By Laura Allen

Rowan 4-H agent 

SALISBURY — Spring has sprung in 4-H, and there are tons of exciting things going on. Since there are so many 4-H events that have recently happened or will be happening soon, I decided to write a little bit about several of them.

Two 4-H state level competitions were held in April. The 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl competition was held April 6 in Iredell County. Rowan County had a junior team of Lucy Moore, Alayna Moore and Grayce Moore that placed third in its division. Congratulations to this team for a job well done. 4-H volunteer Jackson Noble coached the team.

On April 13, three 4-H’ers competed in the N.C. 4-H Horse Judging competition. Allison Mares placed 10th individually in the junior rookie division. Josie Correll placed third individually in the senior rookie division and was also the high individual for reasons placings in her division.

Morgan Rogers competed individually in the senior 4-H individual division. Maggie Boreman, Cheryl Correll and Cindy Stewart played instrumental roles in preparing the 4-H members for competition. Congratulations to all.

Rowan County 4-H recently wrapped up its annual embryology program. A total of 24 second- and seventh-grade teachers in the public, private and charter schools of Rowan County participated, along with 17 home-school families.

This program was able to reach more than 1,380 youth and 140 adults. In this program, 4-H leased incubators, fertile eggs and curriculum materials to train adults who then used the program in their classrooms.

Youth were engaged in the process of turning the eggs during incubation and learning more about the life cycle through a hands-on opportunity. The program will be available again in 2020 for second- and seventh-grade classrooms and home-school families.

On Monday, Rowan County 4-H held County Activity Day. This is our county level competition for 4-H Presentations, 4-H Talent and 4-H Expressive Arts. Many youths competed and several will be moving forward to district or state competitions this summer. More details about their placings and participation will be forthcoming.

Summer will be here soon, and 4-H is again offering our 4-H Summer Fun program. This summer, there are 13 class offerings for youths. The classes involve many topics, including agriculture, nature, cooking, crafts, STEM, service, adult skills and more. To participate, youths must have completed kindergarten and can be up to 18 years old (age ranges vary per class).

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Monday at Rowan County Cooperative Extension. The process for registering youths for these classes is a little different this year, so make sure you read all the instructions. More information can be found at the extension office or at https://rowan.ces.ncsu.edu/2019/04/2019-4-h-summer-fun-offered-by-rowan-county-4-h/.

The Rowan Arts & Ag Tour will be held June 1 and 2. There are 15 farms and six farm businesses on the tour and artisans will be at each location. The self-guided tour is educational and fun for all ages. We have several 4-H clubs and volunteers who will participate in the tour. To learn more, check out artsandagtour.com or go to Facebook and find the Rowan Arts & Ag Farm Tour page.

This is just a snapshot of what 4-H will be involved in this summer and I hope you’ll find a way to get your children involved. For more details or to learn about additional 4-H opportunities, contact 704-216-8970 or laura_allen@ncsu.edu or come by the extension office at 2727-A Old Concord Road.