Fort Worth Stock Show News

Today is the second of February and the BIG FREEZE is in full swing.  Thankfully most everyone is finished with the Fort Worth Stock Show.  We had several 4-Hers participate at the stock show this year.  Starting off the festivities for Rockwall County were Katie and Brian Callaghan from the Busy Bees 4-H Club with their Breeding Goats.  What a show!  It was the largest goat show at the stock show to date.  The barns were full of awesome breeding meat goats.
Brian took 4th place with his goat and Katie took 8th place with her doe in the first show.  On the second day during the second show, both did an outstanding job showing but did not place in the ribbons.  The Callaghan family and I learned a great deal about prepping a breeding goat for show.  We watched professionals at work and then started on their girls (their goats) to enhance their best qualities and hide the flaws.  Congratulations on a great show. 

The second week Rockwall County was represented by Tanner Howey, Sam Evans, and Will Morris - all from the Rockwall Clovers Club.  Tanner started off the Junior Beef Heifer Show by leading the crowd on hand in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.   Later he exhibited his Angus heifer and won his class and then took the Fall Heifer Calf Champion honors.  Congratulations Tanner.

Sam and Will were in the Swine Barn, where it was warmer, with just as much activity going on.  They exhibited their hogs in the Commercial Breeding Gilt Show.  Sam took 3rd place with his entry and Will made a great showing, but did not place in the ribbons.  Later both showed off their showmanship skills by competing in the showmanship competition.  Congratulations guys on a great show!

As we moved into the third week, the market goats arrived for competition.  Competing from Rockwall County were Anna Schieberle, Kaite Callaghan, and Brian Callaghan - Busy Bees 4-H Club.  After weigh in, there were over 500 goats divided into 16 classes. The show was broken into a two day affair.  All of our goats were in class 15 with the weight break of 96 - 104 lbs.  They showed on Sunday as the weather began to get cooler.  Everyone did a great job showing.


Thankfully everyone got home safe before the winter wonderland hit.  I hope to have more pics to add to this posting soon, so check back later.

Thanks to all of the family members who played valuable roles in the success and development of these young people.  Make no mistake, they don't do this by themselves.  4-H is a great opportunity for families to grow together.

Kids Helping Kids

It's almost time!  Kids Helping Kids, our community service project/book drive is set to kick off on February 1, 2011.  As of today, we have 11 local sites that have agreed to be book donation sites, and we are hoping for more by the kick off date.  One site, Roma's Preread Books, has already donated 3 boxes of books even before the project begins!

We're off to a good start but we still need your help.  Club Managers and leaders, please "talk up" the project at your meetings.  If every Rockwall County 4-H member donated one used children book, we would have 125 more books.

We are still looking for a location where we can store books throughout the drive.  A climate controlled location would be best.  There are flyers that you can pick up at the Extension office if you'd like to promote this project to other community groups you belong to.

This project promises to be a great success.  It can be, especially if everyone pitches in to help.

Thanks!

Food Project Training

Don't forget! 

If you are participating in the food project, and plan to compete in the Food Show or Food Challenge, there will be two training opportunities in January.  On Monday, January 10th, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Cody Hayes, the culinary instructor for Rockwall High School, will conduct a food project training in the commercial kitchen at Rockwall High School.  This is a wonderful opportunity to learn from an expert chef.  Cody will conduct a second training on Monday, January 31st, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m, also in the commercial kitchen.  Then, on Saturday, February 12th, from 10:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m., he will conduct a three hour training.  Please call the Extension office to confirm if you plan to attend these training sessions.

FCS 101 Training Opportunities

Attending online training opportunities scheduled in January, February, March, and April, is a good way to learn more about your current projects, or to learn about new projects.

* Safety & Family Life January 25th 10:00 am (safety) 11:00 am (family life) TPH681703

* Health February 16th 10:00 am QSK732906

* Housing & Home Environment March 22nd 10:00 am PPN632671

* Food & Nutrition April 12th 10:00 am TNS772468

To attend, just log onto the Extension CENTRA website at http://webconference.tamus.edu/main/tce, click on the link for public events, and you can attend these trainings as they are being presented live.  Many public events are recorded so, if you can't attend on the scheduled day, log on at your convenience and watch the recording.  Use the event numbers (TPH681703 for example) to watch the live presentation or the recorded version.

4-H "Foodies"

Are you a 4-H Foodie?  What is a foodie anyway?  A foodie is someone who is interested in food, wants to learn about food, knows why some foods are better than others, and wants to learn how to prepare and eat good food.

If there are enough Rockwall County 4-H Foodies who want to participate in an ongoing food related project, the 4-H Foodies project will be available in 2011.  The project will begin after the Food Show and Food Challenge are finished. Are you interested?  Call Lexie at the Extension office for more details!

Food Show & Food Challenge

Food Show and Food Challenge contests take place on February 26, 2011 at TAMU - Commerce.  If you are a 4-H "foodie" remember that the registration due date for these contests is February 4, 2011.  Go onto 4H Connect to register.  The cost to register for the Food Show is $8.00/person and the cost to register for Food Challenge is $12.00/person.  You can find more information about these contests on the District 4 4-H website http://d44-h.tamu.edu.

Getting Ready for the New Year 2011

Wow, It's hard to believe that 2010 is almost over.  Before it gets completely behind us, take a few moments and think of all of the great skills and knowledge you have learned this year.  Think about everyone who has helped you reach your goals and then be sure to thank them for the part they have played in your life this year.  We have much to be thankful for.  Remember we are privileged to live in our great country.  With the privilege comes responsibility as well.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Extension  Office.