TENNESSEE 4-H IDEAS

VOLUME 06 - Issue 43
October 27, 2006

County 4-H Dairy Promotion Contest Winners Announced
Henry County Returns From World Dairy Expo
Honor Club Success Story
Marshall County Dairy Team Represents Tennessee At Mid-South Fair
State Junior Dairy Show Held In Murfreesboro
Tennessee Rated "Great Host State"At Southern Region Leader Forum

COUNTY 4-H DAIRY PROMOTION CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The Southeast United Dairy Industry Association (SUDIA) has announced the scrapbook winners in its annual County 4-H Dairy Promotion Contest. The winners are listed below.

In addition, a cash award will be given to the counties of the three division winners. Bledsoe, Sumner and Warren counties will receive $200 for use in their 4-H youth development programs.

SUDIA will be keeping all scrapbooks until after their fall board meeting, November 9. Scrapbooks will be returned to the county UT Extension offices after that date. The winners’ scrapbooks will be kept until next year so they might be displayed at the 2007 June Dairy Month Kick-off.

Steve Sutton
Extension Specialist
4-H Youth Development
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HENRY COUNTY RETURNS FROM WORLD DAIRY EXPO

The 2006 state champion dairy judging team from Henry County competed at the World Dairy Expo on October 2, 2006, in Madison, Wisconsin. The team comprised of Kelsey Smith, Elizabeth Sumners, Sarah Milam and Hallie Rushing competed against 30 teams from across the United States.

The high school sophomores listed the highlights of their trip as visiting the Mustard Museum in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin; seeing the quality show cattle at the show; and the fine dining as they practiced grilling their own steaks at the Prime Quarter. Dining was made even more special as they were able to share it with fellow dairy farmers from around the county who where attending the World Dairy Expo.

The team would like to thank the following farmers for allowing them to practice at their farms: Steve and Kathy Smith, Paul and Sarah Moss, and David and Angie Leach. Without the support of these dedicated 4-H sponsors, the team would not have had the opportunity to see quality cattle on their pursuits. The team would also like to thank Kathy Smith for all of her help this year as well as the 4-H staff and Extension personnel. We would also like to thank all of our monetary sponsors. Their generous sponsorship allowed the team to be able to keep their minds on judging instead of other things.

Laura Parchment
Volunteer Leader
Henry County
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HONOR CLUB SUCCESS STORY

I got an email last week from Jessica Waters, Extension agent in McMinn County. She wanted to share something her coworkers had done to encourage Honor Club membership. She thought it was a neat way to make the Honor Club initiation a very fun, yet memorable experience for the youth. She believes this will not only encourage those initiated, but promote Honor Club involvement among those who attended, but have not yet filled out their application. Read below to find out about the event.

Extension staff present at the event were Melanie Spurgeon, Extension agent (McMinn County), Sara Smith, program assistant (McMinn County), Sarah Johnson, Extension agent (McMinn County), Meagan Brown, Extension agent (Meigs County), Mary Brady, program assistant (Meigs County), Jennifer Balding, Extension agent (Bradley County) and Scott Goldman, Extension agent (Bradley County). For photos, go to the following links:

Congratulations to all those involved on a great job in 4-H youth development.

Steve Sutton
Extension Specialist
4-H Youth Development
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MARSHALL COUNTY DAIRY TEAM REPRESENTS TENNESSEE AT MID-SOUTH FAIR

Three Marshall County senior 4-H dairy judging team members traveled to the Mid South Regional 4-H and FFA Dairy Judging Contest in Memphis. The contest was held in conjunction with the activities and festivities of the 150-year old Mid-South Fair.

Team members included Rebekah Roberson, Justin Daly and Andrew Kieffer. The team judged ten dairy cattle classes that incorporated the breeds of Ayrshire, Milking Shorthorn, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Holstein and Jersey. Three sets of oral reasons were presented by the 4-H members.

The team claimed the overall seventh high team award in the contest. They were also the fourth overall high team in the Milking Shorthorn and Jersey competitions. Andrew Kieffer was the 6th high individual in Brown Swiss, 7th high individual in Guernsey, 9th high individual in Jersey, 7th high individual in overall placings and 11th overall high individual in total score. The 12th high individual in Milking Shorthorn was Rebekah Roberson. Justin Daly captured the 8th high individual awards in both the Milking Shorthorn and the Jersey challenge.

The team was accompanied by Kathy Kieffer, Debbie Roberson, Charla and Brooke Daly, Matt, Meredith and Mason Collins.

Meredith Collins
Extension Agent
Marshall County
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STATE JUNIOR DAIRY SHOW HELD IN MURFREESBORO

The State Junior Dairy Show was held October 20-21, in Murfreesboro at the Middle Tennessee State Ag Center. The event saw 50 youth exhibitors showing 166 animals in six different breeds. Breed champions and showmanship winners were as follows:

Other activities included a Little Britches show, a calf sale, Dairy Shrine breakfast and junior exhibitor pizza party. Look for additional information on the UT animal science Web site at animalscience.ag.utk.edu/dairy/dairy_4-H.htm.

Steve Sutton
Extension Specialist
4-H Youth Development
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TENNESSEE RATED “GREAT HOST STATE” AT SOUTHERN REGION LEADER FORUM!

You had to have been there to understand! Volunteers and Extension agents out did themselves and put a huge star on the map of Tennessee. I cannot find the words to thank everyone who helped make this happen. The Tennessee delegation worked hard and all the time were smiling; happy to be there; and making sure the forum delegates were learning, sharing and having a good time. As I walked across the camp (frantically running from one meeting to another, making sure things were where they needed to be and committees had enough help) the one thing that stood out was the Tennessee Volunteer Spirit. Many people came up to me during the forum to give praise and say something about the experience they were having thanks to the efforts of the Tennessee delegates.

2006 also proved to be a great year for attendance. Attendance by region is as follows:

I greatly appreciate the people that worked on committees and those that took leadership for the group. Work, busy schedules, family and all the activities that take place during summer did not slow these people down!

Those listed above worked for months planning, preparing and “getting it all together.”

Once at the forum, everyone pitched in and made the magic happen! Mitch and Neal were great at giving out those door prizes. Neal even made sure the spirit of Elvis was present at the Showcase. Jim Stewart did a great job getting the stage ready and working with the Tennessee 4-H Performing Arts Troupe. The performance was great - they made us feel proud and blessed to be working with youth. Justin and Sarah’s crew made sure everyone had goodies in their cabins. Amy did a great job coordinating the preparation of thank you notes. They looked beautiful and hopefully will convey to the sponsors and donors how appreciative we are of their support for 4-H.

Please forgive me if I missed someone. So many people worked and gave a helping hand wherever it was needed. I’m thankful this unique experience gave me the opportunity to know a lot of volunteers and agents throughout the state. Now that I know where to find the talent, I look forward to working with you for regional and state leader forums. I anticipate we will have some great ones!

Carmen Burgos
Extension Specialist
4-H Youth Development
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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
~ Dr. Seuss