by CrownRandall | Jan 22, 2025 | Agriculture
NEW MADISON – On January 21, the Trails and Tails 4-H Club gathered for its annual Year-End Review Banquet to celebrate the hard work, dedication, and accomplishments of its members throughout 2024. The event was an opportunity to reflect on the year’s successes and honor the efforts of members in both livestock and non-livestock projects.
Awards and Recognitions
Several members were recognized for their outstanding contributions in various categories. The following individuals were honored with prestigious awards:
- Outstanding Willingness: Bailey Foster
- Outstanding Involvement: Caleb Elliott
- Outstanding Leader: Olivia Elliott
- Outstanding Leader: Ruby Delk
- Most Improved Equine Member: Bailey Foster
- Most Improved Rabbit Member: Caleb Elliott
- Most Improved Non-Livestock Member: DD Ramsey
- All-Star Sales: Ruby Delk
- Plugger Award: Sophia Hemmelgarn
The Advisors’ Award, a special recognition presented by the club’s advisors to a member they feel has shown true potential, was also given to three outstanding members. This award is not based on the number of awards won or the level of involvement but recognizes individuals who demonstrate promise and dedication.
- Madison Werner awarded Bailey Foster
- Marla Werner awarded Ruby Delk
- Jeny Elliott awarded Caleb Elliott
State Qualifiers and Special Achievements
Several club members qualified for state competitions and were recognized for their commitment to excellence in specific areas. These members showed extraordinary effort in their respective projects and earned a spot in state-level events:
- Kiera Spencer: Equine Communications & Communications
- Olivia Elliott: Communications
- Ruby Delk: Equine Communications & Communications
- Deirdre Ramsey: Junior Self-Determined
- Jocelin Smith: Self-Determined
- Madison Castle: Canning/Freezing & Senior Self-Determined
- State Competitors: Ruby Delk and Kiera Spencer (Equine Communications)
Honorable Mentions
The club also took time to recognize the efforts of other dedicated members who contributed to the success of the year, including:
- Summer Harter
- Tara Seger
- Parker Fourman
2025 Club Officers
The 4-H Club also introduced its new leadership team for the upcoming year. The following members were elected as officers for 2025:
- President: Ruby Delk
- Vice President: Bailey Foster
- Secretary: Olivia Elliott
- Treasurer: Sophia Hemmelgarn
- Reporter(s): Bailey Foster and Ruby Delk
- Historian: Caleb Elliott
Looking Forward
“We are so proud of this incredible club and the dedication shown by all of its members,” said a club representative. The Year-End Review Banquet served as a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year and to acknowledge the hard work and commitment that made it all possible.
Join the Trails and Tails 4-H Club
For those interested in joining or learning more about the Trails and Tails 4-H Club, we welcome individuals with all types of projects, both livestock and non-livestock. Meetings are held on the third Monday of every month. For more information or to become a member, please contact Madison Werner at 937-564-7250.
The Trails and Tails 4-H Club is excited to continue fostering a community of young leaders, committed to growth, learning, and service. Congratulations to all the award recipients and here’s to another successful year ahead!
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by CrownRandall | Jan 20, 2025 | Agriculture
DARKE COUNTY – The Darke County 4-H Beef Club held their January meeting on the 7th at 7 pm in the Brick Room at the Brethren’s Home in Greenville.
The meeting was called to order by President Paige Gehret. Anna Barga gave the secretary’s report and Lance Brinksneader gave the treasurer’s report and the reports were approved. Logan Brinksneader gave a health and safety report.
The club played musical chairs as a recreational activity. The club voted to pay for one project book per member. Talked about trash bash which is April 12 & 13. Reminded members club dues are $4. Roll call was taken and the meeting was adjourned.
The next meeting is a skating party on February 4th at the Skate Zone in Greenville from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
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by CrownRandall | Jan 20, 2025 | Agriculture
VERSAILLES – At the January 13th, Versailles FFA meetings, two individuals were named Versailles FFA members of the month including junior Jenna Breeze and sophomore Simone Gireshop.
Jenna Breeze is a second-year member and is a junior and has been active in monthly FFA meetings, Fall Harvest Sale, Greenhand FFA Conference, fruit sales, blanket the World, omelet breakfast, Farm Day and poultry days promotional activities. Jenna just recently competed in the Food Science career development event. Jenna is the daughter of Carla Breeze and Daniel Breeze Jenna received a t-shirt and certificate. Congratulations to our first member of the month, Jenna Breeze.
Simone Grieshop is a third-year Versailles FFA member and a sophomore. Simone has been active in monthly meetings, shop and crop, Ag is a cool tent, fall harvest sale, fruit sales, green hand conference, veterans’ program, canned food drive, blanket the world, omelet breakfast, penny war, Senior citizen visits, farm day, poultry days tents, toy distribution and soup and sandwich social. Simone serves as the co-chair of the community interactions that recently conducted the Can Food Drive. She has participated in various invitational CDEs for agronomy, food science and parliamentary procedure. Simone Grieshop is the daughter of Chad and Andrea Grieshop. Simone received a T-shirt and a certificate.
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by CrownRandall | Jan 20, 2025 | Agriculture
VERSAILLES – On Monday, January 13th, Versailles FFA Members visited the Versailles Senior Citizen Community Center to celebrate the monthly birthdays.
Every month Versailles FFA will celebrate birthdays with cake and ice cream and conduct a special activity. As part of the birthday celebration, Versailles FFA brought along winter crafts and assisted in making pine and flower arrangements in wooden logs.
A special thank you to Nature Reflection for donating the pine and flowers and Danic York for supplying the wooden logs.
In addition Versailles FFA brought cards and a poster to those who had birthdays in January. Versailles FFA members that helped include: Abby Henry, Greta Broering, Rhylan Broerman, Josh Henry, Josie Pothast, Eden Barga, Sam Green, Garrett Thompson, Tristain Ward, Symone Wehrkamp, Isabel Grisez, Adam Rauh, Brooke Keiser, Miles Garber, Drew Geisendorff, Kallie Banks, Jaelyn Hecht, Frankie Broerman, Aleta Longfellow and Simone Grieshop.
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by CrownRandall | Jan 17, 2025 | Agriculture
I hope this Newsletter finds you well. The temperature continues to fluctuate some, but overall remains cold, with some snow and ice mixed in (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?fips_39037). Be sure to be safe on the roads, especially in snowy and icy conditions.
The next Darke County Garden Roundtable and January 30th at 6:00 p.m., at the OSU Learning Center. The agenda is attached to this email. If you have any questions or topics you would like me to discuss ahead of time, please use the following survey link: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_06zzY8Kwhnmd4Nw.
For those needing to renew their pesticide or fertilizer licenses, there will be two training sessions in Darke County to recertify. The first will be January 31st, with pesticide training beginning at 9:00 a.m. and fertilizer training beginning at 1:00 p.m. The second training date will be February 20th, beginning with fertilizer training at 4:30 p.m. and pesticide training at 6:00 p.m. Both sessions will take place in the meeting room at Darke DD, 5844 Jaysville-St Johns Rd, Greenville, OH 45331. Please note that on the notification letters sent out, I made an error. The letter states that the 31st is a Thursday, but it is a Friday. Please also note that these recertification trainings will be taking place in neighboring counties as well if you are unable to attend in Darke County. If you need to register for one of these sessions, or if you have any questions, please reach out to me.
If you are in need of Beef Quality Assurance Certification, I will be providing a training session in partnership with the Darke County Cattlemen’s Association. The event will take place on February 1st, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., and will be in the Ansonia High School Cafeteria. The training is free for all DCCA members and youth and is $10 otherwise. More details can be found in the attached flyer.
HPAI in Darke County remains an important topic. The number of HPAI cases can be tracked using the ODA website at the following link: https://agri.ohio.gov/divisions/animal-health/hpai/01-poultry. Continue tracking the number of cases and follow biosecurity principles to best prevent the spread of HPAI and other diseases.
This month, I will be at Worch Library in Versailles to discuss the topic of Drones in Agriculture. This is an increasingly popular topic as more and more people take an interest in it. It will be a rather simple overview of the topic and will not offer any form of certification, but will provide valuable information on the subject, including what drones can be used for in agriculture, their advantages and disadvantages, regulations to be aware of, and other factors that are worth considering when thinking of utilizing drones. This will be January 23rd at 6:00 p.m., and more information can be found in the flyer. I hope to see you there!
Let me know if you are interested in a copy of the eFields Report, or if you have any interest in working with OSU Extension on future research projects.
This week’s Newsletter topics include:
· Budgeting Considerations for 2025 Milk Prices
· Cold Stress and Beef Cows
· Corn Disease Management
· First Quarter Fertilizer Prices
· Ohio Legislative Roundup
· Preparing Livestock for Cold Weather
I hope you enjoy this week’s Newsletter, and as always, never hesitate to reach out to me and let me know how I can best serve you and all of Darke County.
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by CrownRandall | Jan 10, 2025 | Agriculture
VERSAILLES – On Thursday, January 9th, members of the Versailles FFA participated in the District 5 Food Science and Technology Contest at Versailles.
The contest required students to identify aromas, conduct a triangle test, take a written test on food quality and safety, identify safety problems from a customer complaint letter, solve math problems and identify food processing tools. Versailles FFA placed 2nd in the district and qualified for the state contest. Team members included Gabe McGlinch who placed 3rd overall, Maggie McGlinch 6th overall, Simone Grieshop, Greta Broering, Eden Barga, Ruthie Smith, Patrick McGlinch, Rhylan Broerman and Jenna Breeze.
Congratulations to all those who competed and good luck at state!
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