Livestock

Livestock Field Day and Meat Quality Assurance Training

| MQA, Projects, Workshops | 
From:
Bailey Schilling
4-H Youth Development Livestock & Shooting Sports Agent
schillbw@co.larimer.co.us
970-498-6022

Next weekend, on Saturday, February 19, we will be hosting the Livestock Field Day in the McKee Building at the Ranch from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. This is not only a great opportunity to complete your MQA (Meat Quality Assurance) training, but you will have the opportunity to listen to some of the best livestock minds.

I have invited professors from the Animal Sciences department at CSU to speak about certain topics, along with a graduate student, Ashley Schilling, to discuss livestock sustainability. Not only are these great opportunities to learn more about the livestock you are working with, but these discussions can spark career interests you may decide to pursue after graduating from the 4-H program. For those members who are thinking about continuing education, this is a great opportunity to meet with some professors to discuss the possibility of becoming a student at CSU and the opportunities not only in the Animal Science realm but also in the College of Agriculture. 

Schedule

9:00–10:00 a.m.: Poultry Biosecurity and Disease (CSU Avian Team) – Fort Collins Room
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.: Evaluating Meat Animal Performance (Dr. Bob Delmore) – Berthoud Room
2:00–3:00 p.m.: Basics of Ruminant Nutrition (Dr. Terry Engle) – Berthoud Room
3:00–4:00 p.m.: Livestock Sustainability (Ashley Schilling) – Berthoud Room

MQA Training will occur from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Exhibit Hall. You must arrive by 2:30  p.m. so we can be done by 3:30 p.m.

This training is required for all livestock projects except Cat, Dog, and Horse.

This includes all Rabbits, including Companion, Breeding/Show, and Market and All Poultry, including Breeding Chickens, Market Chickens, Breeding Ducks, Market Ducks, Breeding Geese, Market Geese, Breeding Turkeys, Market Turkeys, and Pigeons.

If this is your first year in 4-H or your first year in a livestock project you must attend. You must attend once as a Junior member (ages 8–13) and once as a Senior member (ages 14–18) as of December 31, 2021. All 8-year-olds and all 14- year-olds must attend this year. 

This is an in-person event. You will have the opportunity to go through a series of exercises and learn about management practices and how they benefit your project. This process will take between 1 and 1 ½ hours to complete. 

If you have any questions please contact me at: schillbw@co.larimer.co.us or contact Pam at heeneyps@co.larimer.co.us or 970-498-6012.

I couldn’t be more excited to see you there!

Dairy Goat Lease Program

| Projects, Workshops | ,

We have a new opportunity within the Dairy Goat program for members who may not have the capacity to own their own animal or want more experience before entering the program. The Lease-A-Dairy-Goat program is for all ages 8–18. This is a unique opportunity that allows an individual to house and work with a dairy goat at a producer’s location and then show the animal at the Fair. This is a great way to become familiar with the program and what it takes to raise livestock. Please refer to the Lease-a-Goat requirements and responsibilities here.

If you have any additional questions I would encourage you to reach out to the Key Leaders.

Workshops

January 11th from 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Estes Park Room, McKee Building, The Ranch

March 8th from 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Estes Park Room, McKee Building, The Ranch

Attending a workshop is a great opportunity to meet with the key leaders and discuss participating in the Lease-A-Dairy-Goat program or build upon your existing knowledge.

Key Leaders

Key leaders, Wes and Aspen, are so excited to be working with you all this year. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to them.

Wes:
970-222-9469
wes@leavealegacytoday.com
(IMPORTANT NOTE: Wes has a new email address and will not receive your message if you message his old address.)

Aspen:
970-556-1887
aspen.knackstedt@gmail.com

Livestock Judging Orientation / January 28, 2022

| Orientation, Projects | 
From:
Bailey Schilling
Livestock Extension Agent
schillbw@co.larimer.co.us

We will be hosting a 4-H Livestock Judging Orientation on Friday, January 28th at 6:00 p.m. at 2809 East Harmony Road, Suite 100, Fort Collins, CO 80528, just south of The Group Real Estate office.

It is highly encouraged that you attend this meeting if you would like to be a part of this coming year’s judging team. It will be a great opportunity to meet with our coaches. Mike, Tyler, and Bailey are the Senior team coaches, and Mandy is our coach for the Junior team. All ages are encouraged to attend. The age breakdown for judging is Juniors ages 8–13 and Seniors ages 14–18.

Congratulations to former Larimer County judgers Holly Heckendorf who was 10th overall in Cattle and to Stratton Wotowey who was part of the Reserve National Champion Senior college team and was 6th Overall at the Senior college national contest. Larimer County’s judging program has a long history of producing competitive teams, but more importantly producing youth who have used their 4-H experience to obtain scholarships for college.

If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me at schillbw@co.larimer.co.us or Mike Schwab at mschwab@associationonline.com.

Jingle Ball Jackpot

| Announcements, Projects | , ,

Here is an opportunity for lamb and goat members. If you have an animal on feed for the Stock Show, this is a chance to get some feedback on your project before that show.

For members who do not have an animal on feed, this is still a good time to learn from some very experienced showmen.

Please refer to the flyer for more information.

If you have any questions, reach out to extension agent Bailey Schilling.

Livestock Project Updates

| Announcements, Projects, State Fair | , , , ,

All livestock members should be aware of some changes being made this year.

Weigh-in Dates

Beef: February 22, 2022

Sheep/Goats: April 25, 2022

Hogs: Nominations open April 1, 2022 and are due May 2, 2022.

Beef Program Weights

Market Heifers: 1,075–1450 lb (Minimum weight increased)

Market Steers: 1,100–1,550 lb (No change)

Sheep/Goats Weights

The past rule states: Goats are to be born after December 1, 2021. Lambs are to be born after January 1, 2022.

To have a valid, enforceable rule for youthful animals, there will be a maximum weight allowed for animals that tag in on April 25, 2022.

  • Goats cannot weigh over 85 lb on April 25, 2022. If they do they will not be a valid entry.
  • Lambs cannot weigh over 125 lb on April 25, 2022. If they do they will not be a valid entry.

As a guideline to stay within the weight limits, birthdates are recommended as in previous years.

County Fair Weights for Sheep/Goats

Market Goats: 60–120 lb (maximum weight put in place)

Market Lambs: 105–170 lb (maximum weight put in place)

Extension Agent is allowed to “mouth” market wethers/does/ewes if there is reason.

Market Hog Program

Photo IDs will be required with hog nominations like 2021.

6 photos will be required: front view, rear view, both sides, and close up of each ear showing all of the notches.

State Fair Nominations

Animals being nominated for the state fair will need to work with Robyn Toft at the Colorado State Fair for DNA packets. We will not be forwarding retinal images for the state fair.

Please reach out to Bailey Schilling with any questions you may have.

Beef Seminar / October 15, 2021

| Announcements, Projects, Workshops | ,

Members may be beginning to look for their new beef project animal for this upcoming year. For members that are in this project or have an interest in this project, I encourage you to attend the Starting the Year Off Right seminar that I will be hosting on CSU’s campus in Room 161 the Animal Science Building, 350 West Pitkin Street in Fort Collins, on Friday, October 15th from 6:30–8:00 p.m. Members can park in the Animals Science Parking Lot, or the parking lot in front of the general services building just to the East of Animal Sciences, for free. Members can also use spaces in the parking garages but must pay to park there. 

The objective of this seminar is to assist members of all ages within the program. We will discuss the importance of setting goals, facilities, outlining a budget, project endpoint requirements, and evaluating calves to create a positive experience.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions I can help with.

Bailey Schilling

Livestock Record Books Due Wednesday, September 15

| e-Records |

Livestock record books are due on Wednesday, September 15. This includes Dog and Cat. For those in livestock that did not show at fair such as Rabbit, the record books still need to be submitted to complete the project.

Bring your books to our HCH club picnic on Monday, September 13 to get them signed by Cindy.

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