Vilsack, Biden Speak At National 4-H Conference

After a rainy, gloomy weekend here in DC, I heard some exciting news: Secretary of Ag, Tom Vilsack, and Joe Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, were going to be kicking off the starting session for the 2012 National 4-H Youth Conference, which just happens to be held where I am currently working!

Tuesday morning, acting Director of the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young spoke first, encouraging youth to think creatively and strategically to solve community issues and recognize the youth in the audience as America’s future community leaders.

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Spring Break at Home

Over Spring Break I got to go home to my hometown of Central City which was a fantastic break from Lincoln. I was at home wondering what there was to do on a Thursday night at home when all of a sudden it hit me that my county's annual pancake feed was going on that night! Of course I couldn't miss that because that pancake feed had helped fund scholarships for so many graduating 4-H members like myself, so I told my friend that was visiting that we were going to go the pancake feed and that I hope that she likes pancakes.

As we were walking in I was approached by someone that worked in the extension office asking if I was staying for a while. At first I didn't know why she was asking me this but then I realized that the Country Kids 4-H club had received 4-H club of the Month and that it was March. Since I was there that they wanted me to present the award to the club, which I was more than happy to do so. :) The picture below is myself presenting the award to the one of the members while the other members are to the left of him.

After presenting the award my friend, Melissa, and I helped my younger siblings with the cake walk while we waited for the rest of my family to arrive to eat some delicious pancakes! Once everyone arrived we all had a fantastic breakfast for supper. Everyone in my family as well as my friend Melissa had a great time supporting our local 4-H program. Here is my older brother and my younger sister enjoying the pancakes.

Since this is my first year out of 4-H it was very strange just being there and not working the pancake feed. This is something that I will eventually get use to as the years go on.

Well this is just one of the fun things that occurred during Spring break and I hope that everyone has a fantastic year filled with lots of fun 4-H projects or events.

Anastasia

Nebraska 4-H Alumni Ice Cream Social

Hello Everyone!

February is Nebraska 4-H Month. So, the 4-H Ambassadors decided to have a 4-H Alumni Ice Cream Social where 4-H Alumni's and others came out to celebrate. It was a fun filled event that was located in the East Campus Union at UNL.

We had a football signed by Ndomukong Suh, which we had a drawing for. The winner of the football was Kelly McCarty who was a 4-H Alumni from St. Paul, Nebraska. She told us her own story while being in 4-H:

"My favorite memory was when I just began taking goats to fair. My very first year taking goats, I won third place in showmanship. What's more amazing, is I won Grand Champion Market with a goat that only had half an ear! I've been showing goats ever since."

 We also had 4-H Alumni stickers for them to wear around campus. The Ambassadors decided to have a large map of Nebraska to show where everyone was from by putting a star sticker in its place. The delicous Dairy Store Ice Cream was the best! It was 4-H Clover Mint Ice Cream! YUM! The perfect way to celebrate!

Greetings from Washington, D.C.!

Hi all!
Unfortunately I haven't had a lot of opportunity to fill you in on the happenings of the ambassadors in Nebraska, because I have been interning at the National 4-H Conference Center in Washington, D.C.!

I applied for the position in October, received word that I had gotten it in November, and I moved out here in February! Since then have actually gotten accustomed to living in the big city rather than the farm where I grew up, or even Lincoln, which has a small-town feel to it. I also had to get used to not being a student for the semester- that was a VERY easy adjustment.

My position is known as a Program Assistant, there are two programs to work for, WOW (Wonders of Washington) and CWF (Citizenship Washington Focus). Both applications are available in the Fall.
I work with 3 other young women, from New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Washington! You can learn more about them here!

We have had lots of different groups so far, the National Ag Day group is hosted here, as well as the upcoming National 4-H Conference for youth! I am very excited to meet the visiting Cornhuskers!!
My job, when I'm not working on projects at the Center, is to lead groups as their visit the sights and museums in Washington, D.C. I had to take a huge test before I could be certified, but now I can tell you all sorts of interesting facts about the city!
If anyone is visiting this Summer for CWF, et excited! We have lots of fun events and topics in store for you! :)

Here are a couple pictures from my exploring so far: the first is Jefferson Memorial at night, and the second is the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center and Washington Monument!

4-H Ambassadors Learn About A-FAN!

This week the 4-H ambassadors heard Willow Holoubek speak on behalf of the A-FAN organization at their latest meeting. Willow talked about the role of advocates for agriculture and our opportunities as youth working in the field.

 Holoubek has deep roots in agriculture, spending the last 20 plus years working with her husband, Mark, and four children on the family's grain and livestock farm near David City where they raise purebred Angus cattle, corn, soybeans and dairy-quality alfalfa

A-FAN stands for the Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska. There is currently a campaign to unite ag-related organizations on campus to work toward a positive view of agriculture toward consumers and those distanced from their farming origins.

Throughout the semester the ambassadors will have different opportunities to work with other UNL and youth Ag groups to brainstorm ways to "agvocate".

Thanks so much for taking time to speak to our organization! It's great to have such great role models as we work toward a future in agriculture and youth advocacy!

Prairieland Dairy!

Recently the Nebraska 4-H Ambassadors took a tour of Prairieland Dairy in Firth, NE.

One of the first things I learned was that it was a family farm, but it was actually a group of families that got together and formed the company, so that was something that I hadn't known before!
We walked through the barns, and then saw their milking barn.

A few fun facts about Prairieland are:

There is 600 gallons of milk produced each hour

They milk 220 cows per hour, 48 stalls (24 each side)

Dairy cows drink 25 - 50 gallons of water every day

A full grown Holstein cow weighs between 1,100 and 1,500 pounds

Each Dairy cow can eat 90 pounds of food every day

12,500 gallons of milk is shipped every day

And they have a computer system that identifies: 

• individual cows
• milk production & lactation
• activity to monitor illness & estrus
• conductivity to monitor mastitis
• sorts cows that need attention

This was an awesome tour, because as you know, we have a few dairy experts on our ambassador team, as well as some who don't know as much about the dairy industry! Prairieland is a forward-thinking company- they think and talked to us a lot about sustainability. It's a word that is increasingly important in the agriculture world; how do we produce more with using less?

Thanks for having us, Prarieland! We learned a lot and it was nice to see a great example of Ag ingenuity in our "backyard"!

Rain Can't Bring Down the 4-H Foundation Trail Ride

I'm a little late in posting, but October 8 & 9 I had the opportunity to head out to Western Nebraska and hang out with over 170 people participating in the Nebraska 4-H Foundation Trail Ride in Halsey, Nebraska. I have to admit I was a little apprehensive, being someone who has never owned a horse, and the only riding I've done has been cautiously monitored. But there's a first  for everything, and I drove out Friday night after I got done with class. About half way there the sky looked like this..

Not a good sign when you're headed to an outdoor event for the weekend.. but it cleared off and I made my way to Halsey. Halsey 4-H Camp is within the Nebraska National Forest, and it is absolutely beautiful.

The path lead up to the lodge, which you'd think would be the common meeting place.

But it was not; this was..

A pasture, reached after a long, sandy, wet, rutted road (I'm glad I drove my Jeep). We met there Saturday morning for the most amazing rolls made by the staff at the 4-H camp, coffee, and for directions for the day. I was totally amazed at how many kids and families were there even though it was rainy and cold- they couldn't wait to get out and ride. And they did. They went out that morning, came back for lunch, and then went out for another ride until that night- there was a steak fry, silent auction, two little girls who sang for the crowd, and a hilarious speaker. It was so nice to sit in the warm wooden lodge after the rainy cold day. The crowd included young kids up to those who had been to all of the trail rides, which were held long before 13 years ago when it wasn't sponsored by the 4-H Foundation. Many stayed in campers and cabins, and went out the next day on an additional two rides!

I was so absolutely grateful for the welcoming spirit that the group had, I felt right at home, even so far away from my native Northeast Nebraska roots. My first opinion was that the rain was going to ruin the weekend, but it just made it that much better to get to know everyone. Thanks so much to the Halsey 4-H camp and all those who worked with the 4-H Foundation to pull off an amazing weekend.

NE Ambassadors Travel to North Platte 4-H Dance

4-H Ambassadors (l to r) Amanda Keys, Amanda Schutz, Allison Siekman, and Dustin Renken traveled to North Platte, Neb. on Saturday, October 22nd to chaperone the 4-H Dance sponsored by the Nebraska 4-H Foundation.