The 4-H annual Tractor, Plant, Entomology & Bike Field Day and Dairy Challenge was held on April 27th at the San Joaquin 4-H Office in Stockton.  About 33 4-H members from three different counties participated in 11 different contests.  The members' tested their skills in tractor and bicycle safety, tractor driving, part identification, plant, seed and bug identification, and diary knowledge.

          Each event awarded medals to the 3 highest scores in 3 age divisions.

          In addition to competing in contests the members also learned how to judge vegetables. Members were given cantaloupe plants from Bonnie Plant and seeds from Lockhart Seed Company and encouraged to start a garden.

          This year's chairman was 7 year member Kenneth Watkins from Linden-Peters 4-H Club.  "This is a great 4-H event because there are so many contests to compete in and members have an opportunity to win medals in all of them," says Watkins.

          The event would not be possible without support from JM Tractor Company, Belkorp Ag and BobCat Central and dozen volunteers from various sectors of the agriculture community.

Linden Peters 4-H recently started a kayaking project!  Members have been learning about the sport and water safety at their project meetings, and now that everyone has the basics down they are holding on-the-water meetings at Lake Lodi.  Equipment and expertise has been provided by Headwaters Kayak Shop in Lodi.

The project is part of Linden Peters 4-H, but any current 4-H member in the county can join.  For more information please contact Cherie Sintes-Glover at csintes@inreach.com.

On March 1st Manteca Unified hosted the Serama Spectacular poultry show.  Seramas are a breed of chicken that hold the distinction of being the smallest chickens in the world.  The average serama is only 500g (1.1 lbs) and can easily fit in the palm of your hand.

Several members of Calla 4-H participated in the show, including William and Levi Burden.  They had the following to say about the experience:

William: "On Saturday, March 1, 2014,  I participated in the 3^rd Annual Serama Spectacular at the Manteca Unified School District Farm.  My brothers; Levi & Luke Burden also participated.  We each entered a hen and cock, I entered two cocks.  My little brother, Levi's hen, took Reserve Champion in the Youth Frizzle Class.  There were over 190 birds there.  The Serama Spectacular is the second largest Serama show on the West Coast.  In addition to showing my birds, I was able to clerk the youth show for the judge.  This opportunity was a good opportunity for me to learn more about the breed, what the judge is looking for, and how I can do better with building my breeding flock.  Charliez LaRue, another member of our poultry group, came to the show and bought a Serama pullet to show for the Table Top Show at the Upcoming Agfest."

Levi: "On March 1, 2014, I showed my Serama Frizzle hen at the 3^rd Annual Semi-National Serama Spectacular.  Her name is Ellie the second.  She placed Reserve Champion in the Youth Frizzle class.  It was fun.  I like showing my birds.  I had never placed with them before so it was exciting.  We also did a costume contest after the show.  I dressed Ellie up in a KFC bag.  Everyone thought is was funny."

If you are interested in learning more about showing poultry in 4-H, please contact the County 4-H Office or the county poultry key leader, Cherie Sintes-Glover, at csintes@inreach.com. 

April marks the national "Month of the Military Child", so the 4-H Military Program invited all members to show their support of military families by wearing purple on April 15th.  Purple is the color that symbolizes all branches of the military as it is a combination of Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine red, and Navy Blue.

At Jefferson 4-H's April meeting all members were encouraged to wear purple that night.  One 4-H father who is active duty Coast Guard was able to attend and is included in the group photo below.  The activity encouraged all of the members to share whether any of their immediate family is on active duty or is a veteran; it turned out that 98% of the members at that meeting are somehow connected to the military.

As a follow-up community service project, Jefferson 4-H will be collecting flowers and leis that will be placed upon the graves of fallen soldiers at local cemeteries.

If you or your club is interested in reaching out to the military youth in your community, please contact the County 4-H Office or the 4-H Military Program Representative, Jeanne Christenson, at jpchristenson@ucanr.edu.   For example, one new activity the 4-H Military Program is promoting are "Welcome Home Garden" seed packets that can either be distributed to veterans and service members or planted in their honor at community gardens.