Welcome

Jackie Stratton!

If you have an opportunity to stop by the Extension Office, You can meet our new Administrative Assistant, Jackie Stratton.

My name is Jackie Stratton, I am 19 years old, I was born and raised in Shelby Montana. I like to drive around, listen to music, have camp fires, shoot my bow, and hang out with friends and family. I was in 4H when I was young but I went to Special Interest 4H and was in Archery for a while. I was also in FFA during middle school and high school. My senior year I was the Shelby FFA's vice president. I started a food bank in the school for anyone that needed it. I applied for grants and fixed up the old shop office and made it into the food bank. I am really looking forward to being a part of 4H again and to meet new people.

Re-Enrollment

Enrollment begins October 1st of 2021. Please re-enroll your 4-H member on the Z-Suite website. They will be marked inactive and will need to be re-enrolled for the new year.

Clover Magazines are available in the office. They have a list of the current 4-H projects and requirements. Parents, please consider enrolling as project leaders. Project leaders are needed to organize workshops and mentor 4-H members. Being enrolled as a leader provides supplemental insurance coverage should anything happen to you while volunteering, it certifies that you've been through a background check allowing you to work with youth, and provides you with training and tools to help as a leader.

Please be sure to be enrolled by November 19th so we can order project books!

The Toole County 4-H Council pays for your 4-H books so please be sure to treat them with care. After November 19th, you must purchase and pay for your own project books.

Rifle Sign-Ups

Sign-ups will be on Sunday, November 7th, from 10 AM to 1:30 pm at the Shelby Rifle & Pistol Club. If you have not already signed up, this is the day to do it. You MUST be registered before you start shooting. You can register for air pistol and rifle on Z-Suites as well. If you have any questions please contact Joe Hofer 406-450-2041.

Achievement Day

Mark your calendars for our 4-H Awards at Achievement Day at 2 PM on November 7th at the First Baptist Church Activity Center! We will celebrate Toole County's 4-H achievements and celebrate another year!

Blazing Saddles - Decorations

West Butte - Activity

Kountry Kids - Food/Drink

New Family Orientation

Joining 4-H can be confusing. Luckily, we have many resources to offer our new families. We will be hosting a New Family Orientation after Achievement Day. We will walk you through the Z-Suite platform, Fair Entry, and we will be there to answer any questions you may have. Please come with questions and we will do our best to get them answered for you!

Third Club???

We have had so much interest in 4-H this year that we have been looking into starting a third club in Shelby again. If anyone is interested in becoming a club leader please contact Kim!!

Project Age Requirements

You must meet the minimum required age by October 1, 2021 in order to enroll in each project.

• Cloverbuds - 5 years old, Regular 4-H - 8 years old

• Shooting Sports - 9 years old • Market Beef & Beef Breeding - 10 years old

• Teen Leadership - 13 years old • Ambassador - 14 years old

• Colt to Maturity - 11 years old and have completed Horsemanship Levels 1, 2, and 3

Beef Weigh Ins

Beef weigh ins will be Friday December 3rd @ 3pm at the Kerfoot's and Saturday, December 4th from 10am-12pm at the Flesch's Sale Barn

Members must be 10 years old as of October 1, 2021 in order to take a steer to the Marias Fair. You must be enrolled for the Beef project on Z-Suite and you must take Quality Assurance if you did not take it last year. You must take Quality Assurance every other year.We typically host one every year at Project Day or you may attend one at another county.

The following 4-H members (who are currently signed in to Z-Suite) will need Livestock Quality Assurance this year:

Taylor ParsonsBrinlee Flesch

Ty ParsonsMorgan Riphenburg

4-H Leadership Academy:

Join the Montana 4-H Leadership Academy workshop on Sunday January 9th. The leadership academy is a network of Montana 4-H members interested in exploring and developing their own leadership skills while serving their county 4-H program in new ways.

Local county leadership groups will have an opportunity to join with groups from around the state as well as the Montana 4-H Ambassador Officer team, virtually and in person when possible, to work on skill building, planning and mentorship.

Each month the officer team members will be presenting a different workshop topic that they have found to be important as they have grown their own leadership abilities. This workshop should be paired with a local county leadership meeting to work on county projects that serve the local 4-H program and community.

Leadership Academy Dates:

January 9 - How to Make Club Meetings Awesome

February 13 - Ages and Stages for Mentors

March 13 - Successful Service Learning

April 10 - Lead with a Purpose

New Year

We are super excited for the new 4H year and we hope you are too!

If you have any questions or ideas please let us know! We would be so happy to hear from you! You can contact us at Toole@Montana.edu!

Livestock Committee Updates

The following are a few updates from the Marias Fair Livestock Committee meeting:

  • Scholarships - Livestock committee scholarships will be posted online by February and due April 1, which will allow them to be announced at high school graduations. Watch http://mariasfair.msuextension.org/livestockcom.html for the application.
  • Weight limits - Maximum lamb weight limit was increased to 165 pounds. This is more in line with other fairs and allows those larger framed lambs to be appropriately finished. A heavier carcass also provides the buyer more meat for their fixed processing costs.
  • Breeding shows - Exhibitors can enter one entry per class. Exhibitors are encouraged to choose their very best livestock to enter. Additional livestock can be entered in Open Class.
  • Seewald signs - There are spaces available in the Seewald barn for additional advertising signs. If your business, club, family, etc. would be interested in having a sign displayed, please contact Jackie at the Toole County office at toole@montana.edu or (406) 424-8350for more information.
  • Livestock photographer - A livestock photographer will be needed for the 2022 Marias Fair, if you have any ideas of possibilities, please let us know.