Author: Matthew Chadwick
Major Program: Agriculture 4-H Core Curriculum
This year I worked with our Livestock club for the first time as the point agent. We started the year by assembling the parents and CLV's in a meeting to determine the future direction of the club as a whole. We as a group decided that the main focus for the year would be stability, fundraising, and recruitment. For the first time in recent memory we elected an officer team to direct the club activities, and lead the group, this greatly increased the involvement of our older youth. Some of t
Author: Virginia Harper
Calloway County 4-H and FFA collaborated on a Tractor Short Course to engage youth in learning about career opportunities and expand their view of their world. The six session short course enabled youth to give back to the community by valuing the past. The youth assisted at the Purchase Area Antique Tractor and Steam Engine Show at the Bill Cherry Expo Center. During the show, youth collected $360 for a neighboring county that experienced a recent tragedy in a school &nb
Author: Ralph Hance
Chick embryology inspires a child’s natural curiosity about living things. The embryology project also conforms to the Kentucky Department of Education and National Science Standards competencies. The Trimble County Cooperative Agents for Agriculture and 4-H responded to a request from a Bedford Elementary School kindergarten teacher for assistance with this project in 2013. Agents conducted the program and provided leader materials and supplies for the project in which more than sixty kin
Author: Jeremiah Johnson
For many living within the counties of Union, Webster, McLean, Ohio, Hancock, Daviess, and Henderson, the equine industry has a large impact. According to the most recent Kentucky Equine Survey, there are approximately 5600 horses within those counties and an annual income from services at just above $5,000,000. Established in 2003, the District 6 North (Green River Area) Horse Camp, was designed to develop additional educational opportunities for youth participating in equestrian programs.
Author: Meagan Klee
“There are approximately two million farms in the United States. There are also approximately 900,000 kids who live on farms, and more than half (51%) work on the farms where they live. Farms annually hire an additional 265,000 youth workers. Due to the high risk of injury from off-road vehicles, machinery, and livestock, farms are a dangerous place for kids to work and play.” (AgFax.com, 2018)The following are statistics from the 2017 Fact Sheet on Childhood Agricultural Injuries in
Author: Lora Stewart
The Gallatin County 4-H Livestock Program is a unique opportunity to use animals and educational projects to enhance youth development. This year approximately 40 youth plan on showing 25 cows, 28 goats, 14 hogs, and 8 sheep plus chickens, rabbits, turkeys, and ducks; a record number of animals. The quality of the animal has increase due to the 4-H Livestock Club. Several have aspired to go on to compete at the district, state and open shows. But the main objectives of the prog
Author: Kelly Smith
In the 2017-2018 school year, over 20 classrooms, representing both private and public Jefferson County schools, requested the Embryology project from the Jefferson County 4-H program. Teachers within classrooms wanted hands on experience with learning life skills and knowledge of the process of embryology. Youth learned to care and maintain for the eggs and incubator before, during and after the incubation period. They also learned the proper care of newly hatched chicks. Kelly Smith, Jefferson
Author: Nicole Rhein
Farm & Home Safety Day 2.0Marshall County Extension Service has participated for several years in the annual Farm & Home Safety Day for the county’s 5th grade students. The program is coordinated by the Marshall County Conservation District and involves participation from local groups including Kentucky State Police, County Health Department, Emergency Management, Red Cross, WKRECC, and others. Marshall County Extension has covered a variety of safety topics at this program includi
Author: David Davis
Kentucky is home to 85,500 farms, tied with Oklahoma as the 4th ranking state in the number of farms (National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2012). The average farm size in Kentucky is 164 acres, compared to the national average of 421 (National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2012). Between 2007 and 2012, the Bluegrass State had a 6.7% decrease in the number of acres of farmland, which is the greatest percentage decrease any state in the country (Census of Agriculture, 2012). While Kentucky
Author: Isaac Hilpp
The Estill County Extension Council identified Diversifying local agriculture as an important need in Estill County. To address this need the local 4-H Youth Development Agent developed a program to introduce youth to how Ag. policy is created and how that relates to the crops grown in Estill County. Youth attended workshops teaching basic ag policy as we as how policy moved through government. At the end of this program, youth participated in an Ag Policy trip to Washington D.C. While in DC you
Author: Katie Mills
During the Fun on the Farm workshop, in the fall, Hopkins County was able to enjoy the outdoors and gain knowledge on where their food comes from and how it is produced. The goal for the workshop was for the youth participants to experience the joys and discomforts of farm life by visiting a local agritourism business, a greenery and learning healthy eating tips. All of which were successfully completed throughout the day. The agritourism business consisted of a pick your own pumpkin patch
Author: Luke Fries
According to the 2012 Kentucky Agriculture Statistics Service, Nelson County ranks in the top 15 Kentucky counties for swine, horse, dairy and cattle production as well as having a growing meat goat population. Despite the large number and wide variety of livestock producers in Nelson County, youth participating in 4-H Livestock Programs have steadily declined over the last 10 years. Certified Livestock Volunteers provided a 4-H livestock program that incorporates learning hands on livestock pro
It is the beginning of life and it starts from one single cell. Whether a reptile, a bird, mammal or human, the evolution of our growth is similar and can be related to and witnessed through the 4-H Embryology Project. In the book Early Embryology of the Chick, Fourth Edition, written by Bradley M. Patten, the introduction states very eloquently that the Embryology Project allows participants to see “growth processes that hold something definite and tangible in answer to that ever recurrin
Nelson County 4-H and Horticulture Agents teamed up to create a spin off of the State 4-H Program "APES". The locally created and executed program was labeled "FoCUS" or "Food Chain Under Survey". 6 youth from three separate county high schools were selected. The program consists of 4 meetings in a year and culminates in Chicago, IL for an in-depth look at urban food systems and circular economy. This allows for the expansion of ideas and innovation for
Author: Tracey Tashjian
In October of 2017, five Graves County Middle School students travelled to Eastern Kentucky with Tracey Tashjian and Samantha Anderson, Extension Agents for 4-H and Agriculture to learn about hemp production. The tour was arranged by Anderson who grew up learning and working in the about the industry. The students spent the day touring three farms (Atalo, GenCana, Kenneth Anderson's) to learn about hemp firsthand. Students applied this knowledge in writing a 1500 word essay
Author: Nola Janeen Tramble
Cooperative extension programs are to serve all Kentuckians. However, there isn’t a lot of opportunity for students with developmental disabilities. A Trigg County volunteer changed that. After coming to the Trigg county 4-H agent with his idea for the Challenge Me Club, we met with the Trigg County high school special education teacher to plan a weeklong program. The goal of the program was for the developmentally disables students (Buddies) to explore, reflect and apply learn
Author: Kindra Jones
Grayson County 4-H and Agriculture Agents have worked sideby side to present agriculture related lessons and activities to seventy 3rdgrade students at H.W. Wilkey Elementary School. This initiative was taken to help connect students at a young age to local agricultural practices and to gain an understanding of where their food comes from. Students recognize different types of foods, but don’t always know where it comes from, how it grows, or how it is processed for different uses. Through
Author: Christy Eastwood
Throughout the history of 4-H youth programming, the development of valuable life skills such as communication, problem solving, and understanding one’s self have been taught through experiential learning activities (Boyd, Herring, & Briers, 1992). When youths learn the process of evaluation through livestock judging, these same skills can be integrated into other real life situations. McCann and McCann (1992) reported that the livestock judging activity provides youth with an opportun
