Rowland Norment Students in Hand to Hand Combat

You can't help but be aware of the flu epidemic and how everyone is lining up for H1N1 vaccines and doing all sorts of things to try to stay healthy. The first grade students at Rowland Norment Elementary School in Lumberton are no different. Today the EC and first grade youth took charge by learning how to properly wash their hands. Hand washing you might think is a little preventative. However as the students learned today it is probably one of the best ways to fight illnesses and stay healthy.
Shea Ann DeJarnette and Aggie Rogers, with Robeson County 4-H Youth Development were invited to do their Glo-Germ program with the students. Glo-Germ is a neat science type program that allows youth to see the germs on their hands and then, using the proper hand washing techniques, kill the germs. You might ask what are proper hand washing techniques? We're glad you asked. As the youth learned today using warm water and soap are the best tools in the war on germs. The students learned as they lather up and wash their hands (particularly between their fingers) they need to sing (in their heads) the ABC's or Happy Birthday. When they are done they can rinse and the germs should be gone. Of course the fun part is putting on the Glo-Germ lotion and placing your hands under a black light. Then the germs glow a really bright white and you can see just how sneaky those darn germs are. The majority of students got it right on the first try. A few were sneaky and didn't quite wash as long as they needed to so they went back to bathroom and tried again, this time doing a much better job.
Before we left we were able to name each of our students certified expert hand washers and charged them with some new responsibilities. It is their duty to now make sure others wash their hands appropriately and if they see someone who is not doing it right they are going to show them how to do it. Talk about germ warfare!
We must give a special thanks to Ms. Vera Hockaday's class (pictured above). Not only did they invite us to come do this they were kind enough to share their Harvest Festival treats with us, and even gave us enough to bring back to share with our entire Cooperative Extension Staff. We really appreciate the generosity and thoughtfulness. We had so much fun today that we have been invited back to visit with the second and third grades next Tuesday. Stay tuned because we are looking forward to that as well.

Winding Down and Saying Thank You

It is sad, no more cotton candy, funnel cakes, or collard sandwiches. As we finish winding down the fair, cleaning up at the fairgrounds, cleaning out our vehicles from hauling everything around for 10 days, it is time to reflect, smile, and say thank you.

First we need to say thank you to the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair, Coble D. Wilson, Jr. the Fair Board President, and all the members of the fair board, and friends of the fair. The fair board members not only allowed us to celebrate our centennial but really backed us and supported us in our efforts this year. It started before the fair ever opened. This year the 4-H educational booths were placed in a special area in the commercial exhibits building and we had more than 3 times the booths that we normally have.
Then the fair kicked up a few notches with our opening ceremonies and Dr. Thearon McKinney, from our state 4-H office, helping kick off this year's fair. Our Junior Fair Board members handed out centennial pins to the first 100 people through the gate. Each of the fair board members received a centennial pin and wore them throughout the duration of the fair. A few even had 4-H shirts and we really appreciate those who were brave enough to switch from their fair board shirts to their 4-H shirts and wear them during the fair. The fair also had special travel mugs made with the fair logo on one side and the 4-H centennial logo on the other side, which they gave out to principals, and special guests during the fair. A few of our 4-H members released one hundred 4-H balloons into the air. To top off a grand opening ceremony Steve Troxler our state Agriculture Commissioner, Cherrie Berry, our state Labor Commissioner, and Dr. Thearon McKinney all cut the 4-H birthday cake to really make sure this year was extra sweet.

It did not stop there. During the week we had our usual youth activities. 4-H of course was predominate in the Livestock building with nightly animal shows. We also had a centennial scavenger hunt we gave out t-shirts that had the fair logo on the front and a huge centennial logo on the back. The fair board was kind enough to supply the shirts as a prize for this event. J&J Amusements and the Starr Family Circus were also kind enough to help us by keeping answers to the scavenger hunt on rides and stages. The Junior Fair Board which is made up
predominantly of 4-H members was present every night. These teens helped measure youth for rides, gave out wristbands to help children so they would not get lost, and for those who did get lost they helped them find their parents. These very responsible teens also gave out information about shows and other goings on at the fair and helped out some of the fair board members with their events.

Our own Aggie Rogers organizes a ton of other youth events at the fair like Apollo Night, the Step Show, Fair Pageant and Praise Dance Competition. Between these events she is with the Junior Fair board members making sure they have everything they need.

Probably the biggest thank you of all needs to go to our 4-H members and volunteers. To start with the efforts of all of our clubs were evident in their hard work in their booths. The St. Paul's Pony put up a horse skeleton that the members of the club spent a year putting together. The Junior Fair Board, Lighting Electric Club, Inspirational Youth, and Future Leaders put up their first fair booths ever. Voices in Praise, Young Leaders, Horsin' Around and Dirty Rascals Junior Master Gardeners stepped up to the challenge of the Centennial theme and outdid themselves again this year. Of course we also have to thank our friends from Bladen County 4-H for all their hard work on the ambassador booth and 4-H booth. They did themselves proud as well and showed that our fair is truly a regional fair, and we all work together to make the best better.

The work of our volunteers did not stop there. Some of our 4-H volunteers were out there every night (or pretty close to it) and deserve a special pat on the back for all their support of our 4-H program. Marilyn Merritt was by Aggie's side helping with the Junior Fair Board. Bobby Rogers started helping set up booths, offered his carpentry skills all around, and then moved on to hay and helping mentor some of our 4-H members at the fair. Every time I turned around there was Jane Hurst with her camera. Snapping photos and filling any slot where we needed someone. Sandra Cox came out and helped with Senior Citizen day which is always appreciated. Missy McLean and Larry Russ were in the livestock building helping with everything from watering down the ring to weighing in animals, cutting up chickens (grocery store chickens), and even capturing crazed animals that would get loose in the ring.
Allen Monk, a Bladen County 4-H member and his mother Peggy Monk volunteered to help us in the Livestock building and they were wonderful to work with this year and were willing to step in wherever we needed them. Tanya Underwood and Penny McCartney flew in to help with their first ever poultry judging contest. Of course I can't forget one of our best gate keepers, Scott Shaver, a Bladen county 4-H volunteer, who would go to work and then come out to the fair to handle gate duty for our lamb and heifer show. Then there is an entire list of extension agents who came in and volunteered on weekends and on their own time to help with competitions: Livestock Agents Michelle Shooter, Tiffanee Conrad-Acuna, and Becky Spearman; 4-H Agents Michelle Stumbo, Angela Shaver and Lauren Irby; Horticulture Agent Kerrie Roach and Poultry Agent James Parsons.

After thanking all of these volunteers, which our success at the fair is
dependant on their help there is one last group we need to thank, our youth and parents. We had 4-H members from around the state come to compete at our fair and parents who are so supportive they are willing to get up early and drive to our fair to allow their child to be in an environment where they can learn, achieve and succeed. This is why we all do this, is to give that positive hands on learning opportunity to our youth to allow them to grow and become successful adults in the future. the place to do that from October 1-10 was the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair.

One quick follow up to our opening day. I got a call Friday afternoon from a very nice man named Tim Barfield, in Cary, North Carolina. He called to tell me that he and his son were fishing about 10 miles south of Atlantic Beach out in the ocean and saw something floating out there. Being the good environmentalist that they are they thought it was trash and went to pick it up. As they got closer they realized that it was a bunch of balloons. When they fished them out they were able to piece together that it was part of our balloon release and called me to let me know where they found them. I was so thankful that they fished them out of the ocean, and called us that we will be sending him a big thank you note and centennial pin.

The fair may be over for 2009 but we will start planning now for 2010. If you would like to volunteer to be part of the fun just let us know by calling (910) 671-3276 we always need help and are excited to work with volunteers in any capacity. Go ahead and mark your calendars for the 2010 Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair, our 10 days of fun will be September 30-October 9.

One last thank you to everyone who made this fair such a huge success for 4-H. We can't do it without you and we hope you know how much we appreciate everything you do.

Baaaack to the Shows

Saturday at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair is time for our 4-H Lamb and Heifer Shows, and did we ever have a show. The day starts early, around 7 a.m. with the first lambs making their way in around 7:30. We have weigh in and by 10:30 everyone is ready and waiting to go. After a quick calculation of weight classes we were ready to get into the ring.

We started with showmanship. The cloverbuds, our 5-8 years olds took the center stage. This division is non competitive so the youth have the opportunity to show their lambs in the ring and receive trophies for the work they have done. April Baldwin, Hannah Naylor and Tate Naylor kicked things off for us in this division and did a spectacular job showing their lambs.

Next up is the 9-10 year old junior division. Once again their were only three competitors in this division but unlike the cloverbuds these were placed on their showing ability. After a bit of time in the ring our judge placed Ashley Wilson first, Amber Fout second and Hunter Muse third. Each received a rosette ribbon and cash prize for their efforts.

In the 11-13 year old junior division there was a lot of competition. The judge had a tough time deciding with this crowd. When the eight contestants finally stopped moving around in the ring the judge had his placings. Samantha Naylor took home the blue ribbon, Robert Seals took home the red ribbon, and Henry Carter walked away with the white. Rounding out that age division were Sabrina Blake in fourth place, Megan Baldwin in fifth place, Glenn Bill in sixth, Benjamin Herndon in seventh and Olivia Muse in eighth.

Up next is the toughest group of competitors each year, the 14-19 year olds also known as the Senior division. With 10 in the ring at one time the judge had his hands full watching our competitors as they did their best to show their lambs. Taylor Black must have wowed the judge taking home first place, while Heather Goodrich came in a close second and Ian Ridenhour rounded out the top three spots. Following closely behind our top three leaders in this division were Courtney Dotson, Hattie Furr, Jacob Faggart, Danielle Blake, Mariah Graham, Steven Boudreaux, Jr., and Cooper Locke.

That was just the first round in the ring after that our competitors went in the ring for the 4-H market lamb show. This show is centered around the lamb. The divisions are divided based on the lambs' weight. This year our lightweight division was 65-111 pounds, our middleweights were 113-127 pounds, and our heavyweights were 129-147 pounds. Each division had 12 -13 competitors making the judging difficult for our judge. Below are the standings for our divisions:
Lightweight

Glenn Bill with Snowflake-11

Cooper Locke with Sissy Girl-10
Hunter Muse with Allie-9

Olivia Muse with Snow-12

Steven Boudreaux with Lilly-8
Olivia Muse with Zoe-7
Henry Carter with Aggie-3
Sabrina Blake with Mary-1
Megan Baldwin with 270-6
Hunter Muse with Combo-5
Smantha Naylor with 107-2
Amber Fout with Spout-4
Middleweight

Benjamin Herndon with Alexander-9

Glenn Bill with Annie-10
Henry Carter with Merle-11
Samantha Naylor with Wildman-4
Hunter Muse with Carlie-12
Ian Ridenhour with Bella-6

Olivia Muse with Bozo-13

Hattie Furr with Lucy-3
Heather Goodrich with Clyde-5
Mariah Graham with Bo-7
Benjamin Herndon with Bucephalus-8
Glenn Bill with Bo-1
Heather Goodrich with Blue-2

Heavyweight

Courtney Dotson with Spice-11
Danielle Blake with Pickles-12
Jacob Faggart with John Boy-10
Samantha Naylor with Lambo-5

Samantha Naylor with 723-1

Robert Seals with Sinbad-3
Hattie Furr with Sugar-4
Robert Seals with Sarah-2
Ashley Wilson with Buddy-6
Hattie Furr with Duke-7
Ian Riddenhour with El Diablo-8
Taylor Black with Troy-3

After the weight divisions were decided our first place winners from each got back into the ring to chose the best of the best. Sabrina Blake with Mary, Glenn Bill with Bo and Samantha Naylor with 723 were vying for Grand Champion. When it was all said and done Samantha Naylor with lamb number 723 took Grand Champion while her ring replacement Robert Seals with Sarah took home Reserve Champion.

After a short break and time for everyone to get photos in the ring it was time for our 4-H Steer and Heifer shows. As always we started with showmanship. There were no cloverbuds this year to kick off the festivities so we went straight to the Junior division. There were two competitors in this division, Vinnie Grazino who took first and Abigale Montcreif who placed second. In the Junior 11-13 age division Austin Cameron and Anthony Bullard went head to head with Austin taking home the blue and Anthony the red. In the Senior division Sable Scott and Dennis Bullard squared off in the ring with Sable edging out Dennis for first place.

Next we had our 4-H market heifer show which is done by birth dates of the heifers. In the 3/1/2009-4/30/2009 division there were three competitors. Austin Cameron with Double C8/50, Anthony Bullard with April, and Abigale Montcrief with Agnes. Austin and his heifer took first while Abigale and Agnes were a close second and Anthony and April rounded out the top three spots. In the 1/1/2009-2/28/2009 category Vinne Grazino with Lucy took first. Austin Cameron racked up another blue ribbon with Double c 8/21 in the 9/1/2008-10/31/2008 division. Sable Scott and Annie Oakly also took home blue in the 11/1/2007-12/31/2007 division.

After that our first place winners took center stage competing for Grand and Reserve Champion. When it was said and done Vinnie Grazino with Lucy took home the Grand Champion prize while Sable Scott with Annie Oakley took home the Reserve Champion title.

After that we had two contestants with steer so we had an impromptu steer show. Usually steers are shown by weight but since we only had two we thought we would combine and weight classes into one and let them go head to head. Once again Vinnie Grazino had a blue ribbon to take home while Dennis Bullard walked away with the red in our first ever 4-H steer show.

As if all of this was not enough fun for one day we had someone else to recognize for their support of our 4-H centennial. We chased down Coble Wilson, Jr., President of the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair to present him with a certificate for the entire Fair Board for all of their support of 4-H. They helped us promoted our centennial through the fair book, on coffee mugs, with t-shirts and by allowing us to have extra special activities for this fair. We could not have had such a wonderful celebration if it weren't for their support and we really appreciate it.

This was all the fun we could stand for one day but stay tuned to our 4-H blog for more followups of 4-H events from the fair as we wind down and clean up from this years events.

Friday is a Day of Rest for our Animals

Friday at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair is a day of rest for our animals as they prepare for our last big show on Saturday, the 4-H Lamb and Heifer show. This show will involve youth from all over North Carolina and is second biggest to the goat show each year. As we prepare for that show we are just kicking back and enjoying the sights and sounds of the fair this night.

One of the neat things we were able to do today with a little down time was say thank you to some folks. We presented Star Family Circus and J&J Amusements with official 4-H Certificates of Appreciation for their support of our 4-H Centennial Activities at the fair. Star Family Circus allowed us to put an answer for our 4-H Scavenger Hunt on their fence in front of the stage and J&J amusements let us put two answers up, one on the ferris wheel and fun slide. They were particularly supportive of our efforts and happy to help out in our celebration and we really appreciate their efforts.

The 4-H Scavenger Hunt was 10 questions about 4-H. Each question had clues to find the next answer. Several youth found the answers and will receive a free 4-H t-shirt provided by the fair. The winners of t-shirts include: Maurice R., Tarangie G., Dillon M., Cierra W., and more.

In case you missed it in the Robesonian, our County Extension Director, Everett Davis, did a fantastic article about the fair and 4-H. Make sure you take a moment to read it. It might even make you want to join 4-H.

Stay tuned to the 4-H blog as we give you the highlights of the 4-H lamb and heifer show...coming up soon.

No Eggs Laid During This Competition

What would a county fair be without animals? I don't mean pony or camel rides but cows, goats and the ever popular chicken. Although the chickens may not be the cutest or cuddliest chicken in the building it is a big draw especially on Thursday nights at the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair when we have our annual 4-H poultry shows.

This year we had youth showing both laying hens and broilers. Three cloverbuds, Adelmo Wyrtko, Regina Koch and Caleb Jacobs learned how to hold their laying hens as the entered the show ring and got ready for our judge to check out their birds. When they left they all had trophies in hand and big smiles on their faces. Up next was the Junior division. Long time competitor Benjamin Herndon took first in this division with his hen while Mikayla Hecker took first place in the senior division.

The broiler competition was a little more competitive this year. Although we did not have any cloverbuds we had two Benjamin's registered for our Junior division Benjamin Herndon and Benjamin Dial. Benjamin Herndon added another blue ribbon to his collection after this competition. The Senior division allowed for a brother sister match as Kelsy Bullard took on her older brother Sebastian. Kelsy took home the blue while her brother walked away with the red ribbon in this competition.

We will wind down our animal shows on Saturday with Lambs and Heifers. The lamb show starts promptly at 11 while the heifers will start at one. Come by and see us at the Robeson County Fair this year...just two days left for the 2009 fair year.

What an Eggs-cellent Opportunity

What would make teens from across the county flock to the Robeson County Fair? Deep fried goodies? Rides that turn you and churn you? Youth social events? How about the ever popular 4-H Poultry Judging Competition? These FFA and 4-H members flew to the fairgrounds Wednesday afternoon for an incredible competition that included eggs in and out of the shell, live and dead chickens, and chicken parts.

More than 65 youth took part in this years competition. It was a humdinger as they had to judge live past production hens and place them, provide oral reasons on why they placed the chickens in the order they did, name the various parts of a chicken from a grocery store hen that had been cut up, grade eggs that had been broken out of the shell, grade grocery store chickens that had been tied up so they could properly examine them, and judge eggs by their interior qualities by candling them.

Each youth travelled with 9 others from station to station and had 10 minutes at each station. The youth did their best to examine each item and fill in their answers to gain the top score. When it was all said and done Destiny Smith placed first in the individual junior division. Stan Locklear placed first in the Senior Division with Allen Monk a close second and Dillon Dennis third.

In the team category there were 16 teams competing for three slots. The teams included Diamond Trail Academy, Lumberton FFA, St. Paul's FFA, Red Springs FFA and Purnel Swett FFA. When the scores were tallied Diamond Trail Academy went home with the top honors. Two of the St. Paul's FFA teams followed with second and third place.

Keep following all of the competition news and excitement on our 4-H blog as we continue all this ag-fun. Thursday night is our annual poultry show. Our 4-H youth will show laying hens and broilers this year in contention for the top prize.

Day of the Pig

They were a lot cuter six months ago when they went home with our 4-H members however now these hogs that have tripled in size are becoming contenders for the ring. In case you missed the squeal Tuesday night is traditionally the 4-H pig show at the Robeson County Fair and we unveiled our new adult hog show too.

This year three 4-H members took on the challenge of raising and showing a pig. Kashawn Cooper with Voices in Praise, Triton and Sebastian Bullard of Footprints 4-H Club all took center stage in the ring as they showed off their hard work. Kashawn Cooper placed first in the Junior Showmanship division while Triton Bullard placed first in the Senior division and his brother Sebastian placed second. In the weight division the hogs ranged from 108-190 pounds. Triton Bullard placed first while his brother Sebastian placed second and Kashawn rounded out the weight division in third.

This year instead of having two youth divisions we had one 4-H show and an adult hog show. This year Anthony Locklear brought 16 pigs and seven other adults to show them. As the adults ran after their pigs, they found keeping their eyes on the judge and the pigs was not as easy as the youth make it look. After several rounds through the ring the judge made his decision in the lightweight division. Anthony Locklear took home the blue ribbon, Ryan Locklear followed with second place and Ruby Oxendine took Third. The following contestants rounded out the lightweight division:

Dwan Locklear-6
Lyvans Lowry-4
Sherry Locklear-5
Candy Lowry-8
Tonya Mitchell-7

In the Heavy Weight Division our pigs ranged in weight from226-267 pounds. The adults did their best to motivate the hogs through the ring and around the judge to see which hog might place first. Once again Anthony Locklear took home the first place ribbon while Lyvans Lowry took home the red and Candy Lowry took home the white ribbon. The following contestants rounded out the heavy weight division:
Ruby Oxendine-5
Sherry Locklear-8
Dwan Locklear-6
Ryan Locklear-7
Tonya Mitchell-4
After getting all the hogs out of the ring we moved on to Grand and reserve Champion. Anthony Locklears two first place pigs placed one in each category awarding him the big trophy's and prize money.

Stay tuned to our 4-H blog for more updates as we continue squealing about all the fun at the fair!

Things were Hoppin' At the Fair

Mother Nature might not have been kind as an all day rain dampened the spirits of possible fair goers. With puddles and mud the fair decided close shortly after opening however the rain, mud, and muck did not dampen the spirit of our 4-Her's as they competed in our annual rabbit show.

About 15 youth were registered for this fun and fuzzy show and we had a crowd of more than 50 people cheering them on.
As always our cloverbuds (5-8 year olds) took the ring first. Some got a little help getting their rabbits to the table under the watchful eye of our judge. They held their rabbits and answered as many questions as they could about their rabbit projects. When it was all said and done they walked away with trophies and $10 for their efforts. The incredible cloverbud participants included: Jaheim Purdie, Christian Smith, Tierra Locklear, Dakota Strickland and Brionna Locklear.

Next our 9-10 year old Juniors took the ring. After checking the rabbits, talking with the youth and getting details like what they fed their rabbits, how often they cleaned their cages, if the rabbits were males or females, the judge delivered the news. Chenlin Hill took home the blue ribbon, Kristen Barnes took home the red and Abigale Montcrief took home the white ribbon.
We stepped up the competition with our 11-13 year old Junior Division. The judge had such a difficult time determining the winner it came down to one last factor the cleanliness of their feet. He said he could tell who kept the cleanest cages by the rabbits feet. Although it was still tough Dillon McCartney ended up with the blue ribbon, Ally Spivey came in second, Jordan Rogers third and Anthony Bullard fourth.

The Senior division rounded out the competition. This division was just as difficult as the others. However when it was all said and done Brian Smith took home the blue ribbon in this division and Triton Bullard took home the red ribbon.

Booth Education

One of the neat things about the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair are the educational booths. With no youth shows on Sunday it is the perfect time to check out all the booths. This year to help celebrate the 4-H Centennial the booths got a special location in the Commercial Exhibits building. If you stop by you just can’t help but be amazed. Our theme this year was the 4-H Centennial and it brought out some really neat ideas.

Voices in Praise 4-H club took first place with their booth on sewing. It is full of different items created as part of 4-H projects and looks nice and warm and cozy as these nights start to get chilly. This is a fun booth that just makes people smile.

Young leaders took second place with a timeline of our 4-H history. Some of the old county scrapbooks on display and the clover is everywhere. They highlighted some of our past programs and current programs with their work on their very colorfully green booth. For some of our 4-H Alumni and long time volunteers this stroll through memory lane will be a lot of fun for you.

The St. Paul’s Pony club members put together a horse skeleton that is on display. They members have learned all the bones of the horse and even had to learn how to make them and wire them together. The process has taken lots of man hours but the members and volunteers are thrilled with all that has been done. They also have a display with a diagram of a horses brain and much more. If you like horses this booth will captivate you.

The Horsin’ Around 4-H club put together a booth with a past and present theme. They also show the different 4-H projects that the club works on and showed off their spirit in a horsy sort of way. This is a neat representation of this very young club, young in that it is full of cloverbuds (5-8 year olds). Check it out and their work will put a smile on your face.
Bladen County joined our fun this year as well.

The Junior Fair Board members also created a centennial booth with a little help from Cumberland County. They put up a lot of information about our 4-H history in it. There are also some really neat antiques that you might want to go in and check out to remember how it used to be. This booth is really educational about the centennial and what 4-H was about.

You don’t want to miss the “Lighten’ Electric 4-H Club”. Their booth is a made to scale kitchen with old items like a wood burning stove and newer items like a refrigerator. The kitchen table is even half old half new. This booth is worth just standing in front of for awhile and admiring the handiwork and counting how many items you can identify.

Future Leaders set up their first booth this. It is a representation of the club members during meetings etc. The tree in the backdrop representing the growth of these youth as they move through our 4-H program.

Inspirational Youth Leaders is making their premiere appearance at the fair. Their booth highlights the past with really neat items like an old (and very heavy) phone, cotton picker, and coffee grinder. They highlight the present with photos of their youth in club activities. This is one of our newest clubs and they are up and coming in our county program. This was an excellent booth and the youth should be congratulated on their efforts during the year.

The Bladen county Ambassador program set up a booth highlighting everything about 4-H. 4-H Ambassadors are teens who go through different levels of training to market 4-H to other youth. We know that youth will learn from other youth faster than from adults. Our Ambassadors in a way serve as 4-H recruiters and marketers for our county and state program. They are trained to handle the media, public speeches, presentations and are a great assets to our programs. This booth highlights everything that 4-H can do for a young person.

The last booth is our “Dirty Rascals” Junior Master Gardener 4-H club booth. Their centennial theme was celebrating the past, present and future. They show youth in all three eras. Of course since our JMG’s are concerned with ecology and the future the youth in the future are wearing recyclables, rather fashionable recyclables at that. The youth also recorded a narrative about the history of 4-H, what it means to them now, and what they think it will be like 100 years from now.

So if you have a chance check out these booths between ribs, rides, and deep fried goodies. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at all they and our 4-H members and volunteers have to offer.

Get Your Goat?

This first Saturday of the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair is traditionally the day the animals move in and the goats take over. We started early in the morning with lots of birds, poultry, horses and cows moving into the livestock building. As they got comfortable in their home away from home for a week we started setting up for our biggest show of the season, the goat show.

More than 180 goats came to the fair for this spectacular show. We started with the 4-H shows. The cloverbuds were the first in the ring and they had a ball as they walked with, dragged, and sometimes were dragged by their goats. When they were done, each received a special trophy and cash prize. The brave cloverbuds who showed their goats were: Madison McInnis
Delani Reep
Will Meacham
Abby Hamilton
Taylor Chappell
Savannah Chappell
Eli Maske

Following that were the 9-10 year old juniors in the 4-H showmanship category. In this category the youth are judged on their showing ability. We had so many juniors we had to split them up into two heats. When the dust finally settled, Davis Moye took first place, Jordan Carroll placed second, and Madelyn Chappell placed third. The following list received participation ribbons and cash prizes for their efforts:

Kristi Reep
Brianna Hamilton
Hope Haren
Kristen DeBerry
Vincenzo Grazino
Logan Spivey
Ashley Rogers
Taylor Tarte

In the intermediate Junior division (11-13 year olds) Morgan Rockwell took home the blue ribbon, Michaela McInnis took home the red while Trey McInnis took home the white. The following showman took home participation ribbons and cash prizes for their efforts.
Alana McQueen
Carly Godwin
Jeremy Fehlman
Justin Ford
Salvatore Graziano
Ally Spivey
Jordan Rogers

The Senior division (14-19 year olds) had more than 28 competitors signed up. When all the shuffling was done Darin Lefler took first place, John Ronald Walton took home the red ribbon and Paige Harrelson took home third place.
Nathan Ezzell
Michael Ezzell
Amie Howie
Grayson McQueen
Jessie Yaw
Johanna Carter
Jacob Matthews
Taylor Britt
R.J. Williams
Byron Faison
Emily Williamson
Trey Fitzpatrick
Cody Guy
Sarah Brewer
Hector Salinas
Ryan McInnis
Dixie Acorn
Morgan Honeycutt
Theresa Fehlman
Catherine DeBerry

The next show was the 4-H market show. There were three weight divisions Lightweight (45-69 lbs), Middleweight (70-83 pounds), and Heavy Weight (84-111 pounds). The judge is judging the goat in each of these competitions and had a tough time placing in each division. However the lightweight division was lead by Brianna Hamilton with Dr. Pepper, followed by Jordan Carroll with Caesar, and Trey McInnis with Peach. Rounding out the Light Weight division were:
Madelyn Chappell with cotton
Ashley Rogers with Diamond
Davis Moye with Twighlight
Emily Williamson with Alex
Taylor Tarte with Jack
Byron Faison
Trey Fitzpatrick
John Ronald Walton with Star
R. J. Williams
Amy Howie with Allie
Vincenzo Graziano
Kristi Reep with Ray J
Sarah Brewer with Triple G
Nathan Ezzell with Jake
Nathan Ezzell with Jasmine
Page Harrelson with Amelia
Jacob Matthews with Fred
Jessie Yaw with Buddy
Theresa Fehlman with Buffy
Johanna Carter with Emmet
Michael Ezzell
Hope Haren with Lightening

In the middleweight division John Ronald Walton with Dynasty lead the way with Davis Moye with Destiny a close second and Jordan Carol with Julieanne rounded out the top three. The following participants and their goats rounded out the middle weight division:

Dixie Acorn with Bailey
Hope Haren with Thunder
Salvatore Graziano with Bob
Brianna Hamilton with Lemonhead
Theresa Fehlman with Tigger
Trey McInnis with Conway
Logan Spivey with Duke
Taylor Britt with Max
Madelyn Chappell with Brownie
Ryan McInnis with Firebird
Michael Ezzell
Cody Guy with Buddy
Grayson McQueen with Mr. Peaches
Jeremy Fehlman with Buster
Michaela McInnis
Morgan Rockwell with Candy
Hector Salinas with Hancho
Theresa Fehlman with Jinx
Alana McQueen with E.B.1257

In heavy weight it was just as fantastic a competition as Theresa Fehlman with Bad Luck took home first, Morgan Honeycutt with Scooby Doo second and a familiar name, John Ronald Walton with Pokey rounded out the top three in the age division.
Madelyn Chappell with Gunner
Morgan Rockwell with Tom
Dixie Acorn with Red
Carly Godwin with Maggie
Darren Lefler with Maddie
Trey Fitzpatrick with BamBam
Davis Moye with Hotshot
Morgan Rockwell with Angel
Page Harrelson with Lizzy
Grayson McQueen with Swamp Bottom
Kristen DeBerry with Scorch
Brianna Hamilton with Flip
Justin Ford with Daisy
Jordan Rogers with Mambo
Ryan McInnis with Porsche
Ally Spivey with BoBo

The first place winners entered the ring again to choose the best of the best. Theresa Fehlman with her goat Bad Luck took home grand champion while John Ronald Walton with Dynasty took home Reserve Champion.

After a short break we jumped into the adult/youth breeding meat goat show. First show was the percentage doe show which had eight divisions. These goats are classified by birth dates. Below are the standings for each division:

6/30/09 +John Ronald Walton with Star-1
Davis Moye with Twilight-2
4/09-5/31/09Ryan McInnis with Camaro-1
Trey McInnis with Peach-21/09-3/31/09John Ronald Walton with Daisy Mae-1
Darren Lefler with Maddie-2
Jeremy Fehlman with Faith-3
Evan Whitely with Millie-4
Ryan McInnis with Firebird-5
Nathan Ezzell with Jasmine-p
Teressa Fehlman with Jinx-p
DeLani Reep with Diamond-p
Scott Simmons with Taylor-p
Jordan Carroll with Faith-p
10/08-12/31/08Joyce Evans with Cindy-p
Hillary Whitley withMolly-5Eric Honeycutt with Lady GaGa-3Paige Harreslon with Lizzy-4John Ronald Walton with Gracie-2Morgan Honeycutt with SweetSuprise-1
04/08-09/30/08Joyce Evans with Cindy-3Hillary Whitely withMolly-5
Eric Honeycutt with Lady GaGa-7
Paige Harreslon with Lizzy-1
John Ronald Walton with Gracie-4Madelyn Chappell with Cinnamon-6Morgan Honeycutt with SweetSuprise-2

9/07-3/31/08Joyce Evans with Cindy-3Hillary Whitley withMolly-5
Eric Honeycutt with Lady GaGa-7Paige Harrelson with Lizzy-1
John Ronald Walton with Gracie-4Madelyn Chappell with Cinnamon-6
Morgan Honeycutt with SweetSuprise-2

8/06-8/31/07Terry Whitley with Sugar-1
Michael Ezzell with Lip-3
Nathan Ezell with Suzy-2

Before 8/06
Eric Honeycutt with Dene- 2
Kristie Crumpler with Dori-1

Grand Champion Percentage Doe went to Morgan Honeycutt with Sweet Surprise
Reserve Champion Percentage Doe went to Kristie Crumpler with Dori

In the Full Blood Doe Competition the placings rounded out as:
1/09-3/31/09
Joyce Evans with Snuggles -7
Roscoe Oxendine with Kaye-1
Paige Harrelson with Amelia-8
Morgan Rockwell with Angel-4
Darren Lefler with Candy-5
Davis Moye with Destiny-3
Jordan Carroll with Julieanne-6
John Ronald Walton with Dynasty-2

10/08-12/31/08
Roscoe Oxendine with Brenda-1

4/08-9/30/08
Pam Whitley with Olive Oil-8
James Locklear with Melinda-5
Kelly Bell with Tiff-4
Tommy Oxendine with Penicher-3
Roscoe Oxendine with Cassandra -6
Ernest Dial Jr. with RM806-2
Darren Lefler with Misty-7
Davis Moye with Daffy-1

9/07-3/31/08
Evan Whitley with Star-5
Pam Whitley with Gracie-4
Jerry Lovette with RM791-1
Morgan Rockwell with Daisy-3
Morgan Honeycutt with RM881-2

8/06-8/31/07
Tommy McPhaul with RM735-2
John Ronald Walton with Chicken-1

Before 8/06
Whitley, Pam Whitley with Wendy-3
Eric Honeycutt with Misty-2
Tommy McPhaul with Galaxy's-1

Grand Champion is Jerry Lovette with RM791
Reserve Champion is Davis Moye with Daffy

After the Full Blood Doe Meat Goat show we moved into our last show of the evening, our Full Blood Buck Show:
1/09-3/31/09
Joyce Evans with Dusty-2
Tommy McPhaul with TDMA BudLightY25-1

4/08-9/30/08
Roscoe Oxendine with Earnest-1

9/07-3/31/08
Evan Whitley with Treebrand-2
Ernest Dial Jr. with TDM2Bud'sBadBoy-1

Before 8/06
Tommy McPhaul with RMBud-1

Grand Champion is Earnest Dial with TDM2Bud’sBad Boy
Reserve Champion is Tommy McPhaul

To get an idea of how much fun these shows are check out the Robesonian. If you are interested in other animal shows stay tuned for more information right here at the 4-H blog.

Getting Ready...

It was a typical Friday for fair goers as they ran across the midway to enjoy rides and games. I also noticed a few people checking out funnel cakes, deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and lemonade.

For those of us behind the scenes we spent tonight in the livestock building getting ready for the stampede of animals tomorrow. We already have the baby ducks and chicks snuggled in their shavings, and tomorrow it will be time for the adult chickens, pigeons, and ducks to fly in. Let's not forget the excitement of the horses, cows, and lambs that we are expecting also.

However the first Saturday of the fair is traditionally reserved for our goats. Not only will some be coming to stay with us but they will be coming just for our shows. We have more than 60 4-H youth registered for the 4-H shows that start at 3 p.m. After that we will have the Adult/Youth Breeding Meat Goat Show which is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. You can see some of the finest goats and showman in the state at these shows and we are looking forward to a huge crowd.

Although tonight was mostly prep work tomorrow we will start getting down to the business of the fair. Stay tuned to our 4-H blog for photos and winner updates as we move through the shows this week.

Opening Day = 4-H Birthday Bash

It is our favorite season. Not Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter but Fair. That's right Thursday is the opening day for the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair. This year is was doubly as spectacular as the fair helped celebrate the 100th anniversary of North Carolina 4-H. On hand for the official opening ceremony were a list of dignitaries (as well as the fair mascot, Fair Weather) with wonderful messages. North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler spoke about all the work it takes to get a fair together and kick it off and what a wonderful fair we have. Cherie Berry, our state Labor Commissioner, spoke about the tough standards we have for rides and other fair events and our organizations work together to have the safest fair possible for everyone. Representative Garland Pearce, County Commissioner Noah Woods, Sheriff Kenny Sealey and Mayor Pro-Temp Eric Hackney also spoke and brought greetings to all.

Of course for 4-H the special guest was Dr. Thearon McKinney. He spoke about our 4-H Centennial and how important 4-H can be in the lives of our youth. He also talked about our county 4-H program and said that it was not your average program, which we are happy to attest to with all the 4-H participation at the fair this year. It was such a treat for us to have him as part of the opening ceremony.

After all of the speeches Dr. McKinney and others made their way off the stage to cut the ribbon for the 63rd annual Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair. After that we broke out into Happy Birthday 4-H and our youth released 100 balloons into the air to help celebrate our Centennial. As we made our way in for food, Commissioner Troxler, Commissioner Berry and Dr. McKinney cut our official 4-H Birthday Cake for fair goers to enjoy.
As the fair progresses we will have lots of photos each day and will keep you up to date on all our fair activities. You can also check out the fair's webpage at www.robesoncountyfair.com and don't forget to check out the Robesonian which has a great article today about our fair. We will let you know about updates on Twitter (so if you would like a tweet you can click here to sign up). Stay tuned for some more great 4-H happenings!