4-H began over 100 years ago, and has since grown into the largest youth development program in the nation. 4-H prepares young people to be leaders in their community and around the world through hands-on experiences alongside their peers and caring adults. Backed by a network of more than 6 million youth, 540,000 adult volunteers, 3,500 professionals, and more than 60 million alumni; 4-H delivers research-based programming around positive youth development. 4-H is delivered through America's 109 land-grant universities and the Cooperative Extension Service reaching every corner of our nation.
4-H can be found in all 92 counties in Indiana and is delivered through Purdue Extension. Community clubs, afterschool programs, school enrichment, camps/workshops, and special interest programs are all ways youth across Indiana can be involved with the 4-H program.
Enrollment may be completed by parents/guardians at v2.4honline.com. Mini 4-H includes youth in grades kindergarten, first and second. 4-H is for youth grades 3 through 12.
4-H’ers Excel
2023 MARTIN COUNTY 4-H FAIR – FRIDAY, JULY 7 TO TUESDAY, JULY 11, 2023
2023 INDIANA STATE FAIR – JULY 28 – AUGUST 20, 2023 Closed Monday & Tuesdays.
TIME TO APPLY FOR 4-H Scholarships
bit.ly/4hscholarship
Categories: Animal Science—Meat and Milk Production; Animal Science—Companion and Small Animal Production; Citizenship; Communications; Engineering and Technological Science; Healthy Living, Food and Nutrition Science; Leadership Development; and Plant and Environmental Science. Three additional categories are reserved for applicants demonstrating life skills development in more than one of the previously listed categories. Those are Premier Achievement, Premier Citizenship, and Premier Leadership. Eligibility: Applicants must be in grade 10, 11, 12, or their first year immediately following 4-H enrollment eligibility at the time applications are due.
While an applicant does not have to be a current 4-H member, they must demonstrate multiple years of involvement in Indiana’s 4-H Youth Development Program. Youth who have previously been awarded a $1,000 accomplishment scholarship are only eligible to compete in the Premier Achievement, Premier Citizenship, and Premier Leadership categories. Youth who have previously been awarded a $2,000 scholarship are no longer eligible to compete in any category.
Awards: A minimum of thirty $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to youth based on their demonstration of life skills development in these eight categories: Animal Science—Meat and Milk Production; Animal Science—Companion and Small Animal Production; Citizenship; Communications; Engineering and Technological Science; Healthy Living, Food, and Nutrition Science; Leadership Development; and Plant and Environmental Science. A minimum of one $2,000 scholarship, and a silver tray, will be awarded in each of these categories: Premier Achievement; Premier Citizenship; and Premier Leadership. Additional scholarships may be awarded depending on sponsorship availability. The number of scholarships awarded in each category may be adjusted to meet special criteria of a particular sponsor.
Martin County Extension Board: Accepting New Member Nominations & Annual Meeting
The Martin County Extension Board is the advisory and advocacy body of the overall Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service in Martin County. The Board provides an organized way for the county to be represented by local people in its relationship with Extension. It is an unincorporated association serving in advisory capacities by assisting with local program planning, implementation and evaluation; financial support and resource identification; advocacy for Extension; and personnel recommendation and assistance.
New member nominations are being sought for consideration at the Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting will be Thursday, January 26 at 6:00 pm, Martin County 4-H Fairgrounds, Community Learning Center, 2666 US Hwy 50, Loogootee, IN. In conjunction with the Annual Meeting, a special highlight of an Extension Program and 4-H Club Charters from the United States Department of Agriculture through Purdue University will be presented to 4-H Club Leaders. All those interested in more information may contact the Martin County Extension Office. RSVP’s by January 23rd is appreciated but not required. All are invited.
4-H CAMP COUNSELOR APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN, FOR GRADES 9-12
WHAT: 4-H Camp Counselor Applications for Southern Indiana 4-H Camp
WHEN: NOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 1, 2023
WEBSITE FOR APPLICATION: https://bit.ly/4HCampCounselorA2
DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2023
Would you like to interact with other 4-H teens from the area, have three fun-filled days camping and be a positive role model to younger 4-H members? Now is your opportunity. Being a Camp Counselor is a fun, rewarding event. Camp is June 2, 3 & 4 2023 at Country Retreat Center, Underwood, Indiana. Check out the Website listed above for a copy of the application, information of upcoming interviews and details on how to apply. Application deadline is Wednesday, February 1, 2023 via 4-H Online. Interviews will be done via Zoom starting Tuesday, February 28, 2023 and will continue on Wednesday and Thursday March 1 and 2, 2023. A Link to sign-up times will be sent once your application submission is complete. Be sure to visit the bit link for any information you might need to take part in this exciting event.
Adult Volunteer Enrollment and Certification
All adult volunteers must re-enroll to obtain certification for 2022-2023 programming season. Enrollment opened October 1, 2021. Please log onto http://v2.4honline.com and complete your profile. If you have any questions, please call 812-295-2412 or email heldd@purdue.edu.
VOLUNTEER opportunities
Have you ever thought about a talent you have or a talent you want to develop alongside youth in the 4-H Program? Purdue Extension & Martin County 4-H is seeking adults to work to MAKE THE BEST BETTER through 4-H programs. Contact Dena to explore how to work together in this way. No matter how much time you have, volunteering with 4-H makes a difference by helping youth explore and discover the skills they need to lead for a lifetime. There are lots of ways to get involved! Currently, 4-H Club Leaders are needed for Shooting Sports and STEM/Robotics. Various content specialist and general volunteers are also needed.
Parents, family and adult friends of 4-H members are often a natural fit to help with programming and is one way to spending quality time with the youth in your lives!
SOUTHEAST INDIANA 4-H JUDGES & LEADERS’ CLINIC Saturday, February 4, 2023
WHERE: Jackson County Learning center
323 Dupont Drive, Seymour, IN 47274
TIME: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Registration: Due by JANUARY 25, 2023
COST: $40.00: Includes Lunch and Materials
Register on your 4-H Online profile, v2.4honline.com. If assistance is needed, please call the Martin County Purdue Extension Office at 812-295-2412. This is an excellent opportunity for Indiana Judges and Leaders to enhance or develop their skills to be a Judge or Volunteer for the Indiana 4-H program. Topics will cover both Livestock and Exhibit Hall Projects. Attendees will be placed on a Preferred Judges List for Southeast Indiana 4-H.
AREA 9 LIVESTOCK JUDGING INVITATIONAL CONTEST APRIL 18, 2023
WHERE: Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds
TIME: 10:00 am EST
REGISTRATION: 9:30 am to 10:00 am EST
COST: $10.00 Per youth participant
FOR INFORMATION: Contact Ashlee Davis – davi1730@purdue.edu or Mercedes Brunton – brunton@purdue.edu
4-H Academy @ Purdue
bit.ly/in4hacademy
State 4-H Band & Chorus wORKSHOPS
bit.ly/inband4h; bit.ly/in4hchorus
4-H Round-Up
bit.ly/4hroundup
State Fair Exhibit Hall Workers
purdue.ag/in4hehw
Indiana 4-H Leadership Summit 2023
purdue.ag/in4hsummit
National 4-H Youth Congress 2023
purdue.ag/national4hcongress
Career Development Events
purdue.ag/4hcde
Subject Areas include:
State 4-H Junior Leader Conference
Facebook: @4HSJLC; purdue.ag/4hsjlc
Those who want to learn new leadership skills for themselves and others.
Those willing to share the knowledge they gain with those at home.
Those who want to meet new friends from around Indiana.
Those who want to have fun!
Skill Sessions
State Park Group meetings
General Sessions
Skits/Talent Show
Recreation
Banquet and Dance
Installation Ceremony for Jr. Leader Council
Citizenship Washington Focus
purdue.ag/4hcwf
Communications Events at the Indiana State Fair
purdue.ag/4hcommunications
National 4-H Dairy Conference
https://extension.purdue.edu/4-H/get-involved/national-programs/national-4-h-dairy-conference.html
By: Christian H. Krupke, Gregory Hunt and Rick E. Foster, Extension Entomologists
Honey bees are a vital part of our agricultural system, as are many other species of pollinators. The annual value of honey bee pollination in the U.S. has been estimated at $14.6 billion dollars. Although this (or any such estimate) is approximate at best, the value of bee pollination is staggering. Honey is a secondary product that is quite important in its own right.
Social insects, such as honey bees, can quickly spread harmful organisms through the colony.
Honey bees are our key pollinator and saddled with a range of challenges to colony health. Most bee researchers believe that Varroa mites and the viruses that they transmit to honey bees are the biggest single mortality factor for honey bees. Refer to “Mites of Honey Bees” https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/E-201.pdf for more information. Honey bees are also affected by diseases such as American foulbrood, European foulbrood and dysentery, caused by a microsporidian parasite. Moving bee hives long distances for pollination or to overwinter them in warmer climates can add stress, often resulting in up to 5% colony losses in a single move. Bees can also suffer from poor nutrition when few floral sources are available or when there is too much competition from other hives. In addition, pesticides are an ongoing concern and can kill bees outright or bees can receive sub-lethal doses that may reduce the colony population or cause the bees to succumb to diseases. Remember that bees won’t encounter any of these mortality factors in isolation; usually two or more are present at any given time. This is the main reason that working out a single “solution” to honey bee declines is an unrealistic expectation.
Bees consume pollen, nectar and water to survive. All are potential sources of pesticide exposure. In addition, bees may be exposed to pesticides en route to collect these resources, in dusts or liquids suspended in the air as they fly through it. Indiana is a heavily agricultural state, and bees may be attracted to a crop that is in bloom, or may be attracted into treated crop fields by the presence of blooming weeds even though the crop itself is not in bloom. Dandelion, wild mustard, white clover, yellow rocket, sweet clover, milkweed, goldenrod, and aster blossoms all attract bees and are often present in areas beside crop fields, ditches, or roadsides. Planting of corn and soybean seed, typically treated with neonicotinoid insecticides, can lead to bee kills as well when bees fly through the dust that arises during planting with pneumatic planting equipment. Bees will sometimes forage in field crops when these are producing pollen, including field corn and soybeans. When bees are killed by pesticides it is often because the product drifted directly onto the bees or onto flowers that the bees are feeding on. The recent popularity of systemic insecticides, primary neonicotinoids, however, have led to new exposure routes. Uptake of contaminated soil water by both crop and non-crop plants is a new and important route for exposure as well – many types of pollen from crops and non-crops alike has been found to be contaminated with pesticides. Contaminated water sources are also a culprit, as bees seem to favor ponds, wheel ruts and mud puddles for their drinking water.
Pesticides are often over-applied because applications are made prophylactically. Ensure that there is a pest problem before applying any insecticide. If insecticides must be used, several steps may be taken by the grower to reduce the hazard to bees. Avoid using dusts wherever possible. Dust may be unavoidable in some cases, such as during the planting of treated corn and soybean seeds – small amounts of these chemicals mixed and forced into dust plumes by planters is very highly toxic to bees. Use chemicals with reduced risk to bees whenever possible (see Tables below). Apply insecticides in the late evening, night, or very early morning when fewer bees will be foraging, and when spray drift and volatilization due to extreme heat are at a minimum. Do not spray when winds favor drifting, and use ground applications instead of air where possible. Avoid spraying when the crop or other plants in the field or nearby (including weeds) are in bloom. Homeowners often use more pesticide (per unit area) than agricultural producers and should consider minimizing or eliminating pesticide use wherever possible. If you use systemic insecticides, such as neonicotinoids, in your lawn or garden you may be inadvertently exposing bees to sub-lethal concentrations of insecticide in flowers for a period of time well beyond the treatment date. Read the label (under environmental statements) to see whether a product is toxic to bees or is systemic in the plant.
Insecticides applied to the agricultural field could drift onto the dandelions where honey bees forage.
If a highly toxic insecticide to bees is to be used in an area of your hives, be prepared to take steps to reduce risk of poisoning. One of the most important steps in protecting your bees is the selection of an apiary location with low pesticide risk. This may not often be feasible, so be sure to notify growers and applicators in the area, the county extension agent, and the State Apiary Inspector of the location of your hives.
Learn as much as you can about the chemical under consideration before making a decision on how to protect your bees. If the insecticide to be used has a long residual life and is being applied to a plant where bees are foraging, it may be best to move your bees out of the area. Remember that the new site must be at least 3 miles away to prevent bees from returning to the old one. Make sure the new site is safe and notify the growers and applicators in that area of your intentions. If the insecticide has a short residual life, you may be able to confine your bees until the danger has passed. Be sure the hive does not overheat if you choose this method.
Many bee poisoning problems could be prevented by better communication and cooperation among the grower, pesticide applicator, and the beekeeper.
Because bees forage far beyond the colony, all beekeepers within 2 to 3 miles of the area to be treated should be notified at least the evening before the insecticide is to be applied. If the beekeeper is to move or confine his bees, he must do so the night before the treatment. Keep your hives away from potential sources of pesticides. Corn planting has been associated with honey bee mortality, so you may want to screen off the entrances during planting time so that the bees cannot fly. If you only have one or two hives you might even turn on the water sprinkler to keep the bees at home – they will behave as if it is raining and not forage for the day, reducing their chances of exposure.
Since many decisions to use an insecticide are made only a few hours before the application is made, growers and applicators should be aware of the location of all hives within 3 miles of their crops and know how to contact the beekeeper who owns them. If this information is not available from a resident of the area, local county extension personnel may be of assistance. Most beekeepers register the location of their hives with the State Apiary Inspector. Increasingly, beekeepers are using the website located at http://www.fieldwatch.com where there are resources for both beekeepers and crop producers. The names of beekeepers in your area can also be obtained by writing: State Apiary Inspector, Department of Natural Resources, 420 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204, PH: 317-232-4120.
Despite all of the safeguards outlined above, pesticide-related bee kills do happen occasionally. A bee kill from pesticides usually appears quickly. You may see many dead bees in front of the hive one day that were not there the day before. You may also see trembling bees because most insecticides are nerve toxins. A pesticide kill can be confused with bee mortality caused by Varroa mites, which usually occurs late in the summer or fall when mite populations are highest. When this happens, bees are more vulnerable to viral infection and may be seen dead in front of the hive or crawling and trembling in the grass. This is a more gradual, subtle process that usually occurs over a period of weeks (see below for more details). A colony that dies as a result of Varroa mites may also just dwindle without the appearance of dead bees because the sick bees do not return to the hive. This can even happen in early winter, refer to “Mites of Honey Bees” https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/E-201.pdf. If you suspect that your bees died from pesticide poisoning you should contact the Office of Indiana State Chemist http://oisc.purdue.edu/contact_oisc.html and make an incident report. Without having this essential first step performed promptly, you will be unable to document the cause of the mortality properly.
The type of pesticide and how bees are exposed determines the risk to bees. Their toxicity is measured by the LD50 (Lethal Dose, 50%), which is the dose that would kill half of the bees that contact the pesticide. There are a range of potential exposure routes (oral, contact are two common examples), and bees are typically exposed to multiple pesticides at once. Bees are insects, and most poisoning problems are attributed to insecticide exposure, but some other pesticides (eg. fungicides) may occasionally cause problems for bees. Be sure to read all labeling with any pesticide, especially any specific warning pertaining to bees. To learn more about specific pesticides and their properties please see the tables found at: https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/E-53/E-53.html