4-H Horse Rider/Driver Evaluation July 31:  If you have not been evaluated and placed in a riding level or if you have but wish to be re-evaluated in order to move up to the next level, there will is one more opportunity to do so.  The evaluation will be done in the indoor arena at the Fonda Fairgrounds.  The last opportunity is on Tuesday, July 31 from 5 – 7 p.m. at the Fonda Fairgrounds.  Please call Bonnie at 673-5525 ext. 115 to register and indicate the time you plan to be there (make an appointment).

4-H Horse Camp, July 17-20: At the Fonda Fairgrounds and is open to all 4-H Horse Project Members who submitted in their Horse Certificates (due June 1).

2012 Bi-County Horse Show, July 21:  Class list was emailed to project members and is available on the 4-H Website at www.ccefm.com.  The show will be on July 21^st, the day following Horse Camp.  Horses will be permitted to stay overnight between camp and this show.

2012 4-H Driving Show, July 29:  10:00 a.m. at the Fonda Fairgrounds.  Judge is Tom Baird.  Class list will be emailed to the 4-H Horse Member list and is available on the 4-H Website at www.ccefm.com.  Also, hard copies will be available at Horse Camp.  Please note:  those who have not been evaluated to drive previously or who are driving a new horse, must be evaluated at the July 31^st evaluation.  When registering to evaluate, let us know it is for driving.

If you are planning to exhibit 4-H poultry at Fonda Fair 2012, take note of the following important information:

PULLORUM TESTING
BIRDS AT LEAST 4 MONTHS (16 WKS) OLD, chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl, peacocks, pheasants & quail eligible.  (Pigeons and waterfowl are exempt from testing.) Birds obtained from an NPIP certified hatchery/flock (or from a feed store) may exhibit with a copy of the NPIP certificate or receipt showing the NPIP information.  These expire in one year.                                

Tuesday, July 25, 3:00 - 6:00 p.m., Adirondack Feed Center, 4608 State Highway 30, Amsterdam; REQUIREMENT TO EXHIBIT AT COUNTY AND STATE FAIRS; UP TO 15 BIRDS (per family). THERE WILL BE NO TESTING AT THE COUNTY FAIR

Applications for a complete flock test for NPIP certification may be obtained at

http://www.agriculture.ny.gov/AI/poultry/AI_473_NPIP_Application_122009.pdf

For a list of other area clinics go to:

www.agriculture.ny.gov/AI/2012_Pullorum_Clinic_Schedule.pdf

Questions? Call Deb Toth Animal Health Inspector (607)760-5989.

August 1-2, 2012, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (both days) Meet at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Office in Canajoharie.

This year’s 4- H Veterinary Science Program is for youth ages 13 and up who are interested in exploring animal health.   2012 will focus on the normal animal followed by animal diseases in 2013.

The 2012 program will involve both classroom time and going “on the road” to veterinary clinics, farms, and other animal health support businesses.  The program will be a mix of hands-on and interactive learning.  (This is a new format from past years.) 

Local veterinarians will assist throughout the two-day period and a mix of large and small animal veterinary practices will be visited. Cost of the program is $25 for the two days, which will include lunch each day. 

Due to limited space, the program is open only to those who have not previously attended Vet Science. 4 -Hers who have taken part in Vet Science in the past and wish to continue further, may be intersted in Unit 3, which is a self-directed study with a Veterinarian Mentor.  Please contact 4-H Youth Animal Science Educator Bonnie Peck for more information. 

Pre-register for 2012 Vet Science by contacting Bonnie at the 4-H office at 518-673-5525 ext. 115 by July 23.

The 4-H Agriculture Awareness Days Program for 4th grade students across Fulton and Montgomery Counties took place over the past month at various school and environmental locations. 

Between May 21 and June 14, a total of 6 Ag Days were held this year: Broadalbin-Perth, Gloversville, Johnstown, Mayfield and Northville in Fulton County and Canajoharie and Fonda-Fultonville School in Montgomery County.  Unfortunately, the Ag Day scheduled for Amsterdam schools was cancelled due to a conflict with unused snow days.

The 2012 Ag Awareness Days include between four and ten stations at each event that are staffed by authorities in a variety of agriculture industries in the two counties.  In addition to farm owners and agribusiness leaders, several 4-H youth, 4-H alumni, and volunteers served as presenters.

Presenters included Christina Akey, (Fulton County Public Health), Rabies, Lyme Disease, and West Nile Virus; Montgomery County Dairy Princess and 4-H member Ashley Oeser, Dairy Cattle; Jack Putman and Roger Putman, Dairy Cattle; Carolee Start, Beef Industry;  Becky Montano, Debbie Sams, and Beth Claes presented about the horse industry; Becky Montano also presented about the Value and Work of Dogs in Agriculture; Adele and Robert Kromer, Alapaca, 4-H alumni Jesse and Becky Brower, Vegetable Crops as well as Dairy Cattle; Kay Offenborn, Sheep Industry; Ken England, Tree Nurseries; and Mathew Brower, Maple Industry.

Cornell Cooperative Extension has held Agriculture Awareness Days for more than 20 years in Fulton County and for several years in Montgomery County.  Financial support for Agriculture Awareness Days is provided in part by the United Way in both Fulton and Montgomery Counties.  In addition, the Montgomery County and Fulton County Farm Bureaus provide support for the program by donating lunch for the volunteer instructors.  Several members of the Farm Bureau Education Committee serve on the Agriculture In The Classroom Committee for Cornell Cooperative Extension and assisted in planning the educational event.

Each of the Agriculture Awareness Days took place in the morning and involved the students rotating through several ten-minute stations.  While rain was a concern, no events were forced to cancel due to rain this year. 

For more information about youth animal science opportunities, contact Bonnie S. Peck at bsp8@cornell.edu or call 518-673-5525 x 115. Cornell Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities. 

This is your opportunity to submit photos that capture the diverse ways young people are engaged in agriculture today and the impact it has on communities!!

Contestants must be a 4-H member, volunteer, alumnus, or staff and 14 years of age or older. All photographs must be taken by an amateur photographer. Visit www.challenge.gov for official contest rules.

Photos can be submitted on www.challenge.gov  now through the end of the contest, July 2 2012. Photos should reflect on one of three areas of focus: citizenship in agricultural issues, how agriculture affects healthy living, and the science behind agriculture. All eligible photos will be available for public voting during July 18-August 1. The photos with the most votes will be chosen as finalists. The finalists' entries will then be voted on by a panel of judges consisting of USDA staff who will determine the top winners.

The winning photographs will be prominently displayed within the 4-H/USDA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., during National 4-H Week, October 1-6, 2012.

The George Fuller Memorial Fund through NYCAMH (The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine & Health) is sponsoring the 23th Annual FARMSAFE FOR KIDZ Poster contest.

All 4-H members and area youth are eligible to participate if they live in Chenango, Delaware, Fulton, Herkimer, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego or Schoharie County.  Poster entries can be taken to the Farmers' Museum Junior Livestock Show on Sunday, July 8th, 2012 or to the NYCAMH office in Fly Creek on or before Friday, July 6th, 2012.

This year, NYCAMH will focus on Power Take Off Safety as this is a hazard when operating a tractor on the farm. Prizes will be awarded Monday, July 9th, 2012 at 6:00 pm in the Dairy Show tent during the Annual Farmers’ Museum Junior Livestock Show.  All entries will receive a ribbon and a small gift. 

Download more information and poster application.

Katie Elliott-Engel has joined Cornell Agricultural Outreach and Education as the coordinator of the New York Agriculture in the Classroom program. Katie grew up in Northern New York and attended the State University of New York at Cobleskill receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Agricultural Business Management. During college she stayed active in promoting agricultural education by working with for the Oswegatchie Educational Center, the Professional Development Conference for Agricultural Educators, New York FFA, and interning with National 4-H Council. 

Upon graduating from SUNY Cobleskill, Katie moved to Southwest Missouri and worked with nine Native American tribes in neighboring Northeast Oklahoma. She served as the State Director of the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Supplemental Nutrition Program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture. After serving in this role for a year and half, Katie began her Master of Science Degree at the University of Arkansas in Agricultural and Extension Education. Katie actively participated in Missouri Farm Bureau, served as a 4-H project leader, and volunteered with the local Extension Service and agricultural education programs. 

Cornell University's Department of Animal Science has announced the deadline for submissions to its annual poetry and photography contest is July 16, 2012.

If you love your dog and you enjoy expressing your interest in canine capers, why not exercise your creative side and enter this great contest. The winners are featured on the department's website and in their annual printed calendar, which is sold statewide.

Last year's calendar included winning entries by Fulton-Montgomery 4-H member Kelly Donovan! You can see one of the 2011 calendar hanging in the Cooperative Extension office in Canajohaire.

Find all of the details and entry forms at http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/4H/dogs/index.html

Good Luck!

As part of their 2012 annual 4-H National Conference approximately 300 high school student leaders from across the United States, U.S. territories, and Canada gathered in the greater Washington, DC area. 4-H seeks to promote positive youth development, facilitate learning, and engage young people in the efforts of the USDA to produce “real results for real people.” The conference aims to empower and mobilize the 4-H students to create positive, meaningful change in their communities.

During the National Conference, 4-H students split into groups based on their areas of interest in order to spend time discussing issues relevant to their communities, and researching federal programs that have a positive impact on those issues. USDA employees from the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships had the opportunity to meet at the White House Conference Center with 25 4-H students representing 17 different states. The students were asked to research the issue of childhood obesity and present a proposal for how they would implement the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative in their communities. The group proposed a two-pronged strategy that focused on increasing the amount of time spent in physical activity during the school day while also improving nutrition education in schools for students of all ages. The students felt that a partnership between the First Lady’s initiative and schools would help reduce childhood obesity.