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LA SALLE, Ill. — AgriNews has not let the cancellation of county fairs and state fairs stop the traditional summer celebration of 4-H.
About 200 projects were entered in AgriNews’ first-ever “Celebrate 4-H” contest. See all of the entries at: www.agrinews-pubs.com/CELEBRATE4H/.
The public could vote for their favorite in each category once a day online. A panel of judges also picked their favorites.
The judges were: Sarah Miller, associate director of the Management Fellows Program at DePauw University; Mary Rodenhuis, Purdue Extension agriculture and natural resources educator; and Amanda Veenhuizen, Purdue Extension 4-H youth development educator.
Here are the 10 winners — the judges’ favorite and the people’s choice in the five categories:
Animal Science Judges’ Favorite (category sponsored by Sloan Express) — Callie Yoder of Congerville, Illinois: “This is my Aged Jersey Cow Hazel. I have shown dairy cows for as long as I can remember. Showing cows is my favorite thing to do. It has been a family tradition for so many generations and I am so proud to continue the tradition. My grandpa, dad and brother taught me everything I know about dairy cows and showing and I am so thankful to have them in my life. Hazel is the oldest cow I own right now. She is the sweetest cow and will love on anyone. One super unique thing about Hazel is show has a heart on her head. Cows are such a large part of my life and honestly I do not know what I would do without them.”
Animal Science People’s Choice (category sponsored by Sloan Express) — Raeleigh Pfershy of Collinsville, Illinois: “My first time showing my chickens was important to me because they are my pets and I love them.”
Creative Arts Judges’ Favorite — Lydia Wohltman of Dieterich, Illinois: “This is my galaxy painting and it is very important to me because I love art and I want to be an artist when I grow up. This is also something I made for my room. I put a lot of time and effort into this painting.”
Creative Arts People’s Choice — Libby Larkin of Pontiac, Illinois: “My mom bought this oak shelf several years ago. The honey oak color no longer fit with the furniture in her bedroom so I chose to refinish the shelf to match the bedroom furniture. I used stripper to remove the poly finish and oak stain. I then used a hand sander to remove the remainder of the stain on the larger areas and hand sanded the smaller areas and corners. Once I was done sanding, I went to a paint store to color match the stain. I was able to test different colors of stain on the bottom of the table to determine which color matched the best. I applied two coats of stain and let shelf dry for several days. I then applied several coats of poly finish, sanding the shelf between coats. Smaller projects can sometimes be more difficult than larger projects. Although it looks like a simple project, smaller projects have less area to work with and matching the stain with existing furniture was very challenging. This project took a lot of steps. I know that school and work projects can also take a lot of steps. I learned that you have to have patience when working on projects and that sometimes the project will dictate how long it takes to complete and not necessarily how much time I have. I loved being able to redo this piece of furniture for my mom and dad. It looks great in their bedroom. I continue to learn something new every time I tackle a new project.”
Environmental Science Judges’ Favorite — Jake Masters of Liberty, Illinois: “COVID-19 has dramatically changed many aspects of life and my vegetable gardening 4-H project was no exception. Given the scarcity of food in early spring, Mom and I decided that it would be a good time to expand our garden to provide food for not only our family, but friends and the community, as well. We increased production of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, sweet corn and eggplant and even added a strawberry patch this year. Overall, 2020 yielded a great harvest. Not only did our family replenish our vegetable supply, but we were able to give our surplus away to those in need. I feel that this is my best and most diverse vegetable display to date proving that hard work can yield the most tasty and wonderful results!”
Environmental Science People’s Choice — Libby Larkin of Pontiac, Illinois: “My family grows corn and soybeans on our farm. My mom says that I have been helping my dad and grandpa since I was old enough to walk. I love working on the farm and helping during the planting and harvest seasons. As I get older I have become more interested in getting the best yields come harvest time. This summer I have been running field trials in both our corn and soybean fields. I set up traps in the fields to track the movement of western corn rootworm and northern corn rootworm. I change out the traps every week and keep track of how many insects I collect in each trap. The data I am collecting will help us decide what varieties of seed to plant next spring. I love being able to spend time with my family on the farm. I also love being involved in 4-H and FFA. I hope to be able to pass on my love of agriculture as an ag teacher someday.”
STEM Judges’ Favorite — Serenity Strong of Newman Grove, Nebraska: “I created a sensory board using the lids off of my nephews baby wipes. I placed under each lid a different texture such as sandpaper, silk, foam and bubble wrap, then added numbers and colors to the top of each lid. The child can use hand and eye sensory to open the lids and feel the different textures, as well as learn how to count and learn their colors. It can be hung on a wall or just placed on the floor. It will provide hours of fun and entertainment. My nephew just loves to open and close the lids. Everything I used to create my project was recycled. I love to work with kids and I hate to see a young child with an electronic gadget in their hands, especially when they are only 1 to 5 years of age. Getting them away from the TV and the computer screens is very important to me. Sometimes the only way they know there are fun things to do other than the electronics is to show them. That was my goal with this project. I also am a big believer in recycling. ‘Waste not want not’ is what my mom would say.”
STEM People’s Choice — Hannah Albrecht of Morton, Illinois: “For this project I used a store bought pattern and started with a mock up that allowed me to resize the pattern as needed to get a custom fit, adjusting the waist and bodice size. I used satin material for the outer material, lining material to line the bodice and cotton batiste iron on interfacing on the bodice lining pieces. I also used advanced sewing skills in using a tailor’s ham to press the bodice and hemmed the skirt with 3-inch horsehair braid for a more finished look and the bodice is boned with boning that was attached to the lining to hide stitching, per instructions. The bodice has off-the-shoulder sleeve drapes and the dress closure is a hidden zipper with a hook and eye at the top. The skirt has side pockets and a pleated waist, and the bodice has pleats that run from the left side to opening up on the right side. The bodice is embellished with hand beaded 5 mm pearls. This project was important to me as it I like sewing and this challenged me to learn some new techniques. These are techniques are ones that I will be able to use in future sewing projects.”
Mini 4-H Judges’ Favorite (category sponsored by NDY Manufacturing) — Beth Kohlhagen of Monroe, Indiana: “I made a recipe box for my arts and crafts project because I love to cook. The box is special, too, because I put many of my grandmother’s recipes in the box. I will always have them when I need them. Mini 4-H has been fun. I really have enjoyed my three years in the Adams Central Club.”
Mini 4-H People’s Choice (category sponsored by NDY Manufacturing) — Grant Hardy of Princeton, Illinois: “For my 4-H project I grew a big garden with my dad. We planted beans, peas, potatoes, cucumbers and lots of other things. I dug holes and covered seeds and used the planter. It was hard to push. I checked on the plants as they grew. The first vegetables ready were giant radishes. I also drew a picture of the plant life cycle for my project. My project was important to me because it was the first time I had grown a garden. My mom and dad bought a farm this year and now I can do more things than I could living in town. This week we picked a huge watermelon. It was cool and tasted so good. I will plant another garden next year. I like watching things grow.”
