Bastrop County Extension & 4-H: 8/22/19 Email Blast

Good afternoon!

I wanted to touch base with everyone to send out a few reminders and opportunities coming up. Make sure that you all re-enroll in 4-H CONNECT as soon as possible so we can work on getting your registration approved. I will start sending out email blasts through 4-H CONNECT starting September 1^st. Please make sure your email is updated and correct in the system. To keep up with opportunities between emails blasts, be sure to follow us on Facebook at or on the blog at http://bastrop4h.blogspot.com/.

1. Livestock Validation Tag Orders for Lambs, Goats, and Heifers are due TOMORROW, Friday, August 23, 2019 and cost $20 per tag. After Friday, exhibitors will be required to pay a late fee of $30 per tag

a. Major Show Lamb & Goat Validation Tag Orders

i. It is time to order validation tags for the 2020 Major Shows. If you are planning to show a market lamb, market goat, breeding sheep, wether dam, breeding goat or wether doe in Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Houston, Austin or San Angelo you must order validation tags now. The cost is $20.00 per tag and the deadline for ordering and paying for tags is August 23, 2019. Late tags will be $30 each. Lambs and goats validated for the State Fair of Texas will have to be re-validated for spring major shows.

ii. TLBA and TGBA tags MUST BE in the animals’ ear before validation.

iii. The date for major show lamb and goat validation will be October 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bastrop Show Barn. This will be the only date that validation will be held. If you have a conflict, contact the Extension office, and you must make arrangements to have someone haul your animal(s) to validation.

b. Major Show Heifer Validation Tag Orders

i. It is time to order validation tags for the 2020 Spring Major Shows. If you are planning to show a breeding heifer in Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Houston, Austin or San Angelo you must order validation tags now. The cost is $20.00 per tag and the deadline for ordering and paying for tags is August 23, 2019. Late tags will be $30 each. If your heifer has already been validated previously, she does not need to be validated again unless there has been a change of ownership. You must bring your heifers’ original registration papers to validation.

ii. The date for heifer validation will be October 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bastrop Show Barn. This will be the only date that validation will be held. If you have a conflict, contact the Extension office, and you must make arrangements to have someone haul your animal(s) to validation. Ordering tags does not enter you in the major shows. Major livestock show entries will be accepted November 5-7 at the Extension office.

2. Other Livestock Exhibitor Reminders in Date Order:

a. Major Show Calf Scramble Sign-Ups DUE August 30^th

i. If you are interested in participating in the Fort Worth, San Antonio, San Angelo, Houston or Rodeo Austin Calf Scrambles in 2019, please call the Extension office to sign up by August 30. You must meet age (12 years for San Antonio and Austin, age 13 for San Angelo, age 14 for Houston and Fort Worth) and weight requirements (100 lbs) listed in the rules in order to scramble. You must also have suitable facilities to raise an animal, and must be able to return to exhibit it at the 2021 show. The Houston Livestock Show Scramble will also allow the purchase of a market steer project in addition to the scramble heifer project. Call Rachel or Mellanie if you have questions

b. Major Show Broilers Orders Due September 4^th

i. If you plan to exhibit market broilers at the 2020 Houston, San Antonio or Rodeo Austin Livestock shows, you need to place an order with the Extension office by September 4.

ii. Each exhibitor MAY order an individual set of birds (up to 75) OR siblings within the same household may order and share a set of birds (up to 75). A minimum order per exhibitor or family unit is 25 chicks, with a maximum of 75 chicks, in increments of 25. Therefore, each exhibitor or family may order 25, 50 or 75 wing banded chicks.

iii. San Antonio chicks will be acquired as one-day old baby chicks in January, 2020. Houston and Rodeo Austin chicks will be acquired as one day old baby chicks in late January, 2020. Ordering birds does not constitute entry into any of the shows. Major show livestock entries will be completed November 5-7 at the Extension office. Each exhibitor must select and exhibit their pen of three broilers from within the broilers assigned to them. Sharing of birds between order sets is not allowed. The price per chick for all three shows will be announced as soon as the information is published with a minimum order of 25 chicks per individual exhibitor or family.

iv. The price per chick for all three shows will be $1.50 per bird with a minimum order of 25 chicks per individual exhibitor or family.

c. Major Show Hog Validation Tag Orders Due September 18, 2019 at $20 per tag.

i. It is time to order validation tags for the 2020 Spring Major Shows. If you are planning to show a market hog or a breeding gilt in Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Houston, Austin or San Angelo, you must order validation tags. The cost is $20.00 per tag and the deadline for ordering is September 18, 2019.

ii. Swine Validation will be held on November 21 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Smithville High School Ag. Shop.

iii. Ordering tags does not automatically enter you in the major shows. Major Livestock Show entries will be accepted in November 5-7 at the Extension office.

d. Quality Counts Certification Required To Show At Major Shows and Elgin and Bastrop Shows

i. All NEW exhibitors and exhibitors who have moved up in age groups (if you moved from 5th to 6th grade or from 8th to 9th grade) will be required to complete Quality Counts training and the test to show at local and major livestock shows.

ii. The training will take approximately 2 hours and is divided into Junior, Intermediate, and Senior divisions according to the exhibitor’s age. A Quality Counts number will be required for all youth exhibiting market and/or breeding livestock at major shows in Texas (Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, San Angelo, Rodeo Austin, Sandhills Stock Show, State Fair of Texas and Heart O’ Texas Fair). All Exhibitors will be required to pass the online test at the time of entry to be eligible to show, and will be required to put their verification number on major show entry cards in November. Therefore, you will need to complete the new Quality Counts test before entries are due. Don’t wait until the last minute, as the training takes approximately two hours to complete.

iii. Exhibitors can access the system, and complete the training/testing, at www.texaslivestockvalidation.com . All livestock exhibitors will be required to be verified under the system for entry into major livestock shows, and you may add your FFA chapter to your registration if you are enrolled in both organizations. Please know, we will provide step-by-step instructions for getting your exhibitors registered and verified online. Call Mellanie or Rachel at the Extension office if you have more questions.

3. Rabbit Exhibitor Opportunities at the 2019 Texas 4-H Extravaganza:

a. The 2019 Texas 4-H Rabbit Extravaganza catalog information has been posted on the Texas 4-H Website at https://texas4-h.tamu.edu/events/rabbit-extravaganza/ and the catalog has been attached to this email. Please check the Rabbit website for updates as information is added.

b. Registration is currently open and will be open through September 10, 2019.

c. You must have an active status in 4-H CONNECT (https://tx.4honline.com/) in order to be able to register for the event.

4. 4-H CONNECT Enrollment Reminders:

a. Website: https://tx.4honline.com/

b. All 4-H members need to be re-enrolled for the current year in 4-H CONNECT – we will not accept show entries until you are actively enrolled

c. ALL Adults working with youth need to register in 4-H CONNECT and go through the background check process

d. If you have any trouble logging on to your old profile, contact the Extension Office for assistance, do not create a new profile

e. If you do not see your school listed, please be sure to click on the option to enter the school name (shown circled in red below) so that the administrators know to add that school as an option