Robeson County 4-H

If you read the Robesonian or Red Springs Citizen you might have noticed a few more mentions of 4-H lately. Everett Davis, the Robeson County Extension Director has a weekly column that has featured our 4-H program three out of the last four weeks. One of the columns is below (4-H a Good Investment) and I had the fortune of being the guest columnist that week and able to share those 4-H thoughts with everyone. Since then, Everett has shared his thoughts on the 4-H Animal Science program and our recent Vermiculture experiments . If you have the opportunity please click the link for each of these stories and take the time to read them. They are informative and interesting and I hope will give you a broader view of 4-H in Robeson County.

The drizzle and grey did not keep the lambs or heifers away from the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair's annual 4-H livestock show Saturday. The morning began early with weigh in for the 4-H lamb show . More than 30 lambs made their way into the show ring to help show why their youth should be seen as the top showmen and then they re-entered to determine the best lambs based on weights. In the non-compeitive Cloverbud division (ages 5-8) showmanship category, Tate Naylor, Hunter Muse, Mason Hunt, McKenzie Love, and Mary Elizabeth Vorder Bruegge stole the ring and the audience's attention as they worked their lambs around the ring. Each received a special cloverbud trophy for their efforts. In the 9-10 year old Junior age division Benjamin Herndon placed sixth, Isabelle Love went home in fifth place, Robert Seals took home forth and Ashley Wilson went home with the white third place ribbon. Eugenie Reba Vorder Bruegge and Drayton Hancock took the top showman spots. In the Juni...

There was hay flying, turkeys rolling, and children laughing through the livestock building at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair Friday night. More than 30 youth came in to see the animals and stayed to play old fashioned barn games . There were traditional games like sack races and horse shoes, some old games with new twists like pin the tail on the cow, frozen turkey bowling and roping a bulls head, and then the game that topped all games....jumping in the hay stack. A large pile of hay was in the middle of the ring and the kids had a chance to jump in and look for prizes. Everyone had a chance to leave with armloads of prizes which included cups, stickers and educational games. You could say they had an utterly wonderful time!

Can you tell the difference between a laying hen and broiler? If you had attended the Robeson Regional Fair 4-H Poultry show Thursday night you could have had a lesson in everything from how to carry a chicken to what makes an award winning broiler. Judge Summer Russel took time in the ring with each participant talking to them about their experiences, lifting wings, and checking meat areas to determine winners. In our laying hen cloverbud division, or five to eight year olds, Raven Daughtery, Eli Daughtery and Jospeh Hardee entered the ring with their hens. Our five to eight year old division is non-competitive, it allows the youth to have a chance to learn how to show an animal and have this count as a great learning experience. Each participant left the ring with a trophy for their hard work. In the junior laying hen division Benjamin Herndon took first place and Ian Daugherty took home the read ribbon in a competition that Judge Russell said was very close. Jeremy Beavers took...

More than 80 youth from area high schools and counties took part in the annual 4-H poultry judging competition at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair on Wednesday. The youth had six different areas of competition including, judging past production laying hens, giving oral reasons, grading chicken carcases, determining chicken parts, grading breakout eggs, and candling eggs. It took about an hour and twenty minutes for the youth to move through the tough competition this this year and when the scores were totaled the top three junior (9-13 years old) and senior (14-19 years old) individual winners and teams were award trophies. In the Junior Individual Division Lumberton High School swept the category with two junior competitors. Kelli Alexander walked away with the first place trophy and in second place was Daniel Nance. In the Senior Individual Division Purnell Swett's Stan Locklear took first place (thanks to getting perfect scores in two areas of competition)....

They were squealing with excitement as the pigs trotted into the show ring at the Robeson Regional Fair Tuesday night. More than 25 pigs strutted their stuff while trying to win Grand Champion pig and the more than 15 youth did their best to steer the pigs in the right direction. In the 4-H Youth show cloverbud Keshawn Cooper walked away with a trophy for his showmanship effort and a blue ribbon in the lightweight division with his pig. In the Senior division Joshua Bessone took the ring by storm and walked away with two blue ribbons one for showmanship and one for middle weight division as well as a second place ribbon for one of his middle weight pigs. Triton Bullard received a red ribbon for showmanship and a blue ribbon for his heavy weight hog. Triton's brother Sebastian followed in his brother's footsteps with a third place in showmanship and a second place in the heavy weight division. Following the 4-H show was our youth market hog show. Our 4-H members had the opportu...

Twitching noses, thumping paws, and nervous children can only mean one thing...no it's not Easter in October, it's the annual 4-H Rabbit Show at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair. More than a dozen youth had the opportunity to show their furry friends and let judge Glen Privette question, look, and handle rabbits in mid-air and chose the best of the best. During the pre -show conference, judge Privette gave our senior showman the opportunity to show their leadership skills by assisting our Cloverbuds , those 5-8 year old's develop their show skills in the ring. Joseph Hardee , Logan Spivey , and Ashley Rogers entered the ring with their adorable bunnies and each got a few minutes with the judge to learn the tips they will need to be top competitors when they turn nine. After speaking with the judge they each walked out of the ring with their bunnies and a trophy for their hard work and initiative. Anthony Bullard and his rabbit Rex hopped home with the blue ribbon ...

It was the unmistakable sounds of sheering, goats dragging their feet, and the smell of Billy's that lets you know that the goat show was here. More than 100 goats butted heads to get to this event and as always we had a humdinger of a good time . The afternoon started with the 4-H Showmanship category. In this category the youth are broken into four age categories and compete against each other for best showperson. As always the Cloverbuds, our 5-8 year old's stole people's hearts and the show when they entered the ring. Delani Reep, Bailey Coffer, and Lucy Harvell walked into the ring with their goats in one hand and walked out with a trophy and ten dollars in the other hand when it was all over. In the new Junior 9-10 year old age Division the competition was tight, but Judge Randal White did an excellent job determining the best of the best. Michaela McInnis walked out of the ring with the blue first place ribbon, Jordan Carroll came in second, and Andi-Ann Davis...

I just filled my gas tank up and nearly cried. Each time I turn on the news, I am bombarded with debates on recession and depression, bailouts and failures. Every time I turn my head to one side or another, there is something in the headlines about a youth who made a wrong decision or a series of wrong decisions and is now behind bars and will probably be there for life. After all of that, I turn completely around and look at the youth in this county who are involved in 4-H, and I smile. I smile because here they are having fun; they are in a safe and nurturing environment and learning. Each time they figure out a concept, like how electricity runs through a circuit; each time they finish a community service project; each time they figure out that they can make a difference, they smile. That smile is contagious, and it makes me smile. If a child, who is grinning from ear to ear because they just figured out something on their own, can't make you smile, stop reading now, beca...

If you drive by the fairgrounds this week you can't help but notice the ferris wheels, crowded parking lot, and colorful lights. Yes, the fair is officially opened and it is ten days loaded down with fun, activities, and shows. The great thing about this county fair, and what separates it from other fairs, is that this is an old time agriculture fair. We have exhibits, booths, cake competitions, homemade wine competitions, the national chicken bog cook off, and live farm animals. If you look closely you can even see that popular four leaf clover with the 4-H's in almost every building. My favorite place to see the 4-H clover is in the Al Parnell Home Exhibits Building. In that building you will find four of our clubs that worked hard to create educational booths. They are some of the most creative offerings I have seen in a long time and offer fair goers an idea of some of the things that go on in 4-H. Young Leaders 4-H Club created a booth titled "4-H is Always in...