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.

Youth ages 15-18 years who have a particular interest in dairy science and production are invited to participate in a week-long 4-H camp experience focused on Dairy STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math). The camp will be held at 4-H Camp Wyomoco, Varysburg, NY in Wyoming County, July 106, 2012.

A camper's day will consist of field trips to approximately 10 local farms and 5 agri-buisnesses in addition to presentations by several industry experts. The cost is $100, which includes overnight accommodations at camp, meals and all activities.

For more information contact the 4-H Camp Wyomoco office at 585-786-2251 or visit our website          

http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/wyoming/campwyomoco/dairycamp.html

Squealing pigs, grinding combines, whirring power tools, and roaring vehicles: these common sounds on a farm can add up to quite a racket. It can also create a noisy environment that puts your hearing at risk. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health, releases a 3-minute video tour around Mountain View Farm in Purcellville, Va. During the three minutes, viewers are introduced to Shawna, Attila, and their family.  They take you around their farm and talk about the dangers to your ears and how to protect your hearing if you live or work on a farm.

To see the video, click HERE.

And don’t miss Noisy Planet’s online and print materials for parents of children who live and work on a farm! Visit the Noisy Planet at www.noisyplanet.nidcd.nih.gov and follow us on Facebook.

Share this information with your friends, families, colleagues, and networks! A downloadable e-banner is available here.