Swine/Goat/Lamb Possession Deadlines

Swine possession deadline is April 3, 2023. Lamb and goat possession deadline is April 17, 2023. The Extension office will be sending out packets for those animal projects in early to mid-March, 2023. Some information on pigs and lambs for sale has come to the Extension office. It is included in the newsletter if you are interested.

Volunteer Training

New volunteers must complete training to become active. We ask that returning volunteers complete training modules as soon as possible.

The Next 31

March 3-5

  • Montana Shooting Sports Invitational, Friday-Sunday, Bozeman

March 17-19

  • Rec Lab, Friday-Sunday, Culbertson

March 18

  • Communications Day, Saturday 8:00 a.m., Choteau Baptist Church

March 31

  • Boe Brothers Scholarship applications due, Friday, 5:00 p.m., Extension office
  • Anne Wiprud Scholarship applications due, Friday, 5:00 p.m., Extension office

April 3

  • Swine possession date, Monday by 5:00 p.m., Extension office

April 17

  • Club dues and 1% deadline, Monday by 5:00 p.m., Extension office
  • Lamb and goat possession date, Monday by 5:00 p.m., Extension office

Communications Day

Communications Day will be Saturday, March 18, 2023. It will be held at the Choteau Baptist Church, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lunch will be served. Please register with the Extension office by 5:00 p.m. March 3, 2023, so we have time to prepare! Let us know what type of communication event you will be presenting and if you will need any equipment.

Register for Teton County 4-H Communications Day

Thank you, Camp Counselors

Register for Teton County 4-H Communications Day

Club Dues and 1% Fee

The following clubs Eager Eagles, Prairie Stars, and Teton County 4-H Horse Club have already paid their dues and 1% fees! Thank You! Club dues and the 1% fee are normally due on April 15. Because April 15 falls on a Saturday this year, dues and fee deadline will be April 17. We ask that all other clubs and committees send payment to the Extension office by that date. If not paid by April 17, 2023, the amounts will double. Checks should be made to Teton County 4-H Council. If you have questions please call 406-466-2491.

Market Swine, Goat and Lamb Deadlines

Avoid late fees ($100 swine, $80 lamb/goat):

  • Be sure to read all materials in your packet carefully.
  • Complete everything on the Market Animal Agreement before you sign it.
  • Do not wait until the deadline to turn in your assessments! If you turn in your assessment before the due date and there are issues with your assessment, we have time to catch the issues and you have time to correct them.
  • Paperwork, fees and photos can be done through Z-Suite, in-person or through the mail.
  • Please contact the office if you have questions, prior to the deadline.

So, avoid a late fee: Read, Complete and Submit Early!!

Swine assessment packets will be mailed in early March and are due April 3, 2023. Lamb and goat assessment packets will be mailed mid-March and are due April 17, 2023.

Livestock Quality Assurance (LQA)

Livestock Quality Assurance (LQA) information will be sent directly to livestock project members soon.

Record Book Help

If you would like help with your 4-H record book the Extension office will be available after school until 4:45 p.m. on Thursdays. Bring your record book forms with you. There will be some available at the office if needed.

4-H Council Meeting Minutes

Wednesday February 1, 2023

Teton County Annex

The Teton County 4-H Council meeting was called to order by Co-Presidents Myles Allen and Presley Holmquist at 6:55 p.m. in the Teton County Annex in Choteau on February 1, 2023. Those in attendance were Extension Agent Jenn Swanson, Treasurer Rachel Christensen, Kelly DeBruycker, Secretary Misti Redland, Co-Presidents Myles Allen and Presley Holmquist and Lynda Allen. The Pledge of Allegiance and the 4-H pledge were recited.

Introductions – There were no introductions.

Roll Call – Roll call was taken by Secretary Misti Redland. Voting members were established as follows.

Teton County 4-H Council Voting Members

1 Co-President – Myles Allen Vice President – Presley Holmquist in VP’s absence

Treasurer – Rachel Christensen Secretary – Misti Redland

Club Voting Members

Old Agency – none Spring Creek – none

Challenging Champs – none Eager Eagles – Kelly DeBruycker

Prairie Stars – Lynda Allen Rocky Mountain Top Shots – none

Horse Club – none

Presentations – None

Minutes – The minutes were read silently by those present and it was suggested to correct some name spellings as well as add the monetary amount of a donation received. Rachel Christensen moves to accept the minutes with the changes suggested. Kelly DeBruycker seconded the motion, and it passes unanimously.

Treasurers Report – Rachel Christensen reported that as of the day of our meeting our funds are:

Checking account - $45,408.75

Savings account - $25,614.81

Lynda Allen moved to accept the Treasurer’s report as read and Kelly DeBruycker seconded the motion. The motion proceeded to a vote and passed unanimously.

Correspondence and Announcements – None

Committee Reports

Livestock – Jenn reported that there will be a meeting next week.

Fair – With the addition of a Meat and Greet committee, there will not be a Meat and Greet fair rotation. A concessions rotation was added in recent years. Concessions may be provided any way the club on that rotation chooses. Due to the condition of the kitchen in the Weatherbeater, organizing an outside food vendor has become a popular option. Prairie Stars is on the concessions rotation this year.

Awards – Jenn Swanson reported that she and Heidi Pearson met January 27, 2023, and reviewed the current award policy. The awards committee recognizes the changes made at the last Teton County Council meeting (increased monetary amounts). There is consideration by the awards committee to allow larger, project specific awards to be provided by outside sponsorship. The discussion will be continued for both the Pavilion and Livestock projects.

Communications – Kelly DeBruycker reported that there is a planning meeting coming up and Communications Day is scheduled for March 18, 2023.

Record Books – The Extension Office is offering 4-H members the option to come to the office after school until 4:45 pm on Thursdays to get help with and work on their record books.

Budget and Audit – Rachel Christensen reported that Diane Gollehon completed the audit, and everything went well.

Meat and Greet – Jenn Swanson reported that the committee has been created and includes Justin Paulson, Melissa DeBruycker, Natalie DeBruycker, and Chris Harvey. They are working with sponsors to help supplement the event and are looking into ways to get community members and 4-H families involved without adding to the workload of livestock families during the fair.

Project meetings – None

Old Business

Rec Lab – Rec Lab will be held in Culbertson this year March 17-19, 2023.

Fair – There was some discussion about ways we could bring the Pavilion projects and Livestock projects together to create a more cohesive and fun way to showcase everyone’s hard work. The Council and committees will be working on this in the upcoming months.

New Business

Livestock Quality Assurance – Jenn Swanson brought a proposal to the Council to “Allow in-person attendance at approved local, relevant, high quality, educational events to substitute for one or more of the annual project activities.” This policy is in reference to any multi-year project. As a result of this policy, 4-H members wouldn’t be required to complete as many project book activities and would be encouraged to attend workshops thus gaining the opportunity for more hands-on experiences. Since Teton County Extension currently only requires livestock projects to complete the project book requirements, those 4-H members would be directly affected by this policy at this time. Rachel Christensen made a motion to implement this proposal and Kelly DeBruycker seconded the motion. There was no discussion and the motion passed unanimously.

The next meeting will be in April. Date to be determined.

Kelly DeBruycker moved to adjourn the meeting and Rachel Christensen seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned by Co-President Myles Allen at 7:48 p.m.

Challenging Champs Club News

Challenging Champs Club members created Valentine's Day decorations and decorated the Power Senior Center.

Eager Eagles Club Minutes

On January 9, 2023, President Addie Pearson called the meeting to order. Ronnie Pearson led the pledges. Secretary Waverly Konen led the club in a name game before she did roll call and read the minutes. Nolan DeBruycker motioned to accept the minutes as read and Korbin Pearson seconded the motion which proceeded to a vote and passed unanimously. The Eager Eagles congratulated Shea Ostberg on winning first place in the local junior division of the Make it With Wool contest and for winning second at state in the junior division. Treasurer Ayden DeBruycker gave the treasurers report. We have $1,400.32 in our checking account and $213.17 in our savings account. We did not have a cooking meeting last month to report on but the next one will be held on Friday, January 20, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. at Mrs. Konen’s house. Logan Becker, Korbin Pearson, and Nolan DeBruycker all reported on shooting sports. Some of the things mentioned were that the targets are small and shooters try to get all the pellets into one hole. Switching gears to livestock, we will have the same judge as last year and all the animals will be going to Vandevanters to be processed. The next livestock meeting will be held at the NewLife Church in Fairfield on Feb. 7, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. The Cloverbuds will be having a meeting at Fischer’s house, where they will do some cooking on January 17, 2023, at 3:45 p.m. Because we did not make as much money at our bake sale as we did last year, we decided to give all the proceeds to the food pantry instead of splitting it and keeping half for our club. Korbin Pearson motioned to donate all the money we made, $367.50, to the Fairfield Food Pantry and Ronnie Pearson seconded the motion. We voted on the motion, and it passed unanimously. Next Mrs. DeBruycker told us about a grant that the Montana Farmers Union was offering to 4-H clubs for $100. To get it we just need to write a sentence about what we plan to do with it. After some discussion Ayden DeBruycker motioned to apply for the grant and if we get it, give half of the money to the Fairfield Food Bank and the other half to NewLife Church for letting us use their building for our club meetings. Nolan DeBruycker seconded the motion which proceeded to a vote and passed unanimously. Communications Day is coming up on Saturday, March 18, 2023. Start thinking about what you would like to demonstrate, talk about, or show. You may be able to take your presentation to Montana 4-H Congress where you could win a trip to Atlanta, Georgia. Talk to Kelly DeBruycker or Jamie Smith at Extension if you want details or want to sign up. Also, feel free to come watch! There will be a record book and project book workday on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the NewLife Church in Fairfield. There is an international 4-H exchange with Costa Rica, Japan, South Korea. If you are interested in going to one of those places or hosting someone from one of those countries contact the Extension office. Nolan Forseth motioned to adjourn the meeting and Nolan DeBruycker seconded it, and so it proceeded to a vote, which passed unanimously. President Addie Pearson adjourned the meeting at 7:05 p.m. After our meeting, some of us worked on our project goals for animal and non-animal project journals. Our next meeting will be on Monday March 13, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. at NewLife Church in Fairfield.

Old Agency 4-H Club Minutes

January Minutes

On January 22, 2023, Old Agency 4-H Club met in the Choteau Schools Cafeteria. The American pledge was recited and the 4-H pledge was led by Ledger Martin. There were 23 members present, and there was no roll call question. Addi Christensen read the secretary’s report. It was moved and seconded that the secretary’s report be accepted as read. Carly read the treasurer’s report. It wasmoved and seconded that the treasurer’s report be accepted as read.

Old Business

Reports on the Christmas party- Ella Cornelious stated that it was fun.

Reports on the pie baking class- Izzy Cornelious said it was fun and that she made cherry-strawberry pie.

New Business

In order to be a 4-H counselor, you must be fourteen as of October 1, 2022, and have had to be signed up by January 31, 2023.

Rec Lab is March 17-19. You must be at least thirteen to attend and you will learn about leadership, communication, and team-building skills.

Communications Day is on March 18 and a report from a previous competitor, Natalie Hodgkiss, says that she did a three-person demonstration on how to make slime with Claire Long and Addi Christensen a few years ago.

There is an international hosting opportunity for four weeks this summer. Two kids from Norway and thirteen kids from Japan are looking for host families. For more information, contact the extension office.

A feed opportunity is being offered by North 40. You can get a ten percent discount on all regular-priced livestock feed and show supplements. If you are interested, the extension office has cards.

The Montana Farmers Union is offering one hundred dollars to any 4-H club that sends them a sentence stating what your club wants to do with the money. Josyln suggested that we buy art supplies. Seeley Neil seconded. The motion was passed.

Finally, we worked on our 4-H book and setting goals.

Meeting Adjourned

Rocky Mountain Top Shots News

Montana 4H Rifle and Pistol Shooters from Teton, Lake, Flathead, Gallatin, and Richland counties competed in the USA Winter Open at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center December 2022. Teton County 4-H members Bryce Bedord and Dakota Gibson participated.

Congratulations, Dakota!

Dakota Gibson, Rocky Mountain Top Shoots 4-H club member, won the Gold Medal for 18 and Under Air Pistol at the USA Winter Open held at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center in December 2022.

March 3-5:  Montana 4-H State Shoot

The 28th Annual Montana 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational will be held in Bozeman on March 3-5, 2023. Please see the State Website for all information regarding the State Shoot. The events held at the State Shoot are Air Rifle, Air Pistol, Smallbore Rifle, Smallbore Pistol, Target Archery, and 3D Archery.

The State Shoot will serve as the qualifier for the Air Rifle, Air Pistol, Smallbore Rifle, and Smallbore Pistol events. The top 4 individuals in each event will be invited to represent the State of Montana at the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships to be held in Grand Island, Nebraska, June 25 – 30, 2023. Those individuals trying out for the Sporter Air Rifle Team must compete in Sporter 3P and Sporter Standing. The top 4 finishers will be determined from the combined scores from these two events.

To attend the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships, participants must have passed their 14th birthday by January 1, 2022, of the current year and may not have passed their 19th birthday before January 1 of the current year in which the championships are held.

     

Montana State Awards

Teton County                                                                                                                                                                                      The Montana 4-H State Awards program recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of 4-H members who reach a standard of excellence in a project area. State Award winners go above and beyond regular project work with a focus on leadership, communication and community service. Winners are eligible to attend National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, Georgia. The out-of-pocket costs for Teton County 4-H members has been around $300 for the week of National 4-H Congress. The timeline below will help those who plan to apply for state awards in 2022-2023. Much of the process is self-directed.

December:

• Download state award application from Montana 4-H website
• Spend 3-6 hours completing written work – add information based on your own record books, Teton County 4-H newsletters which are posted online, club leader information
• Have your application reviewed by your family members and your club leader
• Look up “verbs for resumes” or “adjectives for resumes” to find powerful words to use as you describe your 4-H work

January:
• By mid-January, please submit your first draft of your written work to the Extension Office for editing and suggestions.
• Start working on your creative work – which can be in a variety of formats including a newspaper publication, quilt, scrapbook, video or slide show.
• Set aside up to 10 hours in January to work on your creative project.

February:
• Schedule an appointment with Extension Office. Discuss corrections needed for written application and brainstorm/plan for creative work.
• Make corrections as needed on your written work. • Set aside at least 5 hours this month to work on your award package.

March:
• Submit a copy of your creative work and corrected written work to the Extension Office.
• Schedule 2-3 hours to work with the office, if you need assistance with technology, writing, etc.
• Complete creative project, as much as possible.

April:
• Schedule 2 hours with the Extension Office to review your work.
• Make recommended changes in your project.
• Have application completed, packaged professionally, signed and delivered to MSU by May 1 (or deadline specified in application).
• Be prepared to spend the hours needed this month to complete your creative project.

Find more information about state awards.

 

Host International 4-H Youth

Call to Action! Consider hosting the following 4-H youth:

• 2 Norwegian Delegates for approximately 4 weeks, mid- to end of June

• 13 Japanese Delegates for approximately 4 weeks, mid- to end of July

• 2 Japanese Delegates for the Academic Year Program (AYP) beginning in August (lasting approximately August through June)

Experience cultural exchanges firsthand and broaden your global experience.

First come, first serve!

More information contact Christine Sommers-Austin at [email protected]

Pigs for Sale

Coy A. Braaten, a 4-H member from the Kalispell area, contacted the Extension office to say he has six pigs (Hamp/Duroc) for sale. They were born November 7, 2022. Coy believes they are the right age to be ready for the TetonCounty 4-H Fair which is June 20-25, 2023. They range in price from $220-$320. If you are interested, contact Coy at [email protected].

Lambs for Sale

  • Hays Show Lambs will have an online sale on April 1, 2023.  Contact Trish and Wendell Hays at 406-671-7493 or haysshowlambs.com for more information.
  • Lost Lake Show Lambs will have in-person and online sales on March 7, April 1 and April 16.  Contact Kevin at 406-253-0613, Inga at 406-261-3807 or Bailey at 406-314-8697 for more information.

Contact/Resources (Clip and Keep)

MSU Extension Teton County

Fair Dates

The Teton County Fair is scheduled for the last full weekend in June that includes a Sunday.

2023    June 19-25
2024    June 24-30
2025    June 24-29
2026    June 22-28

Camp Dates

2023   July 24-29

 

 

MSU Extension Teton County
P.O. Box 130
Choteau, MT 59422
406-466-2491


Agent:

Jenn Swanson  [email protected]

Assistants:

JoAnn McDowell & Jamie Smith  [email protected]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Montana State University and the Montana State University Extension Service prohibit discrimination in all of their programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital and family status. Issued in furtherance of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cody Stone, Director, Extension Service, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717