out the DFC barn after calves are loaded out after the auction on Friday. We need all the help we can get. There will be more information to follow.
13. Look for more information on our awards banquet.
14. Before you leave the work night, be sure you have:
A) turned in your record summary sheet
B) signed and turned in a Liability Disclaimer AND a Care Contract
C) picked up your packet from leaders - every family gets one
E) new members picked up your club T-shirt
Again if you have questions, give one of your leaders a phone call. Ken, 535-3018; Tim 226-6606; Erica, 361.9051; Lydell, 536-4657; Dale, 528-0696; Brandi 354-0156; Jodi 536-0141. See you on the 18th, and remember to have fun at the fair. ***Your Leaders
Hi Everyone! May
Well as you all know, our weigh in and tagging is this Saturday, May 6th from 7:30am-10:30am. All calves need to be brought in to the fair during this time. This is a very busy day on the fairgrounds. Lots of things happening. It is important that you follow all posted signs from the Extension Office. They ask that all Dairy Feeder Calves are brought in through Gate 3. Once you have gone through each station of weigh in, you will exit through Gate 1. Please see the attached map.
Weigh In Stations:
#1 Tags & RFID tags & Screeners
#2 Dues & Vet Payments & Auction Numbers & Work Day & Feeder Cafe' Sigh-Up
#3 Scales & RFID Scanning
#4 Vet
Every calf will receive a yellow ear tag. Every calf that does not already have a RFID tag will receive one for a charge. Every calf will receive nasalgen to help protect from respiratory disease. Every calf will be screened to determine if it is a crossbred calf. This will be done by three individuals not connected to our club. The screeners decision is final.
If you have not paid your dues yet, dues are $13/member. If you have not paid dues and will be using the vet services for your calves, please come prepared to write two separate checks. Dues must be paid before you can draw an auction number.
Each family needs to draw an auction number. Anybody that does not draw a number on Saturday, will be put towards the bottom of the auction order list. Please remember to draw yours!
Make sure you stop and sign up for one of the work days scheduled in June.
1. June 3, from 8:30-11am at the fairgrounds
2. June 10, from 8:30-11am at Loveway in Bristol.
By participating in one of these work days, you will not have to write an essay. We will also have the concession stand sign up sheets available.
Each calf will be taken across the scales. This is simply to give you an idea what your calf weighs. We will be scanning the RFID tags while the calf is on the scale.
Finally, if you need any vet services done on your calf, you'll head towards the vet chutes. They will be on hand to dehorn, castrate, vaccinate, deworm and implant.
We ask that everyone be patient. We understand that everyone is busy. We will get through each calf as quick as possible.
Please remember to register your calves on the 4H Online program. The Extension Office will be open during 7:00 AM – Noon on Saturday, May 6, 2017 to assist you with Animal ID on the 4Honline system. (Please note that this has to be completed by May 15, if you are going to show at the county and or state fair.) Attached are the instructions on how to do this.
Thank You & see you Saturday!
Dear Dairy Feeder Calf Club Members, April 2017
Our next meeting will be this Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 7:00pm in the ECCC Building, with registration beginning at 6:45pm. Please note, we will be in the Martin Room. This is located at the west end of the ECCC Building. Our speaker for the meeting will be Sarah Stump. You won’t want to miss it!! We will also be talking about important information regarding our May weigh-in. If you have not paid your dues yet, they are $12.00/member.
Do you have your calf yet? If you are having trouble locating a calf, you can give any of the leaders a call. They would be glad to help.
We would like to give a big THANK YOU to all the members that sold geraniums this year!! If you sold geraniums, don’t forget that they arrive at the fairgrounds on Wednesday, April 26. All geraniums must be picked up next to the big commercial building on April 26 from 3pm-6pm.
At our March meeting, we voted for our queen candidate. Hope Cripe will be representing us in this year’s queen contest at the fair. Congratulations Hope and good luck!!
Essay Question & Community Service Project:
For you to complete your project, you must complete either an essay or a community service project. If you are unable to attend a service project or you choose not to participate in one, you must complete an essay question.
This year’s essay topic is: Discuss the proper feeding, living conditions and medical care for raising your dairy feeder calf. Length requirements are listed on the website.
This year’s community service projects will be on June 3rd, 8:30-11:00 at the fairgrounds and the second one will be June 10th, 8:30-11:00 at Loveway. You only need to choose one to work at to get credit.
**IMPORTANT**
Our calf May weigh-in date is Saturday, May 6, 2017 from 7am-10:30am at the fairgrounds by the dairy feeder calf barn. Because there are many activities going on at the fairgrounds that day, please follow any posted directions that they may have regarding traffic flow. All DFC club members are required to bring their calves on this date to be weighed and ear tagged. There is no minimum or maximum weight for calves at weigh-in. Each member can only tag two calves for the county fair. If you calf does not already have an RFID tag, it will receive one. It is mandatory, and will cost $5.00 to receive one. We will be drawing auction numbers as well. Don’t forget to draw yours. More information about the weigh-in will be discussed at the meeting.
There will be three screeners at the weigh-in looking for crossbred calves. If they decide your calf is a crossbred animal, you will need to talk with Ken Metzler. The screeners decision is final. If this is the only calf you have, you will be allowed to bring it to the fair and show it in the crossbred class. You will still be able to sell this calf in the auction.
Once again, Milford Animal Clinic will be available at weigh-in to give your calves their vaccination shot, dehorning, and castration. Costs of these services: dehorn $10, castrate $10, vaccinate $5, deworm $5, implanting $2.50. Because dehorning, castration, vaccinations and moving calves to and from weigh-in each puts stress on calves, we suggest not doing these all at weigh-in, especially if your calf has been sick. Calves need to be castrated and dehorned early enough for them to be completely healed by fair week. It’s good to get this done before the flies get bad. If you are planning to have these services done, please come prepared to pay. If you have not paid your dues, please come prepared to pay twice!!
Anyone planning on showing at the State Fair, six calves may be tagged total. You may show the same calf at the county and state fairs. If you do this, you are not allowed to sell that calf at the county fair.
**Everyone will need a Premise ID number. You can register for one online at http://www.in.gov/boah/2700.htm. If you have any questions about premise ID, go to http://www.in.gov/boah/files/4H_FAQs_3-2015.pdf.
**Remember to register your calves by May 15, 2017 on 4HOnline. For your animal to be eligible to show at the county fair and/or the state fair, your animal needs to be identified into the 4HOnline database. This is the same database that you used to sign up for 4H.
See you on Thursday!
-Your DFC Leaders
Dear DFC Families, March 2017
Hello!! Our next meeting is this Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 7:00pm, with registration at 6:45pm. We are doing something completely new this month. We are having our meeting at Fairfield High School!! We will be touring their new Ag Science Hall. You will need to enter at the main entrance. We will either have signs or students directing you where you need to go.
Along with our tour, we need to vote on our fair queen representative at this meeting. LADIES…..if you are interested and are 16 years old or older, please come to the meeting. If you are unable to attend, simply email us, contact a leader or fellow member and let us know you would like to have your name placed on the ballot.
If you have yet to pay your dues, you can still take care of this on Thursday. Dues have increased by $1.00 and are now $11.00/member. Please come prepared to take care of this. You will not be able to draw your auction number at the May Weigh In until your dues are paid! Dues will continue to increase by $1.00 until they are paid for. You can pay by check, please make it payable to Dairy Feeder Calf Club.
Now is a good time to get your calves if you don’t already have them. If you are having some difficulty locating calves, you can give any of the leaders a call. They will be glad to help you if they can. We want to stress that a good weight at our May weigh in should be between 135-150lbs. Minimum weight at fair is 250 lbs. If you have any questions on this, please don’t be afraid to call one of the leaders or advisory boards members.
Have you sold any geraniums?!? Remember, orders and money are due NO LATER than April 1st. Send orders and money to Jodi Evans, PO Box 416, Bristol, IN 46507. Please have these turned in on time, it saves Jodi a lot of headaches. There are order forms posted on the DFC website. EVERY 4-Her listed on a stall request form must sell one flat (18 flowers) or donate $10.00 to the club. Do you need an incentive to sell geraniums? The top three sellers will be rewarded with choice of auction order, 1st choice of stalling or 2nd choice of stalling. Geraniums can be picked up on Wednesday, April 26 from 3:00pm-6:00pm at the fairgrounds. Go out and sell!!!
Just a quick reminder, stall request forms will not be accepted until the June meeting. At that time, all money or proof of geranium sales and all signatures must accompany your request form. No exceptions!
Essay question & Community Service Projects:
**We are still working on our dates for the service projects. It looks like we will be having them early in June. We are planning on working at the fairgrounds and Loveway again this year. Look for more information in your April newsletter.
**ESSAY** If you are unable to attend a service project or you choose not to participate in one, you must complete the essay question to complete your project. Remember, you only need to complete one to receive credit. Check out the website for length requirements.
This year’s essay topic is: Discuss the proper feeding, living conditions and medical care for raising your dairy feeder calf.
Our May weigh in date is Saturday, May 6th from 7:30am to 11:00am in the feeder calf barn at the fairgrounds. EVERY calf must be brought in to be weighed and ear tagged. Calves are required to have an RFID tag. Information on why you need to have a RFID tag before your animal leaves the farm where it was born can be found at www.in.gov/boah/2645.htm. If your calf does not have a RFID tag before weigh in, it will receive one for a fee. Make sure you have your premise ID number as well. If you have questions on RFID tags and premise ID numbers, please ask. As in past years, if needed, a veterinarian will be on hand to dehorn, castrate, vaccinate, deworm and implant. Please come prepared to pay for these services if used. Also, we will be drawing auction numbers. Don’t forget to draw yours!
How many of you would like to receive important updates and information for the dairy feeder calf club via text messages? Well, you can!! Here is the link to get signed up: www.remind.com/join/dfcc17. Or you can text @dfcc17 to the number 81010.
Remember to check out our website regularly. www.dairyfeedercalfclub.com
Looking ahead….MARK your calendars:
-Your DFC Leaders
Dear DFC Families, February 2017
Hello! Our second meeting is this Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 7:00pm in the Home and Family Arts Building at the fairgrounds. We will start registration at 6:45pm. We will be discussing nutrition and vaccinations. If you have not paid your club dues yet, please come prepared to take care of this. Dues are $10/member. It goes up $1.00 at the March meeting. If you wish to pay by check, please make it payable to: Dairy Feeder Calf Club.
Have you thought about selling geraniums yet? This is an excellent fundraiser for the club and the 4-H program. For each plant, we sell, our club will receive $0.25 back as a sales reward. Geraniums will be selling for $1.25 per plant again this year. They will be available in red, white and pink colors. Orders and money are due NO LATER than April 1st to Jodi Evans. Pickup of geraniums is on April 26th at the fairgrounds. Mail all orders and money to: Jodi Evans, PO Box 416, Bristol, IN 46507.
For those of you that were at our January meeting, you are aware that we have changed our fair weigh in date to the first Saturday of the fair. In the past, we have held our fair weigh in on the Monday morning before our show. We, as an advisory board, believed it was import to move the fair weigh in to this earlier time. This will give us more time to enter weights, divide classes up and to properly put together our show program. We understand that there are some members that are involved in other shows during this time. You can ask another 4Her to weigh your calf in, or we will help you get through the line in a timely fashion.
Another change for this year, we will be implementing a points system to our club to help keep track of club member’s involvement. This may also help with awarding Achievement Awards and Overall Achievement Award winners at the end of the fair season. If at any time, you have questions regarding point distribution, please email the club or contact a leader. We as leaders and advisory board members believe that this will help promote learning and the overall experience of the 4-H members as well as help the club. There will be incentives/awards for reaching 90+ points. Also, at the discretion and decision of all the leaders and board members, points may be altered or added if the occasion arises. All situations of point additions or alterations will apply to all 4-H members. For us to keep track of points, we need you to sign in at each meeting by signing your name on the sign in sheets. You will also be required to sign in and sign out at workdays, barn clean up, Calf-A shifts, etc.
Point Levels:
Club Officers were elected at our January meeting. Your 2017 Club officers are: Erica Stutsman, Caroline Mullet, Keaton Kitson and Emerson Mast. Congratulations guys!!
Important Dates:
See you on Thursday!!
Your Leaders
January 2017
Dear 4-Her’s and DFC Families,
Welcome to another fun and exciting year of 4-H!! Our first meeting is just around the corner on January 19, 2017 at 7:00pm. We will be meeting in the ECCC Building at the fairgrounds. Registration starts at 6:45pm. Watch your local television stations for cancellation if the weather is bad. Also, check your email or the website.
The program for the evening will consist of basic club information, changes made from 2016, and what to look for when you are buying your calf. Also, planned for the evening is electing club officers. We will be electing our president, vice president, secretary, and treasure. If you are interested or know someone that is interested in being an officer, please come to the meeting and get your name on the ballot. Please contact a leader if for some reason, you are unable to make it to the meeting, but would like to be added to the ballot.
**Important** The 2017 Elkhart County online enrollment is due January 15, 2017!! If you have not enrolled for this year yet, please do so immediately! You can access a link to the website by visiting www.elkhartcounty4h.org. A $15 non-refundable State Program Fee per child is due at the time of enrollment with a maximum of $45 per family for three or more children. Enrollment is not complete until all required sections have been completed. Please call the Purdue Extension Office (574-533-0554) if you have any questions.
Club dues are $10 per 4-Her if paid at the January or February meetings. Dues go up by $1 each month after February. $11 if paid in March. $12 if paid in April. $13 if paid in May. $14 if paid in June. $15 if paid in July. You will not be able to draw your auction order number at the May weigh in until your dues are paid. If you do not draw a number at the May weigh in, you are automatically put at the end of the auction order.
Adult 4-H Leaders:
Organizational Leader: Ken Metzler
Assistant Leaders: Lydell Troyer, Tim Stutsman, Dale Miller, Jodi Evans, Brandi Kitson, Brad Morehouse,
Erica Brenneman
Project Leader: Bridget Christner
Advisory Board Members:
President: Lonnie Bontrager
Vice President: Matt Hilty
Recording Secretary: Jon Rassie
Members: Brenda Gawthrop, Steve Miller, Galen Mast, Joe Caffee, Jason Dunlap, Stacey Hostetler
We will be using the club website to post important information throughout the year. It will serve as a good tool to look up club information.
Website: www.dairyfeedercalfclub.com Email Address: [email protected]
If you receive this newsletter and you are not going to participate in the DFC club this year, PLEASE let us know. Thank You and we hope to see everyone on the 19th!
Thanks,
Your Leaders
Its about time for another fair!!! We, as leaders and advisory board members, have enjoyed working with each one of you. We hope you have learned a lot this year and have enjoyed working with your calf. Our last meeting for this year will be on Tuesday, July 18 at 7:00 PM in the dairy feeder calf barn at the fairgrounds. We will be putting the final touches on both our barn and concession stand to have them ready for the fair. You may want to bring your shovels and/or rakes. The base of sawdust will already be in your stalls and stall cards and the stall dividers will be up.
As always, if you or another member you know is not bringing their calf for any reason, and have not notified us yet, please give Brandi Kitson (354-0156) a call immediately so we can make the necessary adjustments in the stalling arrangements.
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING AND EVERYONE MUST ATTEND. Following are a few important reminders:
1. We will have a table set up for you to pick up your fair packet on work night. This packet will contain: fair badges, parent passes, parking hangers, exhibitor numbers (to be worn during the show), an outline of important dates and times during the fair, and the time you signed up to work in the concession stand. If you are in a local club or certain livestock clubs, you will receive your passes through them. Please ask if you have questions regarding passes. It is your responsibility to see that your packet gets picked up! Before your packet will be handed out, you need to turn in the following: care contract form, liability disclaimer, record/growth summary sheet, & your essay (if you did not participate in one of the service projects). You will also need to be signed up to work in the concession stand.
2. You will need to turn in your record/growth summary sheet. Use a weigh tape, if you have one, to get your calf's final weight and use $0.50 per pound to figure the support price. Record sheets are available on the website.
3. Every member needs to turn in a signed Care Contract Form and the Liability Disclaimer. You need to print these items off the website. There will be none available at the work night.
4. CONCESSION STAND: A big thank you to all that have already signed up. Be sure to double check the schedule to see when you are supposed to work!! If you haven’t signed up, PLEASE do so.
5. If you are in multiple clubs, the extension office needs to know what club you want to receive your completion pin in. We will be collecting this information from you at the work night.
6. New members, be sure to pick up your club t-shirt. This is what you will wear to show your calf and wear at the auction. If you are a returning member and are in need of a new shirt because yours is too small or you lost it, we will have a very limited number of extras for purchase. They are $10 each.
7. During the fair, stalls and dividers must be kept clean at all times. Stalls and dividers will be checked daily by leaders or advisory board members. There is not a set time for stall check; you’ll just have to keep it clean all the time. It is important to keep these clean because there are hundreds of people walking through the barn every day. You will be asked to clean up your stall area if the leaders or board members see that it needs to be cleaned. Ten Herdsmanship Awards are given away at the Achievement Banquet in August, and much of it is based on your stall area at the fair.
8. Please try to share wheel barrows, shovels and forks with other families so the aisles don't get so crowded during the fair. Please be sure that all personal items can be folded & stored away conveniently and can be easily moved in case of emergency.
9. You are not required to get health papers for your calves. However, the Dairy Feeder Calf Advisory Board will be screening calves as they come into the barns. It is still important that your calves are healthy. There should be no signs of ringworm. Also, calves should be completely healed from being castrated and dehorned.
10. Calves can start arriving at the fairgrounds on Friday, July 21. They must all be stalled by Saturday morning (July 22) by weigh in. All calves MUST be weighed. Weigh in is from 7am-11am, SATURDAY, JULY 22. Our show will be held on Tuesday, July 25 at 3:00 PM, or 30 minutes after the Dairy show.
11. The basketball court between the barns is for both Dairy and Dairy Feeder Calf club members--big and small, young and old.
12. We will be cleaning out the DFC barn after calves are loaded out after the auction on Friday. We need all the help we can get. There will be more information to follow.
13. Look for more information on our awards banquet.
14. Before you leave the work night, be sure you have:
A) turned in your record summary sheet
B) signed and turned in a Liability Disclaimer AND a Care Contract
C) picked up your packet from leaders - every family gets one
E) new members picked up your club T-shirt
Again if you have questions, give one of your leaders a phone call. Ken, 535-3018; Tim 226-6606; Erica, 361.9051; Lydell, 536-4657; Dale, 528-0696; Brandi 354-0156; Jodi 536-0141. See you on the 18th, and remember to have fun at the fair. ***Your Leaders
Hi Everyone! May
Well as you all know, our weigh in and tagging is this Saturday, May 6th from 7:30am-10:30am. All calves need to be brought in to the fair during this time. This is a very busy day on the fairgrounds. Lots of things happening. It is important that you follow all posted signs from the Extension Office. They ask that all Dairy Feeder Calves are brought in through Gate 3. Once you have gone through each station of weigh in, you will exit through Gate 1. Please see the attached map.
Weigh In Stations:
#1 Tags & RFID tags & Screeners
#2 Dues & Vet Payments & Auction Numbers & Work Day & Feeder Cafe' Sigh-Up
#3 Scales & RFID Scanning
#4 Vet
Every calf will receive a yellow ear tag. Every calf that does not already have a RFID tag will receive one for a charge. Every calf will receive nasalgen to help protect from respiratory disease. Every calf will be screened to determine if it is a crossbred calf. This will be done by three individuals not connected to our club. The screeners decision is final.
If you have not paid your dues yet, dues are $13/member. If you have not paid dues and will be using the vet services for your calves, please come prepared to write two separate checks. Dues must be paid before you can draw an auction number.
Each family needs to draw an auction number. Anybody that does not draw a number on Saturday, will be put towards the bottom of the auction order list. Please remember to draw yours!
Make sure you stop and sign up for one of the work days scheduled in June.
1. June 3, from 8:30-11am at the fairgrounds
2. June 10, from 8:30-11am at Loveway in Bristol.
By participating in one of these work days, you will not have to write an essay. We will also have the concession stand sign up sheets available.
Each calf will be taken across the scales. This is simply to give you an idea what your calf weighs. We will be scanning the RFID tags while the calf is on the scale.
Finally, if you need any vet services done on your calf, you'll head towards the vet chutes. They will be on hand to dehorn, castrate, vaccinate, deworm and implant.
We ask that everyone be patient. We understand that everyone is busy. We will get through each calf as quick as possible.
Please remember to register your calves on the 4H Online program. The Extension Office will be open during 7:00 AM – Noon on Saturday, May 6, 2017 to assist you with Animal ID on the 4Honline system. (Please note that this has to be completed by May 15, if you are going to show at the county and or state fair.) Attached are the instructions on how to do this.
Thank You & see you Saturday!
Dear Dairy Feeder Calf Club Members, April 2017
Our next meeting will be this Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 7:00pm in the ECCC Building, with registration beginning at 6:45pm. Please note, we will be in the Martin Room. This is located at the west end of the ECCC Building. Our speaker for the meeting will be Sarah Stump. You won’t want to miss it!! We will also be talking about important information regarding our May weigh-in. If you have not paid your dues yet, they are $12.00/member.
Do you have your calf yet? If you are having trouble locating a calf, you can give any of the leaders a call. They would be glad to help.
We would like to give a big THANK YOU to all the members that sold geraniums this year!! If you sold geraniums, don’t forget that they arrive at the fairgrounds on Wednesday, April 26. All geraniums must be picked up next to the big commercial building on April 26 from 3pm-6pm.
At our March meeting, we voted for our queen candidate. Hope Cripe will be representing us in this year’s queen contest at the fair. Congratulations Hope and good luck!!
Essay Question & Community Service Project:
For you to complete your project, you must complete either an essay or a community service project. If you are unable to attend a service project or you choose not to participate in one, you must complete an essay question.
This year’s essay topic is: Discuss the proper feeding, living conditions and medical care for raising your dairy feeder calf. Length requirements are listed on the website.
This year’s community service projects will be on June 3rd, 8:30-11:00 at the fairgrounds and the second one will be June 10th, 8:30-11:00 at Loveway. You only need to choose one to work at to get credit.
**IMPORTANT**
Our calf May weigh-in date is Saturday, May 6, 2017 from 7am-10:30am at the fairgrounds by the dairy feeder calf barn. Because there are many activities going on at the fairgrounds that day, please follow any posted directions that they may have regarding traffic flow. All DFC club members are required to bring their calves on this date to be weighed and ear tagged. There is no minimum or maximum weight for calves at weigh-in. Each member can only tag two calves for the county fair. If you calf does not already have an RFID tag, it will receive one. It is mandatory, and will cost $5.00 to receive one. We will be drawing auction numbers as well. Don’t forget to draw yours. More information about the weigh-in will be discussed at the meeting.
There will be three screeners at the weigh-in looking for crossbred calves. If they decide your calf is a crossbred animal, you will need to talk with Ken Metzler. The screeners decision is final. If this is the only calf you have, you will be allowed to bring it to the fair and show it in the crossbred class. You will still be able to sell this calf in the auction.
Once again, Milford Animal Clinic will be available at weigh-in to give your calves their vaccination shot, dehorning, and castration. Costs of these services: dehorn $10, castrate $10, vaccinate $5, deworm $5, implanting $2.50. Because dehorning, castration, vaccinations and moving calves to and from weigh-in each puts stress on calves, we suggest not doing these all at weigh-in, especially if your calf has been sick. Calves need to be castrated and dehorned early enough for them to be completely healed by fair week. It’s good to get this done before the flies get bad. If you are planning to have these services done, please come prepared to pay. If you have not paid your dues, please come prepared to pay twice!!
Anyone planning on showing at the State Fair, six calves may be tagged total. You may show the same calf at the county and state fairs. If you do this, you are not allowed to sell that calf at the county fair.
**Everyone will need a Premise ID number. You can register for one online at http://www.in.gov/boah/2700.htm. If you have any questions about premise ID, go to http://www.in.gov/boah/files/4H_FAQs_3-2015.pdf.
**Remember to register your calves by May 15, 2017 on 4HOnline. For your animal to be eligible to show at the county fair and/or the state fair, your animal needs to be identified into the 4HOnline database. This is the same database that you used to sign up for 4H.
See you on Thursday!
-Your DFC Leaders
Dear DFC Families, March 2017
Hello!! Our next meeting is this Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 7:00pm, with registration at 6:45pm. We are doing something completely new this month. We are having our meeting at Fairfield High School!! We will be touring their new Ag Science Hall. You will need to enter at the main entrance. We will either have signs or students directing you where you need to go.
Along with our tour, we need to vote on our fair queen representative at this meeting. LADIES…..if you are interested and are 16 years old or older, please come to the meeting. If you are unable to attend, simply email us, contact a leader or fellow member and let us know you would like to have your name placed on the ballot.
If you have yet to pay your dues, you can still take care of this on Thursday. Dues have increased by $1.00 and are now $11.00/member. Please come prepared to take care of this. You will not be able to draw your auction number at the May Weigh In until your dues are paid! Dues will continue to increase by $1.00 until they are paid for. You can pay by check, please make it payable to Dairy Feeder Calf Club.
Now is a good time to get your calves if you don’t already have them. If you are having some difficulty locating calves, you can give any of the leaders a call. They will be glad to help you if they can. We want to stress that a good weight at our May weigh in should be between 135-150lbs. Minimum weight at fair is 250 lbs. If you have any questions on this, please don’t be afraid to call one of the leaders or advisory boards members.
Have you sold any geraniums?!? Remember, orders and money are due NO LATER than April 1st. Send orders and money to Jodi Evans, PO Box 416, Bristol, IN 46507. Please have these turned in on time, it saves Jodi a lot of headaches. There are order forms posted on the DFC website. EVERY 4-Her listed on a stall request form must sell one flat (18 flowers) or donate $10.00 to the club. Do you need an incentive to sell geraniums? The top three sellers will be rewarded with choice of auction order, 1st choice of stalling or 2nd choice of stalling. Geraniums can be picked up on Wednesday, April 26 from 3:00pm-6:00pm at the fairgrounds. Go out and sell!!!
Just a quick reminder, stall request forms will not be accepted until the June meeting. At that time, all money or proof of geranium sales and all signatures must accompany your request form. No exceptions!
Essay question & Community Service Projects:
**We are still working on our dates for the service projects. It looks like we will be having them early in June. We are planning on working at the fairgrounds and Loveway again this year. Look for more information in your April newsletter.
**ESSAY** If you are unable to attend a service project or you choose not to participate in one, you must complete the essay question to complete your project. Remember, you only need to complete one to receive credit. Check out the website for length requirements.
This year’s essay topic is: Discuss the proper feeding, living conditions and medical care for raising your dairy feeder calf.
Our May weigh in date is Saturday, May 6th from 7:30am to 11:00am in the feeder calf barn at the fairgrounds. EVERY calf must be brought in to be weighed and ear tagged. Calves are required to have an RFID tag. Information on why you need to have a RFID tag before your animal leaves the farm where it was born can be found at www.in.gov/boah/2645.htm. If your calf does not have a RFID tag before weigh in, it will receive one for a fee. Make sure you have your premise ID number as well. If you have questions on RFID tags and premise ID numbers, please ask. As in past years, if needed, a veterinarian will be on hand to dehorn, castrate, vaccinate, deworm and implant. Please come prepared to pay for these services if used. Also, we will be drawing auction numbers. Don’t forget to draw yours!
How many of you would like to receive important updates and information for the dairy feeder calf club via text messages? Well, you can!! Here is the link to get signed up: www.remind.com/join/dfcc17. Or you can text @dfcc17 to the number 81010.
Remember to check out our website regularly. www.dairyfeedercalfclub.com
Looking ahead….MARK your calendars:
- April 1st: Geranium orders & money due to Jodi Evans
- April 20th: April DFC meeting
- April 26th: Pick up Geraniums at the fairgrounds 3-6pm
- May 6th: May Weigh In
-Your DFC Leaders
Dear DFC Families, February 2017
Hello! Our second meeting is this Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 7:00pm in the Home and Family Arts Building at the fairgrounds. We will start registration at 6:45pm. We will be discussing nutrition and vaccinations. If you have not paid your club dues yet, please come prepared to take care of this. Dues are $10/member. It goes up $1.00 at the March meeting. If you wish to pay by check, please make it payable to: Dairy Feeder Calf Club.
Have you thought about selling geraniums yet? This is an excellent fundraiser for the club and the 4-H program. For each plant, we sell, our club will receive $0.25 back as a sales reward. Geraniums will be selling for $1.25 per plant again this year. They will be available in red, white and pink colors. Orders and money are due NO LATER than April 1st to Jodi Evans. Pickup of geraniums is on April 26th at the fairgrounds. Mail all orders and money to: Jodi Evans, PO Box 416, Bristol, IN 46507.
For those of you that were at our January meeting, you are aware that we have changed our fair weigh in date to the first Saturday of the fair. In the past, we have held our fair weigh in on the Monday morning before our show. We, as an advisory board, believed it was import to move the fair weigh in to this earlier time. This will give us more time to enter weights, divide classes up and to properly put together our show program. We understand that there are some members that are involved in other shows during this time. You can ask another 4Her to weigh your calf in, or we will help you get through the line in a timely fashion.
Another change for this year, we will be implementing a points system to our club to help keep track of club member’s involvement. This may also help with awarding Achievement Awards and Overall Achievement Award winners at the end of the fair season. If at any time, you have questions regarding point distribution, please email the club or contact a leader. We as leaders and advisory board members believe that this will help promote learning and the overall experience of the 4-H members as well as help the club. There will be incentives/awards for reaching 90+ points. Also, at the discretion and decision of all the leaders and board members, points may be altered or added if the occasion arises. All situations of point additions or alterations will apply to all 4-H members. For us to keep track of points, we need you to sign in at each meeting by signing your name on the sign in sheets. You will also be required to sign in and sign out at workdays, barn clean up, Calf-A shifts, etc.
- Meeting Attendance: 10 points/meeting (7 meetings January-July)
- Workday: 10 points
- Essay: 10 points
- Calf-A Shift: 10 points
- Geranium Sales: 10 points
- Showmanship: 10 points
- Barn Clean Up (at the end of the fair): 10 points
- Misc. Points: As stated before, there may be ways to get more points as we go along and we will keep everyone informed of this.
Point Levels:
- Bronze: 50 Points (Minimum required prior to our fair weigh in)
- Silver: 60-80 Points
- Gold: 90+ Points
Club Officers were elected at our January meeting. Your 2017 Club officers are: Erica Stutsman, Caroline Mullet, Keaton Kitson and Emerson Mast. Congratulations guys!!
Important Dates:
- March 16: March meeting in the ECCC Building
- April 1: Geranium orders & money DUE to Jodi Evans
- April 20: April meeting in the ECCC Building
- April 26: Geranium pick up at the fair
- May 6: Weigh In & auction number draw (all calves are required to be brought to the fairgrounds)
See you on Thursday!!
Your Leaders
January 2017
Dear 4-Her’s and DFC Families,
Welcome to another fun and exciting year of 4-H!! Our first meeting is just around the corner on January 19, 2017 at 7:00pm. We will be meeting in the ECCC Building at the fairgrounds. Registration starts at 6:45pm. Watch your local television stations for cancellation if the weather is bad. Also, check your email or the website.
The program for the evening will consist of basic club information, changes made from 2016, and what to look for when you are buying your calf. Also, planned for the evening is electing club officers. We will be electing our president, vice president, secretary, and treasure. If you are interested or know someone that is interested in being an officer, please come to the meeting and get your name on the ballot. Please contact a leader if for some reason, you are unable to make it to the meeting, but would like to be added to the ballot.
**Important** The 2017 Elkhart County online enrollment is due January 15, 2017!! If you have not enrolled for this year yet, please do so immediately! You can access a link to the website by visiting www.elkhartcounty4h.org. A $15 non-refundable State Program Fee per child is due at the time of enrollment with a maximum of $45 per family for three or more children. Enrollment is not complete until all required sections have been completed. Please call the Purdue Extension Office (574-533-0554) if you have any questions.
Club dues are $10 per 4-Her if paid at the January or February meetings. Dues go up by $1 each month after February. $11 if paid in March. $12 if paid in April. $13 if paid in May. $14 if paid in June. $15 if paid in July. You will not be able to draw your auction order number at the May weigh in until your dues are paid. If you do not draw a number at the May weigh in, you are automatically put at the end of the auction order.
Adult 4-H Leaders:
Organizational Leader: Ken Metzler
Assistant Leaders: Lydell Troyer, Tim Stutsman, Dale Miller, Jodi Evans, Brandi Kitson, Brad Morehouse,
Erica Brenneman
Project Leader: Bridget Christner
Advisory Board Members:
President: Lonnie Bontrager
Vice President: Matt Hilty
Recording Secretary: Jon Rassie
Members: Brenda Gawthrop, Steve Miller, Galen Mast, Joe Caffee, Jason Dunlap, Stacey Hostetler
We will be using the club website to post important information throughout the year. It will serve as a good tool to look up club information.
Website: www.dairyfeedercalfclub.com Email Address: [email protected]
If you receive this newsletter and you are not going to participate in the DFC club this year, PLEASE let us know. Thank You and we hope to see everyone on the 19th!
Thanks,
Your Leaders