Bastrop County Jr. Livestock Show: The Elgin Livestock Show will be held at the Elgin Show barn on Saturday, January 6, 2001.

Show Order:

Market Goats, Goat Showmanship, Market Lambs, Lamb Showmanship, Market Steers, Beef Heifers, Beef Showmanship, Market Swine, Swine Showmanship

Show Notes: Beef showmanship will include both steers and heifers. Additionally, it will be held directly after the beef heifer show if time permits before 12:00 noon. If not, then the cattle showmanship will commence at 1:00 pm. The swine show will start at 1:00 pm unless cattle showmanship carries over after lunch. Lambs, Heifers, Goats, and Steers will be evaluated by Chris Boleman. Swine will be judged by Chuck Real.

Elgin Livestock Show Fund-raiser: This year's fund raiser will be held at the Elgin VFW on January 13, 2001. Mr. Bob Yates, Elgin AST, has ticket information for those wishing to attend. There is a limited amount of tickets for sale, so purchase your tickets early.

Rockne Boosters Steak Supper: The Rockne Livestock Boosters Steak Supper Fund raiser will be January 27, 2001, from 6:00 to 11:00 pm at the Sacred Heart Parish Hall in Rockne. The adult ticket is $25 and the plate consists of a ribeye steak, baked potato (with all the trimmings), salad, dessert, and tea. The child's ticket, for ages 18 and under, is $5 with the purchase of an adult ticket. It consists of a hamburger, chips, dessert, and tea. There will be a silent and live auction. Any exhibitor participating in the Bastrop Area Livestock Show who would like to donate desserts, items for the silent or live auction, or help serve is welcome and encouraged to do so. A dance will follow the auction and will last until 11:00 pm featuring Clay Huckaby DJ Music Machine. Anyone interested in helping sell tickets or purchasing tickets may contact the following Booster Members: Rose Henderson at 321-3987 or 764-2721, Amy Hilbig at 764-2057, Melissa Voight at 303-6614, or Tammy Hilbig at 321-4211. A flyer is attached to this newsletter.

4-H Camp: Camp dates were ranked by the Bastrop County 4-H Council on December 5, 2000. Our session will be July 8-11, 2001. This is the four day session, so it will cost slightly more. Camp cost will be $115.00/person with a $30.00 deposit due by Friday, March 23, 2001. We have only a limited number of positions, which are based on last year's numbers. Additional spots will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Bastrop County 4-H Shooting Sports Club: Shooting sports project members are encouraged to join this club if you have not already. By-laws were reviewed and will be approved at the next meeting, which will be Thursday, January 18, 2001, at 6:30 pm. Meetings are held at the Rockne VFW on FM 20. Officers will be elected and dues will be collected so members will be able to practice with Travis County 4-H Shooting Sports as associate members. For more information, contact either the Extension Office or Mrs. Shimek (Club Manager) at 303-2056.

Summer Trip: It seems like it is a long way until the summer, but now is the time to start contemplating where we will take our summer trip. Last year, the Bastrop County 4-H Council voted to go to Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. It was quite a success, and everyone had a great time. Please make your suggestions to your local club managers and council delegates, so that they can be presented at the next council meeting.

Smithville Barrow Validation: Smithville FFA/4-H Livestock Exposition barrow exhibitors will need to validate their projects for the 2001 show on January 13, 2001, at the Smithville High School Ag Science Department. Validation will begin at 2:00 pm and conclude at 3:00 pm. Entry fees will be due at this time.

Smithville Broiler Orders: Broiler orders will be due to the Extension Office by 4:00 pm, Friday, January 12, 2001. If you are planning on exhibiting a poultry project at the Smithville FFA/4-H Livestock Exposition in April, then you will need to order your birds by this deadline. Chicks will cost $1.20 each with a minimum order of 20 birds per exhibitor. Birds must be paid for in full at the time of ordering. Entry fees will be due at this time also.

Youth Action Forum (aka YAF): Bastrop County is currently piloting a new project that will involve senior 4-H members in a new type of leadership role. We will be putting on a number of Exhibition Fairs concerning the topic of water. I urge each senior 4-H member to review the attached flyer for the particulars of this new program. It will be an excellent leadership, community service, and citizenship project for your recordbook. Contact the Extension Office if you are interested.

Hoof Trimming: Beef and dairy project members interested in having their project's hooves trimmed before the majors will need to attend. Trimming will begin at 3:00 pm. Cost will be $15/head (cash) or $20/head (check). CEAs and ASTs will be on hand to give some last minute advice on things that can be done to help with showmanship and grooming. For any additional information, contact the Extension Office.

Southwestern Livestock Exposition (Fort Worth): Fort Worth will begin on January 13, 2001. The following is a list of arrival and show dates for junior exhibitors.

Jr. Wether Goats:

Jr. Beef Heifers:

Jr. Steers:

Jr. Barrows:

Jr. Lambs:

Auctions: Fort Worth sales will be held on February 3, 2001, for steers, lambs, and hogs.

Broiler Arrival: Broilers for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will arrive on Monday, January 15, 2001. Eight days later on Tuesday, January 23, 2001, the Star of Texas Broilers will arrive. One of the Extension agents will go to College Station and pick them up. You will need to come by and pick them up from the office as soon as we get them here. Please have your broiler housing ready and heated in anticipation of their arrival. Any broiler project members or leaders that wish to assist with pick-up are welcome to come along. Please call the Extension office a few days in advance if you wish to go.

Bastrop Area Livestock Show Broilers: Chicks for the 2001 Bastrop Area Livestock Show will arrive on February 14, 2001.

Scholarship Training: There will be a scholarship training at the Uvalde Extension Center on January 4, 2001. Charla Bading, Extension Specialist 4-H, will conduct the training over TTVN. If you are interested in attending, call 830.278.9151 to notify Charla.

S.A.L.E. Youth Day: Youth Day at the 2001 San Antonio Livestock Exposition will be on Saturday, February 3, 2001. Deadline to enter this event will be on January 9, 2001. This is a great opportunity for each local club to promote your activities and enlighten inner city youth about our great organization. Club Managers interested in having their clubs participate should contact the Extension Office for additional information.

Gonzales Young Farmers 2^nd Annual Prospect Show: The Young Farmers meat goat, lamb, and swine show will be held on January 6 & 7. Entry fees will be $15 per head. Judges will be Eric Zimmerman (meat goat & lamb) and David Arnold (swine).

Dairy and Poultry Judging: Judging practices will be held on Fridays at the Bastrop High School Ag Shop starting at 4:00 pm. Travis Britton will coach both the dairy and poultry judging teams. Last year they did very well in the San Antonio Poultry judging contest (placing 1^st) and also winning District 10 Dairy and Poultry judging contests. Practices will alternate between dairy and poultry. The first practice is scheduled for December 1^st and will cover basic aspects of dairy evaluation. Each practice should last approximately 1 hour. Contact Travis or Jodi Britton at 303-2066 for additional information.

Practice Schedule

A Note on Club and Council Meetings: Right now it is becoming very important that each and every one of you attend your club meetings. Events and entry dates for upcoming 4-H events such as Camp, Round-ups, judging contests, etc. are coming up. The local club and county council meetings are excellent places to find out this information. Additionally, participation in meetings is mandatory for some of the county-wide livestock shows. Check your rules for your local show to find out the specifics.

Beef 4-H Leadership Tour: Interested in beef, public speaking, consumer education, and jobs in the beef industry? The 1^st Annual Beef Leadership Tour will be held July 29 - August 4, 2000. Participants will tour Agribusiness facilities such as Purina Mills, feedlots, and packing houses. Applications are available at the Extension Office. Contact us if you are interested in applying for this new opportunity.

Horse Theft Awareness/Mare Foal Workshop: We have started contacting Extension Specialist on the possibility of having an equine workshop in Bastrop County that will cover the topics of horse theft and mare/foal management. Dr. Pete Gibbs has already confirmed that he will be able to speak at a workshop before the end of school. We will have more information in the February newsletter.

Horticulture Tour: Rachel is tentatively planning a horticulture project tour during spring break. Plans are to tour Flahive Nursery in Bastrop, Cactus Corral in Harwood, and Kitchen Pride Mushroom Farm in Gonzales. The objective of this tour will be to inform project members of career opportunities in production horticulture. More details will follow, however if you would like to sign-up now, names will be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. Space will be limited to 20 participants.

2001 Bastrop Area Livestock Show Judges List:

Major Livestock Show Local Star Performers: If you are planning to attend the rodeo at one of the major livestock shows, look for the following 4-H members that will be competing in the calf scramble.

Forth Worth

Houston

Good luck to all of the participants of the 2001 major livestock show calf scrambles.

Nutrition Bowl: Ms. Bonner has a copy of the 2001 Nutrition Quiz Bowl rules. Interested youth or leaders need to contact the Extension office so we can get a copy to you.

State Photography Contest: 4-H members interested in participating in the 2001 State 4-H Photography Contest need to start taking pictures. Entries will be due to by April 15, 2001. Contact the Extension office for class and entry fee information.

Beekeeping Essay: The deadline for entering the beekeeping essay contest is February 15, 2001. Interested parties should contact the Extension office for guidelines, entry applications, and fee information.

New Feature to the 4-H Newsletter

December Mistake: Last month's mistake was kinda tricky. We replaced a zero with a capital "O" on page 6 (SALE Youth Day Article). If you look closely, you will see the date is January 5, 20O1, instead of January 5, 2001. It was a tough one.

Newsletter Games: If you can find a specified typo/glitch/misprint in this newsletter, then contact Zan by telephone (You must talk to me specifically. Voice mails will not count). We will give a door prize to the first person that finds the specified mistake in this newsletter.