New!

We no longer have the ability to send targeted emails to our membership. Previously, information regarding specific projects was sent to only those enrolled in that project. Now, due to the fact we have to send emails to everyone, we will be putting in the subject line who the email pertains to i.e." All 4-H Members" or "4-H Food Project Members" or "Market Animal Members."We will also repeat the audience at the beginning of the email message.This should help clarify which messages contain the information important to you and your specific project areas. Thank you.

Attention!

Members with market animal projects! The Livestock Committee is making some important changes that could affect you and your market animal for the fair and sale. PLEASE read all emails, texts, newsletters and the Market Animal Agreement.It is your responsibility to keep current on this information!

Congratulations!

Teton County 4-H had great results for Montana Certified Lamb specifications, Montana Steer of Merit and Montana Symbol of Excellence for Swine once all the results from across the state were tallied.Jacob Major, Andrew Major and Boaz Lytle were all recognized for "selecting and raising a market lamb which meets Montana Certified Lamb specifications."Cole deVos' beef carcass placed 14th out of 114 beef carcasses statewide. Highlights for the State Swine of Excellence program include: Jeremiah Rammell placing second out of 86 in the light carcass division.Grace Toeckes had the #14 carcass with Charlie Long bringing the #17 carcass.Congratulations to all!

The Next 31

December 1

  • Deadline for 4-H Re-enrollment
  • Late penalties enforced after this date

December 6

  • Teton County 4-H Council
  • 5:30 p.m. at Teton County Courthouse

December 9

  • Awards & Fair Committee Meetings
  • 3:45 p.m. at New Life Church in Fairfield
  • Please let Jane know if you want to attend via video or phone.

Office Hourse/Coverage

MSU Extension Teton County wants to serve you.During the holidays, December 20-31, please call the office prior to coming in to be sure someone is in to assist you.This is especially important if you are coming in from a distance.We will do our best to ensure at least one of our team is available.Thank you!

Happy Campers

If you turned 14 by October 1, 2021 and you are interested in becoming a counselor for this summer's 4-H Camp, please call us (406-466-2491), text us 406-350-5373 or email Jane ([email protected]).Camp planning meetings will begin in January or February.

Make It Yourself With Wool

Congratulations to Maggie Toeckes and Shea Ostberg for their placement in the November 6 District III Make It With Wool contest in Great Falls.Maggie placed first in the Junior Division with a two-piece dress and coat ensemble and Shea took second with a three-piece pant, shirt and coat ensemble.They will both compete in the state contest on December 4 in Billings.

Yours for the Asking

MSU Extension Cascade County has donated some beautiful wool material for whomever can use it. Please see picture to the right. Contact the Extension Office if you are interested.

For the Good of the Order

Rec Lab 2022:  The Road to Success

Where:  Hobson, MT

When:  March 18-20, 2022

Who:  For 4-H members ages 13 and older

Watch your email for more information coming soon!

States' 4-H International Exchange Programs

2022 Outbound Programs

Costa Rica, Japan, Korea, Norway, Romania, Taiwan and Argentina

States' 4-H Summer Outbound programs provide American 4-h youth with the opportunity to travel to foreign countries for a month-long cultural immersion experience.  Delegates live with volunteer host families* and engage in experiential learning about a new way of life.  Delegates experience aspects of daily life that allow them to more deeply understand both their host culture and their own cluture.  Our network of like-minded international partners recruit host families and plan enrichment activities.  

*Exception:  Argentina uses group accommodations on program

Contact the MSU Extension Office in Teton County for more information.  

Market Animal Possession Dates

Beef:January 3, 2022Late:January 13

Swine:April 4, 2022Late:April 14

Lamb/Goat:April 18, 2022Late:April 28

Committee Members

Award:

  • Abigail deVos
  • Cole deVos
  • Josh deVos
  • Salina deVos
  • Chelsee Yeager

Communication:

  • Heidi Konen
  • Susan Snyder

Budget & Audit:

  • Jen Asselstine
  • Rachel Christensen

Exchange:

  • Cynthia Rice

Horse:

  • Arianna Banner
  • Avery Banner
  • Gage Banner
  • McCoy Banner
  • Todd Banner
  • Ayden DeBruycker
  • Kelly DeBruycker
  • Abigail deVos
  • Cole deVos
  • Salina deVos
  • Holly Hamilton

Livestock:

  • Todd Banner
  • Ayden DeBruycker
  • Kelly DeBruycker
  • Ryan DeBruycker
  • Danelle Crary
  • Dusty Crary
  • Abigail deVos
  • Josh deVos
  • Salina deVos
  • Katie Egbert
  • Clayton Forseth
  • Ashle Morris
  • Brent Roeder
  • Susan Snyder
  • Doug Ulsh
  • Chelsee Yeager

Record Book:

  • Susan Snyder
  • Leona Somerfeld

Textile:

  • Madeline Konen

Thank you to those who have volunteered to be on committees.  If you think you signed up for a committee and your name is not listed above, please contact the Extension Office.

Bullseye!  Archery Begins...

4-H archery will begin in January on Mondays. It will meet at the Choteau LDS church January 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31.There will be two classes: beginning and advanced.The beginner class will be 5:30-6:45 pm and the advanced class from 7:00-8:15 pm.If you have any questions, please contact Jason Asselstine at (406) 750-1342 or email [email protected].

 

Club Hubbub

Livestock Committee Minutes by Danelle Crary

The Teton County 4-H Livestock Committee met on October 5, 2021, at the Teton County Annex in Choteau.

Present were Danelle Crary, Clayton Forseth, Ashle, Jorja, and Alexis Morris, Katie Egbert, Chelsee Yeager (phone) and Karen Forseth, Extension Agent.

The meeting was called to order at 7:11 pm by Ashle who then led the American and 4-H pledges .

Danelle read the minutes from the previous meeting.Chelsee moved to approve the minutes and Jorja seconded. Minutes were approved as submitted. Karen presented the Treasurer's report.The previous balance was $14,758.47. Total expenses paid was $4961.52, leaving a current balance of $9796.95.

Reports: Karen presented a tentative Livestock Committee Meeting/Organizational schedule to help guide when important decisions need to be done.

Old Business: 1. Additional signer on account:On July 8, 2021, the Teton County 4-H Livestock Committee met via email to establish another signer on the bank account. A motion was made and passed to add Mark Major. Karen was planning to verify his participation on the livestock committee but Mark passed away very unexpectedly. Another signer will be addressed in the future.

2: Second reading of Constitution and by-laws: The Teton County 4-H Livestock Committee and By-laws changes were presented for second reading. The changes are mostly to align wording with MSU Extension Guidelines.

New Business: 1.2021 Fair Review: Karen presented a chart with problem areas at the fair, the main issues, and possible solutions.The set-up, clean-up, and swine show were the problem areas. A club rotation or splitting the market animal members in half might help, with half required to set-up and half required to clean up.A stall deposit was discussed. It is getting more difficult to get families to volunteer and members to actively partake in all aspects of the fair. Chelsee moved that all with market animals be required to pay a $100 stall deposit. A separate check for each market animal will be made out to the Teton County 4-H Livestock Committee and is due with fair entries in May. If the 4-H member completes set-up and clean-up duties satisfactorily, their check will be returned, and if not, the check will be deposited into the Teton County 4-H Livestock Committee bank account. Alexis seconded and the motion passed.

Observations of the swine show indicated that some of the pigs were unruly and difficult to handle. Members taking swine will be encouraged to work with their pigs throughout the entire project. A resource list of leaders and members willing to help members having trouble will be available. Members will be encouraged to be able to move their pigs to the show ring without the use of the alley, but the alleys will be available for those members that prefer the security of the alley.The swine superintendents and Livestock Committee will observe hogs and will remove problem hogs from the fair for the safety of the member and volunteers.

2.Auctioneers:Clayton volunteered to ask Ryan Perry to auctioneer the live sale. Karen will talk to Jerry Collins about clerking the sale and what the online options and costs are.Decisions based on services and fees will then be made.

3.Policy committee:Katie and Danelle volunteered to work with Karen to go through policies, creating a policy book and cleaning up the market animal agreement form.

4.Possession dates: Beef will be January 3, Swine: April 4 and Lambs/Goats: April 18.Late dates are 10 days after the possession dates and late fees will apply with entries denied after the late date.

5.Assessment fees: an increase in assessment fees was discussed. With an increase in all expenses, the committee felt it necessary to raise the assessment fees. Alexis moved to increase the assessment fee by $40 per species, Jorja seconded and the motion passed.

6.Ear tags inventoried and re-ordered as needed and billed to the Livestock Committee.

7.Elections: tabled until next meeting. President and Secretary are up for election.

Fair week 2022 is June 20-26.The next meeting is scheduled for November 9, 2021 at 6 pm in Fairfield. Todd or Josh will be asked to check on the availability of the New Life Church. Jorja moved to adjourn and Clayton seconded.Meeting adjourned.

Challenging Champs by Amara Bodkins

The Challenging Champs 4-H Club met on October 3, 2021 at 2 p.m. Twenty members and five adults/club leaders were present. Zoe Martinez led the American pledge and Jessica Toeckes led the 4-H pledge. Secretary Amara Bodkins read the minutes from August meeting and the minutes were approved. There was no treasurer’s report, as the paperwork was at the extension office. Our club elected new officers for the 2022 4-H year. Jersey Somerfeld was elected president, Jordyn Stengrimson was elected vice president, Jessica Toeckes was elected treasurer, and Amara Bodkins was elected secretary. Colin Woodhouse, Zoe Martinez, and Jessica Toeckes all volunteered for club caller so our club decided to have each of them use a different social media platform to inform members about meetings and activities. For old business Kelsey informed us that our club was approved for cleaning Highway 431. We decided to clean the highway on October 17 at 2 p.m. Our club was paid for gym cleaning, and we told new members how much money we make cleaning and what tasks we are required to do. Kelsey gave a report on our community garden; the produce was given to senior citizens and other community members, and Laura Toeckes is using purple potatoes to make a lunch dish.For new business, members were reminded that 4-H enrollment started October 1 and that all project materials are being paid for by the 4-H Council.Leaders noted with which projects they could help members:Deanna can help with sewing and quilting; Kristen can help with entomology, cooking and baking, and crocheting; Leona can help with record books, cooking and baking, cake decorating, leatherwork, pig and beef; Stacey can help with self-determined, cats, floriculture, and gardening; Laura can help with food preservation, steers and sheep, and photography; and Kelsy can help with knitting and anything with which anyone needs help. Our club decided to make a float for homecoming on October 9 that will help promote

4-H. Jessica motioned to do Trunk or Treat, which is where our members go around the community and ask for food donations to donate to the food pantry. The motion was approved with a second from Caleb. The date for this was set for November 7 at 3 p.m. Jersey reported on gym cleaning concerns and told us we need to clean the gym bleachers better to fulfill our club's duties. Sammi and Annie gave a project report on the bake sale they had. They donated crafts to the Children’s Receiving Home and will use the rest of their profits for projects this year. Our club then agreed to have meetings on the first Sunday of each month at 4 p.m. and change as needed. We then decided that we will use money from our club to pre-purchase snacks and drinks for the year for each meeting. Kristen Martinez said she would create the activity/snack/demonstration committee. Our next meeting will be at 3 p.m. on November 7, where we will do Trunk or Treating first and then hold our club meeting afterwards. Jessica motioned to adjourn the meeting and Jordyn seconded the motion.

Old Agency by Natalie Hodgskiss

On October 26, 2021, Old Agency had a 4-H meeting at the Choteau Elementary Cafeteria. There were 14 members present. The roll call question was “What is your favorite thing about fall?”

New business:

Trent and Seeley talked to the group about CASA. The CASA director told them that the kids there could use toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, teddy bears, and many other items. The 4-H group formed a committee to go to Great Falls and get items for CASA. Andrew moved and Trent seconded to spend $250 on items for CASA.

The group discussed what we wanted to do for a Christmas party. We came up with multiple ideas and decided to wait until the next meeting to decide what to do.

We also discussed the food drive. We talked about what we wanted to do instead of donating food because they already have a ton. We decided to donate $250 to the Choteau Food Pantry. Andrew moved and Addi seconded to donate $250 to the Choteau Food Pantry.

Seeley announced to the 4-H group that Kayla Breen was willing to teach 4-H members how to make a food called alexa.

The club elected new officers for the year: President-Claire, Vice President-Addi, Treasurer- we will elect at the next meeting, Secretary- Natalie, Historians- Hayden and Seeley, Reporter-Andrew, Game Directors- Charlie, Grant, and Trent.

Laudi moved and Jacob seconded to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned.

Local Shooting Sports Leader Training

There will be a local Shooting Sports Leader Training in Greenfield this January.On January 7-8, Shooting Sports Leader certification will be offered in archery, pistol and rifle at the Greenfield School.In order to be a Certified Shooting Sports leader, one must be enrolled in the county as a 4-H leader, pass a background check and complete the requirements for Shooting Sports Leader Training.For more information, please contact Brian Bedord at 406-590-9092 or [email protected]

Scholarship $$$

The Montana 4-H Foundation administers a variety of scholarships with ONE application.The MSU ExtensionTeton County office administers the Boe Brothers and Anne Wiprud scholarships.The applications for these two scholarships will be sent to each Teton County FFA and 4-H member who is a senior this winter and the completed applications are due in March.

Money for You

It is the policy of the Teton County 4-H Council that 4-H members in good standing will have 1/2 of their conference registration fees paid.If there is a conference, training, seminar, etc that you would like to attend, please remember that you are basically getting 50% off the registration fee!

Club Rotations

Challenging Champs: Meat and Greet
Eager Eagles: Weatherbeater Concessions
Old Agency: Meat and Greet
Prairie Stars: Fair Clean Up: Pavilion and Camp Rotary Clean Up
Spring Creek: Pavilion Fair Project Display

As always, clubs may exchange duties with another club. Both clubs must agree with the exchange.
If clubs decide to exchange duties, please inform the Extension Office. If an assigned duty does not occur,
as has happened with COVID, a club may be assigned another duty by the Extension Office.

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.

2022    June 20-26
2023    June 19-25
2024    June 24-30
2025    June 24-29
2026    June 22-28

Camp Dates

2022    July 25-29

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


Agents:

Karen Forseth:  [email protected]
Jane Wolery:  [email protected]

Assistants:

Sharla Hinman & 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