How long is the Long Sit in the novice dog obedience classes?

This is just one of the many questions that the 4-H dog project project bowl team studied on their way to a 1st place finish at the Regional Project Bowl competition in Hastings on Saturday, March 13th. Team members Sara Henkensiefken, Collin Diedrich, Shae Neuschwander, Sam Snyder, Ritchie Diedrich, and Lauren Summers have been getting together for a few hours every week since Janaury to study dog-related information from a long list of resources. The study sessions help ensure they are fully prepared for the Regional Competition where they are up against other teams to see who can buzz in first to answer the question correctly. The team is coached by Martha Diedrich and Kris Fischer.

Its an intense competition, and the team members take it very seriously. However, they have a lot of fun learning the information, which they use in other aspects of the dog project. The information helps them with livestock interviews, dog training classes, and in the show ring while showing their dogs. Some 4-H graduates who were on the dog quiz bowl team end up going in to dog-related careers, where the information they learned in quiz bowl is especially helpful.

Quiz Bowl questions range from what breeds of dog belong in which groups to common diseases found in dogs and how they can be treated. Team members often end up having a well-rounded knowledge base about dogs, including health, reproduction, requirements for classes, breeds, and anatomy.

Up next for the team is the State Project Bowl competition on April 17th. The State Competition is familiar territory for the Waseca County 4-H Dog Project Team - the junior team has won 1st place four years (2009, 2008, 2007, 2005) and 2nd three years (2006, 2004, 2003). While the members of the team change from year to year, their success every year can only mean one thing ... they put many hours of studying and hard work into this! Good luck to the Dog Project Bowl team members competeting at State on April 17th.

Also, good luck to both the junior and senior Horse Project Bowl teams who will be competiting in their Regional Project Bowl competition on March 20th in Redwood Falls. These two teams have been practicing and studying since January as well, and we know their hard work will lead to success also! Be sure to check the blog next week for results from their competition.

(Oh, and the answer to the question, "How long is the Long Sit in the novice dog obedience classes?" is one minute.)

Summer Already?!?!?

It seems weird to be thinking about summer already. After all, the snow isn't even melted yet, and its not too late to get snow in March or April!! But summer programming plans are underway for 4-H Staff. We're working on getting an exciting course in Lego Robotics set up with Community Education in Waseca for this summer. Day camp plans are underway and of course, we're getting deeper into county fair plans. Most of our judges have been confirmed (yay!), so now we're working on the premium book and securing donors for champion awards.

Speaking of premium books and rules (everyone's favorite, right?!?!?!), it won't be long before livestock project members will open thier mailbox to find an information packet about properly identifying livestock for the 2010 year. We hope to have these packets out to you by the beginning of April, but you will have them by mid-April for sure! There are some species that have special dates they need to be aware of for identifying livestock, so be sure to get the following dates on your calendar:

• April 28 - 3 to 7 pm (Extension Office) - Ear Tag pick-up for breeding beef, swine, and dairy animals and goats needing ear tags**
• April 29 - 3 to 7 pm (Extension Office) - Ear Tag pick-up for breeding beef, swine, and dairy animals and goats needing ear tags**
• May 8 - 9 to 11 am (Fairgrounds) - Sheep and Goat Weigh-In
• May 11 - 6:30 pm (Extension Office) - Rabbit ID Night (tattoing will be done if your rabbit needs a tattoo)

** Your livestock ID packets will have more information about if your animal requires a state 4-H ear tag

We had a fun weekend Adventure on Saturday, March 13 - participants learned about other cultures through sampling food, making crafts, and playing games. The most important thing we learned though was to accept others who are different from us!

Share the Fun and Waseca County 4-H Week are just around the corner! Hopefully your club had a chance to talk about what they would like to help with during Waseca County 4-H Week. The information on different events and activities that we're having will be coming out soon! (Note to club leaders - Your club's "Waseca County 4-H Week Responsibility Sheet" is due to the Extension Office today!)

April 30 is fast approaching - that is the last day for members to add and/or drop projects from their enrollments. There are a few ways you can do this -

1. Club leaders have a listing of your projects - they will have at your March and April meetings, so you can let them know of any changes.
2. You can log on to www.4h4me.com and make your changes online. Be sure you hit the "SAVE CHANGES" button after each step!!! You received a letter with your user name and password this winter. If you need to be reminded of that information, email Amy at the Extension Office.
3. You can call Cheryl at the Extension Office and let her know what you would like to add or drop. (507-835-0600)

Those of you with a Facebook account - don't forget to become a fan of Waseca County 4-H on Facebook! Lots of short updates and reminders are available via our Facebook page. We've heard great things about the blog and Facebook page both, so keep checking both to stay in touch!

Scream for Ice Cream

8 enthusiastic Cloverbuds, 3 awesome Amabassadors, and 1 hopeful 4-H PC gathered at the East Annex for an hour last night to try their skills at making homemade ice cream. The excitement in the youth ran high - they couldn't wait to learn about the process and try their ice cream.

We had a chance to tell everyone about our favorite kind of ice cream (mint, chocolate, and strawberry were among the favorites). Then we learned how farmers get milk out of the cow to use in our delicious ice cream. We talked about all the steps cream from the milk goes through to get to in order to become our ice cream.

Next, it was time for us to start our own ice cream making process! We added cream, sugar, and vanilla to a bag and mixed it all up. Then we put that bag (after it was sealed up tight) and put it in a bigger bag. We added ice and salt, sealed it up, and shook, rattled, and rolled that bag for 10 minutes! (What a workout!!!) Did you know that by adding salt to the ice we lowered the temperate of the ice, making it very cold and allowing our ice cream to freeze together quicker? There is even science in ice cream!!!!

We could hardly wait to try our creations!! We rinsed the small bag off so that we didn't get yucky salt water from the big bag into our ice cream. We picked some toppings and tried what we had made - it was delicious!!! The Cloverbuds loved their treat...and loved learning about how to make it. They got to take the recipe home so that they can make it with their families.

Here is the recipe if you would like to try it -

You will need

• 1 gallon zipper style bag (heavy duty freezer bag)
• 1 quart zipper-style bag
• 4 cups ice
• 1 cup ice cream salt or table salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup 18% light whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  

Instructions:

1. Pour the milk or cream, vanilla extract, and sugar into the small zipper bag. Squeeze as much air out as possible, mix well and seal the bag carefully.
2. Place the small zipper-type bag into the large bag. Cover with ice and salt. Seal the large bag tightly.
3. Shake, toss, and flip the bags for 10 minutes. If the bag gets too cold to handle, wrap it with a towel or pass it from person to person. If the mixture hasn’t frozen after 10 minutes, add more salt and ice.
4. Open the larger bag and remove the smaller bag. Wipe the smaller bag thoroughly before opening it so the salty water doesn’t contaminate the ice cream. The ice cream should be the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
5. Eat right out of the bag or serve in small cups.

Hope you enjoy your ice cream!!!

Phone Issues .......

The Extension Office is having problems with their phones. The equipment reps and service providers are working on it! To get in touch with Extension Staff, the best bet is to email them! We'll let you know when everything is back in working condition!

STATE 4-H AMBASSADOR INFORMATION

Thinking About Becoming a State 4-H Ambassador? The ambassador program is challenging, educational, and a lot of fun. However, the program is also a lot of work and can be quite time consuming. Before you make the decision to become an ambassador, please take time and think about the commitment you will need to make. Please consider the following questions as you think about becoming an ambassador:

• Do I have a desire to serve the changing needs of youth in Minnesota?
• Do I have an open mind and can accept change?
• Will I be able to attend all of the required events (mandatory orientation, state fair, etc.)?
• Will I be able to balance school, work, family, and other activities with my Ambassador duties?
• Can I work in-groups as well as on my own to accomplish a given task?
• Can I give and receive feedback and apply what is constructive to my work?
• Am I willing to drive several hours to fulfill an Ambassador obligation?
• What will I be doing next year that may conflict with the Ambassador calendar?
• Do I fully understand the roles and responsibilities of the State 4-H Ambassadors?

If you answered yes to these questions, perhaps being a State 4-H Ambassador is something you would be interested in pursuing! Applications are due March 31st - they are available online or from the Extension Office.

Any youth involved in Minnesota 4-H and its programs who must have completed at least tenth grade and have at least one year of 4-H eligibility remaining. Five Ambassadors will be selected to serve a second year. Individuals must be 4-H members; therefore those who will be in their second year past high school are ineligible to serve a second year.

The Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador program is committed to providing leadership through service. While the position will be voluntary (ambassadors will not be paid or reimbursed for mileage and expenses), the twenty-nine Ambassadors will benefit from providing leadership and service to youth throughout Minnesota. Ambassadors will serve as educational resources to 4-H youth development programs. Ambassadors will be trained to teach youth and adults about such topics as communication, diversity issues, and ethical leadership. In addition, they will teach youth and adults by leading hands-on workshops and trainings at the local, county, regional, and state levels.

Additionally, the ambassadors will serve as spokespeople to represent the youth who participate in Minnesota 4-H and its programs. This commitment will require active involvement beginning in their counties and regions, and continuing on to the state level through their work with the State Fair and in coordinating the Youth Exploring Leadership and Learning Outloud (YELLO!)
Conference. The ambassadors will also work within Extension’s Regions fulfilling requests for leadership trainings, awards ceremonies, or retreats.

Contact Amy if you have any questions or would like an application!

For more information, go to http://www1.extension.umn.edu/youth/mn4-H/projects/leadership/ambassadors/index.html