4-H Clothing Projects Opportunities

There are so many great opportunities in the 4-H clothing project, so check them out!!  In addition to Fashion Show, there's Duds to Dazzle, Fashion Storyboard, Textile Show, and more!

Join us on Tue., March 17th, at 9 am for a County 4-H Clothing Workshop.  Mark your calendars and check back here for all the details.

Our County 4-H Clothing Contests will take place on Tuesday, April 7th (with Roundup), at 6:30 pm, at the Extension office.  Click here for the 4-H Clothing Project Opportunities.  Click here for an entry form in Word or click here for a pdf version.

Wimberley 4-H News

Congratulations to Wimberley 4-H for being honored by the children's shelter.  4-H members brought coats and clothes to the kids there. They not only collected coats all over town, they took them to the kids and visited with them.  Thanks to Kim McGee for sharing!!

Mrs. McGee also reported on the 4-H food and nutrition project lesson, which included a sit down lesson about nutritional value and a special guest French professor who teach them how to make crepes.  They also received a French language lesson.  What a great experience!!

Hays Co. 4-H Photo Contest

Deadline for entries for our County 4-H Photography Contest is 5 pm on Fri., March 27th, at our office.  There are 15 categories in which to enter photos, so there are lots of great opportunities.  

Click here to get the County 4-H Contest info in pdf, and click here for the info in Word. 

You can also enter photos for the District 4-H Photo Contest.  Register and upload your photos on 4-H Connect by March 13th.  Click here for more info.

Make Your Own Cheeses Workshop

Make Your Own Cheeses
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Hays County Extension Office
6:30 p.m.

Learn the technique for making your own Mozzarella Cheese at home.  Participants will take home your sample of homemade cheese.  Connie Sheppard and Martha Joyce will be the instructors for this program.  Cost is $20 for adults, $10 for youth.  Please RSVP with the Hays County Extension Office by Monday, March 9 if you plan on participating in this workshop.

4-H Horse Project Validation for District and State 4-H Horse Shows

If you are planning on participating in the District or State 4-H Horse Show, it is time to get your horses validated under the Texas 4-H Horse Validation Program. Validation will be open on 4-H Connect starting March 1 and remain open through May 1. Even if you validated your horse through the Texas 4-H Horse Validation Program last year, you must validate your horse again this year.

If you validate your horse between March 1 and April 15, the validation cost is $10/horse. Any horses validated between April 16 and May 1 will be $20/horse. No validations will be allowed after May 1. Any horses not validated by May 1 will not be allowed to participate in the District or State 4-H Horse Shows. When you get online to validate your horse, please have pictures of your horse showing front, right, and left side views ready to upload. Also, you will need to upload a copy of the horse's registration papers. If you have an unregistered horse, upload a copy of a completed Grade Horse Form.  If you are revalidating a horse that is already in the system, information from last year should appear on the screen. Confirm that all of that information is correct.

In the validation instructions, it indicates that there are two ways to pay for your horse project validation, either by credit card or club/county check. In Hays County, club/county check will not be an option. You must pay by credit card. Any validations submitted with the club/county check payment option will be returned to you.

Please validate any horse that you are considering taking on to District or State. The only horses that are eligible for these shows are those that are validated by the validation deadline. This includes futurity project horses.

Horse Project Validation Instructions

Grade Horse Form

Hays Co. 4-H Horse Judgers Shine

The Hays County 4-H Junior Horse Judging team received third place honors in the San Antonio Livestock Show Horse Judging Contest held on February 19. There were fifty-three teams competing in the Junior Division of this contest. The Hays County 4-H Team members consisted of Sarah Bouckley, Colin DeWitt, Haley Garland, all members of the Dripping Springs 4-H Club, and Arielle Wortham, a member of the Wimberley 4-H Club. The team also had two of its members place in the top twenty high point individuals in the contest. Of the 182 junior contestants competing in the contest, Haley Garland was the 12^th high point individual and Colin DeWitt was the 15^th high point individual in the contest.

Invitational Contests during Texas 4-H Roundup

17 invitational contests are offered to intermediate (age 11-13) and senior (age 14-18) 4-H members.  Invitational means that you do not have to qualify to participate.  For most you just have to register, but there is an application process for a few of them.  Contests include everything from 4-H Has Talent to Recipe Rally to Photography Judging to Entomology Collection.  Click here for more details on these contest opportunities.

4-H Public Speaking Project

Public speaking is one of the most important skills 4-H teaches us!  Find out more about the various contests that are available within the public speaking project.  You could do educational presentations, public speaking or share the fun.

Our County 4-H Roundup Contests will take place on Tuesday, April 7th, at 6:30 pm, at the Extension office.  Click here for more info on contest opportunities.  Click here for an entry form in Word or click here for a pdf version.

4-H Fancy Stitchers

Fancy Stitchers will meet on Tue., Feb. 24th, at 4:30 at the Extension Office.  We will be a practice for a new Clothing and Textiles competition called Duds to Dazzle.  We will break into small groups and each group will make a clothing or textiles item from supplies provided.  We tried this at last year's fashion retreat and it was lots of fun!  See you next week!  Rebekah McDaniel

Hays County 4-H Horse Shows

The Hays County 4-H Horse Committee will be hosting three horse shows, open to all 4-H members.  The shows will be held on January 3, February 14, and March 21.  All shows will be held at Dripping Springs Ranch Park. 

A show bill for all three shows can be found by clicking here.

No Academic Eligibility form is required for the March 21 show.

Support the Hays Co. Food Bank

Hunger Strike - Feb. 20th, Sunset Bowling Lanes
Bowl for hunger and support the Food Bank.

Hays County CROP Walk - April 12th, Dunbar Recreation Center
25% of funds raised go to benefit the Food Bank, while the rest goes to Church World Service.

For more details on these and other Food Bank events, click here.

Leadership Opportunity at Rodeo Austin

Opportunities for youth to volunteer to sing the national anthem and recite the American, Texas Pledges, the FFA motto and the 4-H Pledge at the shows for Rodeo Austin:

• Market Lamb & Goat Show - Tuesday, March 17th  - Show starts at 8:00 am
• Poultry Show - Wednesday, March 18th - Show starts at 1:00 pm
• Open Boer Goat Show - Thursday, March 19th - Show starts at 9:00 am
• Barrow Show - Saturday, March 21st - Show starts at 8:00 am
• Barrow Show - Sunday, March 22nd - Show starts at 8:00 am
• Steer Show - Tuesday, March 24th, Show starts at 9:00 am
• Steer Show - Wednesday, March 25th - Show starts at 9:00 am
• Heifer Show - Friday, March 27th - Show Starts at 8:00 am
• Longhorn Show - Saturday, March 28th - Show starts at 9:00 am

You will need to plan to arrive at least an hour prior to the start of the species show in which you are volunteering. One parking and one gate pass will be provided for the youth who is volunteering (provided you do not already have any) and the passes will need to be picked up at the Rodeo Austin office on the morning of the show.

For those interested in this leadership opportunity, please sign up by clicking here.  When you register, please select the option to use alternate name so that in the "First Name" box, fill that out using first and last name of the youth member. In the "last name" box, fill that out indicating which county or chapter in which the youth is a member.  If you have questions, please email Cory at Cory.hundl@ag.tamu.edu.

4-H Council and Adult Leader Meetings

County 4-H Council and the County 4-H Adult Leaders Association bring together representatives of all 4-H clubs to share ideas and plan for county-wide 4-H activities.  They meet every other month.  Their next meeting for the 2014-15 year will take place on Monday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m., at the Extension Office.  

If you are an adult involved with 4-H, then please make every effort to be involved in the 4-H Adult Leaders Association.

Horse Committee Meeting

The Hays County 4-H Horse Project Committee will meet on Monday, March 23 at the Hays County Extension Office in San Marcos.  The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Market Poultry Workshop

The Texas A&M Poultry Science Department will be hosting a Market Poultry Workshop on Saturday, May 9, 2015 at the Pierce Pavilion on the Texas A&M University Campus in College Station, Texas.  This workshop will run from 8:30-3.

This workshop provides an excellent oppirtnity to "hear the experts" and work alongside Texas' major poultry judges.  Educational activities include in-depth discussion on:  brooding, management, sanitation and feeding programs and selection and processing methods for broilers, turkeys, and roasters.

Also "hands on" practice in early culling and selecting, handling your birds during the show and "putting together" show pens. 

Registration is $50/person or family and can be done online at http://agriliferegister.tamu.edu.  Onsite or late (after April 27) registration is $75/person or family.  For more information, cintact the Texas A&M Poultry Science Department at (979) 845-4318.

Patiotic Art Contest

The VFW Ladies Auxiliary are once again hosting their Patriotic Art contest.  Entries are due to the Wimberley VFW by March 31.  This is for high school age youth.  Click here for more info.  Thanks to Jaci Kroupa for sharing the info!!

Texas 4-H Recordbooks & Star Awards

The Texas 4-H recordbook consists of information that a 4-H member gathers over the course of a 4-H year that documents his/her goals, knowledge and skills gained, leadership experiences, awards earned, and service in his/her community. Those experiences are recorded into forms, narratives, and a story written by the 4-H member. The information is printed, bound in a cover, and submitted for evaluation.

Click here to find out more about recordbooks and due dates for Hays County. Click here to visit the Texas 4-H Recordbook site for more instructions, forms and resources. An optional online system is available by clicking here.

In order to apply for a 4-H Star Award, you must submit your completed 4-H recordbook.  Click here for more details in pdf or click here for the Word format.

4-H Exhibitor Cards

Attention 4-H members.  As many of you get ready for the Hays County and other shows, don't forget your 4-H Exhibitor sign. Click here to view/download the sign.  It is a pdf-fillable file, so add your name and club, print and post with your exhibits/projects during the upcoming shows.

Monthly 4-H Club Meeting Report

All 4-H clubs are required to complete a monthly 4-H club meeting report.  Click here to go to and complete the report by the 25th of each month.

4-H Clubs and groups are also required to submit a copy of their monthly bank statement(s) to our office by the 25th of each month.  I would prefer an electronic copy if at all possible. 

Congrats Bobbi!!

Congratulations to Bobbi Williams, Fancy Feathers 4-H member.  She participated in the Ohio National Poultry Show November 6-9.  This is largest poultry show in the US.  It was also the 100^th year anniversary of the American Bantam Association, which Bobbi is a member.  There was over 9,600 birds in the show,  2,700 of them were in the Junior show that Bobbi competed in.  The traditional goblet trophy was for one of the birds she entered.  She won best Rose Comb Clean Legged Bantam and was 3^rd overall in the entire Junior Show.  The other trophy was awarded to her for winning the 16 year old Showmanship Class.  There was 190 kids that entered the Showmanship competition.  In the 16 year old class there was 19 entries.

4-H Food Contest Results

Congratulations to our Hays County 4-H'ers who participated in the District 4-H Food Challenge and Food Show on Dec. 13th!! 

Food Challenge:
 - Junior Team of Clayton Engler, Colton Engler and Cole Younts placed 3rd in Nutritious Snacks
- Intermediate Team of Alyssa Caldwell, Aubrie Caldwell and Bailey Phillips - placed 3rd in Fruits & Vegetables
- Intermediate Team of Araya Feeney , Kendyl Gordon, Rebekah O’Banon and Georgia Younts placed 2nd in Main Dish

Food Show:
- Jr. Fruit/Vegetable - Clayton Engler
- Jr. Protein - Colton Engler placed 4th
- Int. Fruit/Vegetable - Bailey Phillips

Special thanks to all of our 4-H Food Project Leaders and parents for all their time and leadership!!

Congrats Cole!

Congratulations to Cole Ritchie, member of the Hays County 4-H Shooting Sports Club, on being selected for the Texas 4-H Shooting Sports team!!  He is one of only 36 members of this team.  Besides representing Texas 4-H and the shooting sports projects, the team will be competing at the National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational on June 21-26, 2015 in Nebraska.

TSC Paper Clover Promotion Results

Thank you to all of our 4-H clubs, 4-H supporters and TSC stores for helping to make the Fall 2014 Paper Clover Promotion another great success!!  A total of 4,182 clovers were sold and $2,509 will come back to Hays Co. to support our local 4-H programs and activities.

We are very fortunate to have this Paper Clover Promotion for 4-H, have 3 great stores in our county is icing on the cake.  Be sure to express your appreciation to TSC store managers and employees for their help in managing the sales of these paper clovers in the spring and fall of each year.

Need Some Laying Hens?

Jesse Huth, graduate student in the Texas A&M Poultry Science Department, is going to have about 80 White Leghorn layers for sale starting around Dec 20....they are A&M birds that were hatched for a project that ended up not getting started, so he is selling them for $10 ea. For orders of ten or more he will discount price. They will be about 30 weeks old by then and just starting to lay. Place orders at fresheggs91@yahoo.com...first come, first serve!

One Day 4-H Projects

One Day 4-H is a state-wide effort to have 4-H members and volunteers giving back within their communities.  Congratulations to our 4-H clubs who conducted One Day 4-H projects!!
 - Buda 4-H - collected and delivered $600 in supplies and money for PAWS
 - Dripping Springs 4-H - conducted landscape work at Dripping Springs Ranch Park
 - East San Marcos 4-H - cleaned up a playscape at a local park
 - Fancy Feathers 4-H - cleaned up at Wimberley Veterans Memorial Plaza
 - West San Marcos 4-H - collected 300+ lbs of food for Hays Co. Food Bank
If your 4-H club's One Day 4-H project is not listed above, please provide me the info and I'll add it.  If you haven't done it already, please click here to provide a quick report and submit photos of your projects.

Get Enrolled in 4-H!!

If you have not enrolled in the 2014-15 4-H year, please do so!!  Click here for a "help sheet."  If you are still having trouble, please contact our office.  Please make sure your member and adult profiles are listed as "active" or at least "pending."  In order to participate in various contests and activities, you must be enrolled.

All adults working within the 4-H program should also enroll as volunteers on 4-H Connect.  The volunteer application fees are covered by the 4-H Adult Leaders Association, so it doesn't cost you anything.  And all enrolled 4-H members and volunteers are covered by the Texas 4-H liability insurance as well as the county's supplemental medical insurance.


All 4-H members will receive 4-H Members cards again this year.  Our 4-H adult volunteers will also receive 4-H Volunteer cards.  We will prepare these in large batches so we hope to start getting them out to your Club Managers to distribute at your November 4-H club meetings.  

Rockets to the Rescue Workshop

We had a GREAT trip to Southwest Research Institute on October 8 for the Rockets to the Rescue project!  If you missed it, you missed out on a lot of great learning and fun.  To get an idea of what happened during this fantastic trip, you can watch the video that was put together following this trip.  You can access the video by clicking here.

Virtual 4-H Volunteer Conference

Texas 4-H is sponsoring a virtual (online) volunteer conference addressing a variety of 4-H topics including club management, leadership, project trainings and youth/adult opportunities.  Workshops will be conducted during the day and evening hours using AgriLife Extension’s TTVN WebMeeting system.  Remaining dates for 2014-15 are:
     * Tuesday and Wednesday, April 21-22
     * Tuesday and Wednesday, August 4-5

Click here to find out more.  Please take advantage of these excellent training opportunities without leaving home.

School Attendance

Steady school attendance is very important, so check out these resources.  Click here to view the Parent's Guide to School Attendance.  Click here to visit the Missing School Matters website.

Children's Shelter Needs Your Help

Julia New with the Greater San Marcos Youth Council shared the following...

I was wondering how we could spread the word to Hays County 4-H groups that we have needs for Hays County foster care children? Our children’s shelter has received wonderful donations from groups throughout the years and it’s a pretty painless effort for everyone.  For example, cleaning supplies, snacks, juice boxes, wipes, diapers, etc. Farm Bureau customers can purchase car seats for $30 or $35 for case workers to transport babies and children in or to give to new parents. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. I’m also happy to present to any 4-H groups. 

If you would like to contact Mrs. New, she can be reached at 512-754-0500 or jrnew@gsmyc.org.

Hannah & Bindi Earn Awards at Dog Show

Hannah McGee and her dog. Bindi, recently took first place in obedience and rally and shined in the showmanship ring at the Kaufman County 4-H Show. There are 2 more Kaufman shows this fall, with a Best in Series in November. Check Texas 4-H Dog Show | Texas 4-H and Youth Development regularly for dog show and dog care workshops throughout the state. You do not have to be an active member of a dog club to participate in many of these.

4-H Shooting Sports Club Receives Grant

Cynthia Ritchie, 4-H Shooting Sports Co-Club Manager shared the following:

The Hays County 4-H Shooting Sports Club has received grants from local area chapters of the Friends of National Rifle Association (NRA) and the USA Midway Foundation through Texas State Rifle Association.  The NRA has been a generous supporter over the last two years by providing thousands of dollars worth of shooting supplies such as ammunition, shooting equipment and archery equipment.  The USA Midway Foundation's grant goes specifically to pay for training the 4-H volunteers in the various Shooting Sports disciplines.  This year the club has received $8,503.92 in grants and over $1,000 in private donations.  For more info on the Hays County 4-H Shooting Sports Club, click here.

Video Proves a Point

Hays County Sheriff Cutler shared this video and encourages everyone who operates a vehicle to please watch it and keep it in your thoughts while driving.  Click here to watch the video.

District 4-H Community Service Projects

The District 4-H Council has come up with 2 service projects this year, and is inviting everyone to take part.

Animal Shelter - Collect and donate supplies to your local shelter.  Items could include dry or canned dog/cat food, cat litter, treats, towels, newspapers and toys.  Click here for more details.

Children's Hospital - The wish list includes toys, books, craft items, board and electronic games, etc.  Click here for info.  We will collect these items and get them to the District 4-H Council officers who will deliver them to the Children's Hospital in San Antonio.  Either take your donated items to upcoming district 4-H contests and activities or bring them to our office and we will get them to the district officers.

4-H Veterinary Science Project

A 4-H Veterinary Science Project Group is forming in Hays County.  They will be having their Vet Science meetings on the 3rd and 4th Tuesdays of the month starting Sept.16. The meetings will be held at 7:00 pm at the home of Carmen Farmer. Those that are interested can email or call her and she will give directions on how to get to her house in Buda.  This is open to all Hays County 4-H members.  Carmen can be reached at 5runningfree@gmail.com or by phone at 360-265-3299.

Attention Hays CISD Students!!

We have been notified by Hays CISD that all 4-H members attending their schools must complete and submit the Hays CISD Extracurricular Code of Conduct.  Click here to download and print the form.  Hard copies of the form should be available at your September 4-H club meetings.  You will need to read the form and then complete the signature page and submit to our office either in hard copy or via e-mail - we only need the last page which is signed so please keep the rest of the form for your own reference.  If you have any questions about this form, please contact Suzi Mitchell with Hays CISD at 512-268-8538.

2014-15 Hays County 4-H Handbook

Hard copies of the Handbook are being distributed during 4-H club meetings, but you can view and download your own copy now by clicking here.  This handbook is an excellent resource for all 4-H families.  Please review it and learn about all the great opportunities 4-H has to offer!!

The Magic of Electricity

On August 20, 4-H members from Hays, Guadalupe, and Travis Counties met at the Philips Corporation in San Marcos to explore the Magic of Electricity.  This video is an overview of the fun and learning that took place during this event.  Click here to download the video.