The Brown County 4-H enrollment deadline of April 1st will be here before you know it. The April 1st deadline is the date enrollments must be submitted through our online system to be eligible for all the benefits of 4-H membership. Youth may join 4-H at any time, but to be eligible for awards for projects and fair exhibition they must meet this deadline. The first step of joining 4-H is finding a club and selecting at least one 4-H project to complete.
Enrolling in and completing a project is one of the main parts of 4-H. The Ohio 4-H program has over 200 projects with projects being revised and added annually. The Family Guide is the document that lists all of the projects available. Copies were mailed to those who were enrolled in 4-H in 2023 and are available at the Extension Office. This can also be found on the Ohio4h.org website. Additionally, Project Central lists all the Ohio 4-H projects, a few sample pages of books and reviews from members.
Through projects, 4-H members can explore their interests, passions, and potential career fields. Each project has youth complete educational activities, explore in-depth, reflect on what they have done and more. With each project, youth can develop skills and knowledge that can ignite a spark and lead to multiple positive outcomes throughout life. Now that you know where to find ALL the projects. Here are the highlights of some of the new and revised projects for 2024. This is not an exhaustive list of the new or revised titles.
Horse project options expanded greatly for this year. There is now a project specifically for Gymkhana and Roping. Gymkhana does require access to a horse and completion of all annual horse project requirements, but is an introduction to competitive games on horseback such as barrel and flag races. Roping explores the rich history of roping in the American West and explores the different types of roping events. This project does not require a horse and does have a state fair option.
Also new for 2024 is Assistance Animals in Action and Relationships 101. The Uniform Rules for 4-H Horse Shows, Dog Resource Book, and Rabbit Resource Book were revised for this year. More details on all projects can be found in the resources mentioned above.
These are just a few of the projects available for 4-H members. With the wide variety of projects available, there is truly something for everyone. Youth who are interested in joining 4-H should contact the Extension office for more information. Youth must be at least 5 and in Kindergarten as of January 1st, 2024 to become a Cloverbud member. Cloverbuds participate in club activities and non-competitive learning experiences. Youth who are 8 and in the 3rd grade as of January 1st are eligible to be project members. These youth also participate in club activities but also select at least one of the many projects like those highlighted here to complete. To wrap up the project they complete project judging and display at the Brown County Junior Fair.
The 4-H program is part of the Ohio State University Extension services. For more information on the 4-H program and how to get involved, contact the Brown County OSU Extension office at 937-378-6716. You can also find more information on our website brown.osu.edu or follow The OSU Extension page on Facebook at facebook.com/osubrowncounty
Christy Clary is the Ohio State University, Extension Educator for 4-H Youth Development in Brown County.
