Toole County 4-H

Published: 2022
By Kim Woodring

In the past year, the Toole County 4-H program has grown from 64 members to 100. The interest in 4-H has grown so much that we are considering reviving a fourth club. Kim Woodring and administrative assistant Jackie Stratton have been attending local trade shows and school events to get information out about 4-H The most popular projects are robotics, archery, and livestock projects. Everyone knows that 4-H is historically about working with livestock such as pigs, steers, goats, or sheep, but not everyone lives on a farm or has attainable land for housing livestock. We are seeing an increase in the indoor projects of robotics and archery. These are projects that everyone can do and are low cost to the participants. Our robotics program has really blossomed with the help of a few local grants to obtain more tablets and Lego kits. The youth members build the Lego kits and then program the robots with their tablets. There are so many options of what to build and it is so fun to see what they decide to build and how they program the robots. The archery program has thirty-eight members compared to thirty last year. They have two different shooting times to accommodate all of the new members. They are adding new leaders as well. The livestock program is combined with the Four-County Marias Fair and they average around 70 steers, 60 hogs, 20 sheep and 15 goats. The Marias Fair had a record sale year with half a million-dollar sale with only 115 animals. We started new enrollment this year with an Open House at the Extension Office. Families interested in 4-H were invited to stop by and ask questions about 4-H, get more information, and sign up for 4-H. At the end of the year, we celebrated our 4-H members and all of their hard work through the year with our annual Achievement Day. This year we decided to host a dinner for the families and the volunteers. This was a great way to celebrate the end of the year and for the 4-H members to get to know each other.