4-H and Area News

Personal Column

Mary Loftis

Mary Loftis

UNL Extension

January 10, 2014

4-H Snow/Snowless Sculpture Contest

As 4-H Clubs start making plans for the new year I want to remind our clubs and members to make plans to create an entry for the annual Burt County 4-H Snow/Snowless Sculpture Contest. This is our low budget, 4-H promotional activity that offers everyone the opportunity to get out and play in the snow. If we don’t have more of the white stuff in the near future, then we’ll just alter the contest to a snowless 4-H promotion!

The Burt County 4-H Council sponsors this contest with prize money and we encourage our individual and club entries to be at least as permanent as a snowman on a warm day. We can’t always hit the weather just right to be able to create a sculpture out of good packable snow that will last for a week or more, but do your best. Try to position your sculpture to promote 4-H in a relatively high traffic area (rather than behind the barn) so it stirs up some conversation at least.

The 4-H Council will meet Tuesday, January 28^th for their first meeting of the year and will determine the contest categories. In the past we’ve had “Most Creative”, “Greenest” and “Best Message”. I doubt we’ll stray too far from those themes in case you get creative before they meet. Give it some thought, get creative and take a digital picture you can email or mail to me, Mary Loftis at 111 N. 13^th Street, Suite 6, Tekamah, NE 68061 or at mloftis2@unl.edu.

The Special Garden Project

Moving from snow to spring let’s start planning for the Special Garden Project. This is a way to offer 4-H members the chance to grow unusual and fun projects in their gardens. The unique Love-Lies-Bleeding Amaranth is the featured project for 2014. Love-Lies-Bleeding Amaranth is an heirloom flower that has many uses.  The brilliant red seed heads hang down from upright plants.  The flowers are long lasting and are great in arrangements either as fresh cut or dried flowers.  When allowed to mature, the seeds from the plant can be eaten as can the fresh small leaves.  It will take on average 65-75 days from planting to bloom.  The seeds can either be started indoors in containers 6 weeks prior to the first frost then moved outside, or directly planted outside after the last frost free date, usually around the second week of May.  The tiny seeds will take 2 weeks to sprout.

If you’d like to reserve a packet of seeds please call the UNL Extension office by February 6 at 402-374-2929 and we’ll get you on the list.

4-H/FFA Market Beef Weigh Day

          The Burt County weigh day will be Saturday, January 25 at the Johnnie Johnson Farm at 1340 County Road E, Craig, NE. Weighing will be done from 8:30-11:30 a.m. and ear tags will cost $1.00 each. If you plan to show at State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben you’ll need to collect DNA samples. Each animal you identify with a DNA sample costs $6.00. Identification sheets will be filled out that day and it’s helpful if the 4-H members are available to sign their own forms as well as a parent or guardian.

If the Burt County date doesn’t work there are several other options available:

Sunday, January 26 – 1:00-4:00 p.m. Masonic Home for Children, Fremont

Saturday, February 1 – 9:00-10:00 a.m. Cooper Farm, 8502 Mormon Bridge Rd., Omaha, NE

Saturday, February 1 – 10:00-Noon, Washington County Fairgrounds, Arlington

Saturday, March 22 – 12:00-2:00 p.m. Wahoo Sale Barn, Wahoo, NE

If attending another county’s weigh day you will need to bring ear tags (4-H or FFA) from your own county and DNA envelopes if you are identifying animals for State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben.

Burt County Fair Kickoff Event

          Don’t forget to get your tickets to the Burt County Fair Foundation Kickoff Event on Saturday, February 8^th. It will be held in Tekamah this year at the Tekamah Auditorium and the county fair theme is “Hats Off to the Burt County Fair.” Tickets are limited to 350 and are available in Lyons at the First National Bank NE; in Oakland at the First National Bank NE Motor Bank on Hwy 77 and Red Barn Vet Clinic; in Tekamah at Burt County Insurance in the Washington County Bank, UNL Extension Office in the Burt County Courthouse and at Lee Valley.

Mary Loftis,

Extension Assistant
UNL Extension – Burt County
111 North 13th Street, Suite 6
Tekamah, NE 68061
Phone: (402) 374-2929

Fax: (402) 374-2930

Internet: mloftis2@unl.edu