This project curriculum familiarizes youth with the responsibilities of babysitting and provides the necessary information for them to become capable, caring, trustworthy and competent sitters. They will learn how to keep children safe and happy, talk with parents and adults, make responsible decisions and handle emergencies (CPR, nutrition, handling children, and more)!

 

At our April meeting we talked about some paperwork that goes along with babysitting and how to entertain kiddos! We made puppets and learned to make a playdough recipe!

 

Wednesday, May 13th is our last meeting. We will talk about how to market yourself in your babysitter, give our completion certificates and have CAKE!!

 

**Fundraising: 4-H projects in general are affordable and rely on fundraising (like working concessions for our project). Since this is the first year the babysitting project has been up and going for quite some time our base account could use a little cushion to buy supplies for the meetings. All 4-H projects have an opportunity to have a silent auction basket displayed at the fair that the community members and fair goers can bid on, all proceeds will go to the babysitting project fund. I know some of you do not intend to repeat the project next year but there are friends, neighbors, little siblings and a lot of other 4-H kiddos who will. I will plan to put together a "coffee basket" for the fair in hopes of getting a high bidder and more funds for our project. If you are able, would you be willing to bring something coffee related to the meeting in May to help out? Ideas include: bags of coffee, coffee gift cards, a coffee mug, maybe chocolates or coffee flavored things? Thank you for your consideration in keeping the babysitting project funded in the future!

 

This project will meet the second Wednesday of each month from 6:00pm-7:30pm (November-May) at the 4-H Office.

 

Please bring your 4-H binder to each meeting. 

 

If you have any questions, please contact Erin at ehagmeier@gmail.com 

 

 

This project will meet the first Monday of each month from 6:00pm - 8:00pm (November - May) at the MSU Herrick Hall Food Lab Rm. #120 on campus. 

 

For our April meeting, members baked in the kitchen and made platters to show appreciation for the staff at the 4-H office and the 4-H Council as a thank you for volunteer month.  We also learned about the difference between sourdough bread, yeast bread and quick breads. Each kiddo went home with the dry ingredients for a yeast bread to be baked at home. 

 

Put these dates on your calendar for future meetings and events:

PLEASE NOTE THE PLAN FOR THE MAY MEETING BELOW AS IT WILL TAKE SOME EFFORT AT HOME PRIOR TO THE MEETING

 

Our last meeting will be: 5/4/25 (Meeting will be shortened to 6-7pm)

**Plan for this meeting: Baked good show and tell!! Each kiddo will bring a baked good they made at home (or I said they can work in partners or a small group) with enough to cut into small pieces to share with others (we have 30 kids). Each kiddo will have a chance to use the microphone to tell their fellow bakers about their recipe (why they made it, challenges, things they learned ect) to help with speaking skills. Remember most baked goods can be frozen so please feel free to make this early and freeze anytime between now and our May meeting. 

***Fair Sign ups will be in MAY

**Record Books Due: June 24th

**Baked goods to the fair with judging: July 12th

 

If you have any questions, please contact Erin at

(ehagmeier@gmail.com email) or text 406-431-7205 

 

Project Leaders (Baking is our bread and butter!):

Erin Neil

Katie Taylor 

Krista Pancich 

 

**This Project is FULL and is no longer taking new enrollments.

 

I wanted to remind everyone that our next Cake Decorating 4-H meeting will be on MONDAY, May 4th from 6:00–7:30 PM. This will be our last meeting of the year, and I would really love to see everyone there!

 

Please continue working on your record books and project books that I gave you. Bring any questions you have so we can make sure everything is ready.

Thank you all for a great year—I’m looking forward to seeing you one last time!

 

If you have any questions, please contact Molly at molly.yurdana@montana.edu 

 

**This Project is FULL and is no longer taking new enrollments.

 

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, May 19th at 6pm. Watch your emails for complete details. 

 

HORSELESS HORSE PROJECT

 

A great time was had by members, parents, MSU students, and the yearling horses at the end of April. We met at the Bob Miller Pavilion to see what the yearling class had been working on for the year. They talked about games they played with the yearlings, what had led them to join the program, and what their future goals are. Horseless horse members were able to meet each of the babies up close and personal. One of the highlights was watching how excited the yearlings were to play with the giant beach ball! It was inspiring to hear a few of the students and instructors say that they had never personally owned a horse but were still able to take equine classes through the MSU programs. Thanks to Alex and "MSU Developing the Young Horse" for opening up your class and knowledge to us!

 

We will not be having a May meeting together, but here are a few events that you may be interested in attending:

 

🐴 Cowboy Heaven Miniature Horse Safe Haven will be at Belgrade Library on April 30th from 5-8 pm to kick off Give Big Gallatin Valley. They are also doing a raffle for donations from April 30- May 2nd with some terrific prizes. If you can't find them at an event that weekend, you can find them on Facebook!

🐴 Cowboy Heaven Mini Horses will also be at Windhorse Equine Learning on Friday, May 1st for their annual Open Barn from 4-6 pm. There will be equine friends, family-friendly activities, and light refreshments.

🐴  On May 9th (10 am), MSU will be hosting their annual Equine Open House. This day will include the yearling training showcase, a riding program showcase and competition, and a tack sale. 

 

As spring and summer arrive, there are so many equine events happening thoughout the Gallatin Valley. Please be working on your project books and preparing a display for the indoor exhibits at fair. Fair registration will open at the end of May. As always, reach out if you have questions or need help.

 

Happy Spring, Green Grass, and Sunshine,

Sarah Capp

(406)539-4386

Questions? Contact leader Sarah Capp at (406) 539-4386 or scapp9999@hotmail.com

 

**This Project is FULL and is no longer taking new enrollments.

 

We will meet the second Saturday of the month at the Springs in Bozeman from 10:00am until 12pm.

 

The Knitting & Crocheting Project will meet on Saturday, May 9th from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm at The Springs in Bozeman. 

 

We spent our last meeting crocheting super cute green 4 leaf clovers that we will make keychains with at this upcoming meeting. If you missed the last meeting, come and make these fun clovers that are not too difficult, and you will probably learn a new stitch (as we all did). 🍀

 

We will talk about blocking and learn how to block our clovers so you can see the before and after results. This will be helpful for many of your future crocheting and knitting projects since blocking can make all the difference between a good project and an awesome one! 

 

Also, please be sure to bring any home or Fair project you are working on. And... don't forget to bring your Record Books since we will have some special help that you will really enjoy!

 

See you soon! 🧶 🍀

 

Kim Hackl kimhackl@gmail.com 406-539-0802

Kate Newton katenewt17@gmail.com 406-451-8753

Bonnie Radke mt4hbonnie@gmail.com 406-219-6602 

Phyllis Lewis  307-4312079 pblewis1943@gmail.com

 

 

Our April meeting was a workshop where we had guest teacher Amanda Fraker come and lead a class on how to carve a leather coaster for the first-year members.  Everyone left with one completed coaster that they can enter in fair as their require item.  They also left with additional patterns and 3 coasters.  Several members even checked out project tools to work on their other coasters at home.  Thank you Sophie Griffin and Sean Marble for also helping to ensure that everyone was able to complete their coasters.  I am sorry I didn’t’ get a picture of everyone and their coasters.  Remember Amanda says she practices every new pattern she tries and every new tool.  She has had mistakes and had to start over, but always be open to practice!

 

Second year (+) students were treated to a class on how to use alcohol-based dyes to enhance their projects.  The first part of the class the carved a piece of leather and the next morning they got to dye the oak leaves and paint (with acrylic paint) the acorns they had carved the day before.

 

April was our last “regularly scheduled” leathercraft project meeting. 

 

May provides the project a unique opportunity to attend the Rocky Mountain Leather Trade Show and classes in Sheridan WY on May 15-17, 2026.  There is a FREE introductory leather class on Saturday, May 16, at 9 to noon, Silver Creek Leather's Introduction to Leathercraft for Youth.  This will provide you with lots of hands-on experience with lots of one-on-one instruction from people who make their living working leather.  You NEED to use the link above to register for the class even though it is FREE, they need to know how many students will be arriving to ensure they have enough material on site for everyone so see.  Register is due by May 8^th.

 

There will be two or maybe three half day workshops in June, after school is out.  These dates or yet to be determined (TBD).  I will let you know as soon as I am able to finalize these dates.  These workshops will be completely open; you can come and go as your schedule allows.  This is a great time for you to come and finish up your projects that you haven’t been able to complete in class, such as stitching your bookmark.  You can also bring any other item you have bookmarks, coasters, snap bracelets or any other project you have started and need help finishing.  There are several kits available for purchase such as knife sheaths, key rings, clutch purses, bags, etc.  Unfortunately, Hobby Lobby is moving away from having leather craft project on the shelves but please feel free to look on Amazon, Tandy Leather, Makers Leather, Springfield Leather, Montana Leather, buckleguy.com, and Weaver Leather.  You can also search for real leather kits online.  I WILL LET YOU KNOW AS SOON AS I CAN ABOUT DATES IN JUNE!

 

Fair is coming up.  I will have additional information about this as it gets closer.  Keep your eyes open for the emails from the extension office announcing fair registration and the fair book (Mid-May).  I will follow that up with additional information specifically about fair.

 

Remember that you need to be keeping up on your record books (reach out to me if you have questions) and your activities.  Record books include 1-My 4H Year, regardless of the number of projects you have and 1-Non-Livestock Project record book for leather craft and a project specific record book for each of your other projects.  Leathercraft doesn’t use an activity book but I passed out an activity list to everyone at the beginning of the year.  Please be sure to fill this out and keep up on it.  Don’t forget to do a write up (a few sentences) for each of the activity items you are completing this year.  This write up could be as simples as “ I learned how to case leather.  Casing leather is ( definition).  You do this before you crave…..” and you can even include a picture.  Each activity needs this short write up showing me what you learned.  You are required to complete a total of 7 activities.  Also, don’t forget you need to have an educational display of some sort for county fair as well.  Keep your eyes open for additional emails.

 

Any questions or concerns please contact marble@wyoming.com or 406-579-0431 

 

*If you are already participating in Livestock Judging with FFA, please do not signup to participate/compete in this 4-H Project.

 

Cody and Amy Brownell 

406-209-4183 

Livestockjudging_cody@yahoo.com

 

**This Project is FULL and is no longer taking new enrollments.

 

The Photography Project will meet on the 4th Monday of each month at 6:00pm-7:30pm (October - June) at the 4-H Extension Office. 

 

BAND APP: https://band.us/n/a0a9AcM794fcI

Please join the PHOTOGRAPHY BAND on the app. This is separate from the County 4-H BAND - same app just different BAND. You may RSVP fo the meeting through BAND and upload any photos.

 

Tamara Knappenberger

c. (307)214-8336 (text)

tkknappenberger@gmail.com

or message me in BAND

 

 

Project Notes: Youth members must be at least 10 years old (age as of Oct. 1st) to participate. 

 

So hard to believe that this year is passing so quickly.  A reminder of our May meeting dates, which are our last workshops of the year: Saturday, May 9th at the 4-H Office Conference Room from 10am to 2pm and Monday, May 18th at 6:30pm at Manhattan Middle School.  Projects are coming together nicely!

 

I sound like a broken record, but please make sure you getting your 7 activities completed, either from the project book or the list that I gave you.  Some of these activities could be fair entries. Explore your creativity.

 

Be watchng for dates of when your fair entries are due, record books, etc.  Remeber - no job is complete until the paperwork is done...

 

Keep up the good work quilters.  You are rockin it!

 

If you have questions, please call or text me at 406.581.6843. 

Ginny Francis, Quilting Project Leader

ginnyfrancis@yahoo.com

 

Schedules & Locations: (Schedules per discipline listed below)

Questions? Contact the following leaders:

Archery – Randy Radke 406-539-4903 gv4harchery@gmail.com

 

Air Rifle/Pistol – Lee Nelson – 406-579-0612, Bill Ott – 406-209-2599 lee.nelson.330@gmail.com

 

Smallbore – Tom Everett – 406-570-8878, Scott Francis – 406-581-6845 scott.francis@montana.edu

 

Shotgun – Scott Francis – 406-581-6845 scott.francis@montana.edu

 

Muzzle-loading – Scott Francis – 406-581-6845 scott.francis@montana.edu

 

Western Heritage – Kevin Underwood Kevin.uwood@gmail.com 

 

Resources:

Gallatin County 4-H Website: https://www.montana.edu/extension/gallatin/4hyouth.html

Gallatin 4-H Newsletters: https://www.montana.edu/extension/gallatin/4hnewsletters.html

Montana 4-H State Shooting Sports Website: https://www.montana.edu/extension/4h/programs_and_events/events/shooting_sports/shooting-sports-event.html

 

Volunteers Needed:

Gallatin County 4-H Shooting Sports is in need of more adults to become certified leaders in the different disciplines that are offered in 4-H Shooting.  For us to provide a safe and educational experience, we need your help.  Please consider becoming a leader.  More information on leader trainings will made available as it is received. Please plan to attend.  For more information, please contact Scott Francis 406-581-6845.

**This Project is FULL and is no longer taking new enrollments.

 

Project Notes: *Youth members must be at least 9 years old (age as of Oct. 1st) to participate.

 

4-H Archery families,

With archery season behind us, now is the time to prep your 4-H record books and plan an indoor archery project.  This could be a poster talking about the parts of a bow, the different archery classes or how to score an archery target. 

 

Do remember that we will present two Belt Buckles to our top 4-H Archers for the 2025-26 4-H year.  One for Senior Archery members (14+ year olds) and one for Junior Archery members (9-13 year olds). While archery scores count, being an active 4-H member also counts.  

 

To be in the running for the belt buckle award:

• Members will keep 4-H Archery Record Books up to date throughout the year with the completed archery
•  record book turned in for Fair
• Members will create an indoor exhibit for fair
• Members will participate in an indoor interview during fair

 

Project Notes: *Youth members must be at least 9 years old (age as of Oct. 1st) to participate.

 

The venue for air rifle and air pistol is located at 123 Doe Road in Belgrade. For more information contact Lee Nelson – 579-0612.

SMALL BORE RIFLE/PISTOL PROJECT

 

Project Notes: *Youth members must be at least 10 years old (age as of Oct. 1st) to participate. It is a pre-requisite that the shooters have 1 year of Shooting Sports Experience. 

 

The day for shooting will be selected by the shooters and parents during the county-wide parent meeting.

 

Greenway Range is located at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds, 901 North Black in Bozeman. The number of smallbore shooters will be capped at 25. The returning shooters will be given priority. It is a pre-requisite that the shooters have 1 year of Shooting Sports Experience. We will then establish a waiting list. For more information contact Scott Francis – 581-6845 or Tom Everett – 570-8878

SHOTGUN PROJECT

 

Project Notes: *Youth members must be at least 10 years old (age as of Oct. 1st) to participate.

 

Shotgun will start on Sunday, January 4, 2026, at 1:00 pm at Manhattan Wildlife Association Trap Range located at 337 Logan Trident Road in Logan. There will be a mandatory parent and safety meeting prior to shooting. All shooters need to attend. It is strongly recommended that the participant be 10 years of age. For more information contact Scott Francis – 581-6845.

 

Shotgun - Manhattan Wildlife Association (Logan) - Sundays

For more information contact Scott Francis – 581-6845.

MUZZLE-LOADING & HUNTING SKILLS PROJECT

 

It is recommended but not required that the participants be at least 12 years old (age as of Oct. 1st) and have been in Hunter’s Education. 

 

The Muzzle-loading Project will be determined later in the shooting season. The Hunting & Wildlife Project will be determined later in the year. Please check the newsletter for days and times. It is recommended but not required that the participants be 12 years of age and have been in Hunter’s Education

 

Contact Scott Francis – 581-6845 for more information.

WESTERN HERITAGE PROJECT

 

Project Notes: *Youth members must be at least 9 years old (age as of Oct. 1st) to participate.

 

Hello 4-H Western Heritage Shooting Sports Families,

 

After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that the Gallatin 4-H office will be canceling the Western Heritage Shooting Sports project for the 2025-2026 4-H year. While we know this may be disappointing news, this decision was made to ensure that all 4-H projects meet our program standards for leader preparedness, communication, and overall quality youth experience.

 

At this point, it would not be appropriate to continue holding families “on standby” or charging project fees without a clear, compliant plan in place. It is our mission to provide high quality, hands-on educational experiences to our youth and we were not able to solidify plans for this year’s project in time to deliver those experiences. Our office will begin the process of refunding enrolled families ($40 shooting sports fee + $5 project fee per youth) via mailed checks in the coming weeks.

 

We appreciate your patience and understanding. We recognize the interest in this project and hope to work toward re-offering the Western Heritage Shooting Sports project in a future 4-H year. If you have questions, please feel free to contact the 4-H office.

 

May workshop: 

CHANGE OF PLANS! We see that MOST kids need to practice with their steers a little more. We have some experienced kids that are very kindly allowing you to come to their house to work on showmanship AND BONUS they have PIGS! It’s a great workshop with your steer so they aren’t scared of pigs at the fair. We will also offer dinner and drinks. 

 

9033 walker rd belgrade 

MAY 19 6:45pm 

YOU MUST RSVP 

 

Upcoming workshops: Watch your email/texts for complete details and reminders

 

Hello, Cat Project families!  

 

Just a reminder that we will be having our monthly meeting on May 6th at 5:30pm at Alpenglow Animal Hospital. Lana Zello will be presenting her feline science project and we will watch a video on cat showmanship to get us prepared for those planning on showing at the fair.  I would love to get some dinner ideas for our kiddos!

 

If you are planning on showing at the fair, please e-mail me a copy of your cat's vaccine records so we can make sure everyone is up to date on the big day.  (add this to your record book, too, under the health section- even if last year's vaccines are good for 3 years). FAIR SIGNUPS WILL BE IN MAY. 

 

Likewise, if you haven't already been doing so, please make sure you get your "My 4-H Year" and Cat Project and Record Books- goals, health records (annual exam, deworming, any illness/injury, vaccines, tests), food and other expenses (litter, toys, collars, harnesses, etc), and events or meetings you attended and other activities from the book.  Also any time spent training, grooming, exposing your cat to car rides or the carrier, etc. RECORD BOOKS ARE DUE AT THE 4-H OFFICE JUNE 24TH and are required to attend fair with your cat.

 

For record books- please refer to this site- Kids will need to fill out My 4-H Year and an Animal Records/Journal:

  Record Books & Project Completion - Montana 4H - Montana State University Extension | Montana State University

"Animal Records/Journal is needed for each animal related project including any livestock project, cat, dog, rabbit, poultry, pocket pet, etc. Animal Records/Journals are for all animal projects, not just market projects.  Project journals need to contain the name of the project, the year these records were kept, and a leader/parent signature.  All sections of the journal need to be completed. If nothing was done in an area or section of a record sheet, the word “none” or something similar should be written."

 

Tips about record books (please let me know if you need any help- if I don't know the answer, I can find out for all of us!):

4H Record Book Tips - Teton County Extension | Montana State University

 

We will be adding a cage decoration contest and costume contest for anyone interested in decorating their cats' cages or creating a fun costume for them to wear.  This year's Cat Costume Theme will be "Imagine The Magic!"  (magic and imaginary).  Please make sure any designs (both cage and costume) are SAFE for our cats... no strings that they can swallow, and no costumes that could interfere with breathing and such!

 

Looking forward to seeing all of you May 6th!  -Julie

 

Julie Oghigian DVM CVA 

Cell (text is good too)- 714-206-4636

Alpenglow Veterinary Services, Inc

Montview Labradors www.montviewlabradors.com

 

watch your emails for workshop updates. Be working on your record books and with your cows! If you have any questions, please reach out to a leader.

 

Next meeting will be Thursday, May 28, 2026.  We will have some additional meetings throughout the year based upon what the members would like to learn about this new project year. Please remember that in order to show at the fair, you will need to attend three of these project workshops. 

 

Questions? Contact leaders: 

Shawna Oostema (406) 580-7819

Cassie Smieja (406) 539-3833.

 

 

Thank you to everyone who came to the two April poultry workshops where we learned about eggs, incubation, judging poultry/quality selection and showmanship.  Thank you also to our workshop group presenters who helped at the April events! 

 

We will continue to work on our showmanship skills at our next poultry workshop on May 14, 2026 at 6:30pm to 8:00pm. We will be back at the Fairgrounds for this workshop in one of the exhibit buildings. We will be going over showmanship, classes of poultry and record books at this meeting. Please bring one showmanship bird to practice with for this workshop, your workbook and record book.  We will be available to help with workbook and record book questions at this workshop. 

 

Notes:

1) ‎Remember that the birds that you intend to show at the fair must have been in your possession by May 1, 2026 (or on order for those market pens who have turned in the proof of order) by this deadline. Any questions on this please reach out to Shawna. 

 

2) All birds that you intend to bring to fair need to be listed in your record book(s). If you are bringing market poultry you need to complete a separate record journal for those market birds and a separate journal for any birds that you are bringing for showmanship/breed show that are not part of the market project. For example, you are bringing a pen of turkeys to the fair for the market part of the project but you intend to use a different chicken for the required showmanship and bring some other show birds for the regular show. You must complete one record journal for the turkeys and a separate record journal for the showmanship bird and regular show birds. Any questions on this please reach out to Shawna. 

 

3)  We only have this workshop in May and one more workshop on June 11, 2026 available to meet workshop requirements for the regular poultry project. There will be two "all species" workshops offered in June but you can only designate one project that those workshops will be counted for attendance. So, if you are in multiple animal projects, you cannot count the "all species" workshops for every animal project you are participating within. Please refer to the livestock poultry project contract and the regular market livestock contract for further details on the amount of workshops each project requires.  Additionally, the members who participated in the Rocky Mountain Poultry Fall Show in Great Falls or the Broadwater County Meat Science day on April 25, 2026 in Townsend may designate their attendance in these events towards the poultry project workshop requirements. However, the additional "all species" workshops will not be allowed if you do designate through these events already. Any questions on this please reach out to Shawna. 

 

4) The countdown to fair has begun. Be working with your animals everyday!

 

The 4-H Poultry Project Leader's Committee

Shawna Oostema: 406-580-7819, fcclashawna@hotmail.com       

Judy Brownell: onebar4@aol.com 

Judy Neiminen: 406-599-0639; lneiminen@gmail.com 

 

The last few meetings our rabbit members have been working hard and learning how to handle and show their rabbits. Our first informal practice show will be held on May 16th, location TBD, during our annual Rabbit Rendezvous.

 

At our next meeting on May 21st at 6pm at the Exhibit Buildings on the Fairgrounds, we will be refreshing our knowledge of rabbit facts, tattooing, rabbit show etiquette, and show preparation. Keep up the great work! This project will meet on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 6pm. Please keep an eye on your email for updates.

 

If you are enrolled in a 4-H/FFA livestock project and are planning to show and/or sell an animal at our Gallatin County 4-H/FFA Fair this upcoming summer, please read and sign the 2025-2026 Gallatin County Livestock Contract. 

 

This contract explains the livestock project workshop requirements, animal possession deadlines, expectations and other important fair information. This contract is MANDATORY if you are selling a market animal and is due by the possession date for your species (listed in Section 2 on the contract). After both the youth and parent/guardian signs, you and the 4-H Office will be auto-emailed a copy of the completed contract to keep for your records. The 4-H Office will pass along the signed contracts to the appropriate species leaders and FFA advisers (if applicable).**Please Note: The Gallatin County Livestock Contract is in addition to any other species-specific contracts that your project leaders may give you.

 

Sign Contract Here: https://na3.docusign.net/Member/PowerFormSigning.aspx?PowerFormId=d04300b2-a438-4f39-b220-1f239c698aac&env=na3&acct=960f6090-f7cb-40a6-adf5-0490f456d6eb&v=2

 

Questions?

Monica Samson 406-399-1866

Jim Murphy 406-946-2522

Questions? Contact the Sheep Committee:

Ruth Carr- (406)539-4337 kennellr@gmail.com

Kim Flikkema- (406)599-1486 kimflikkema@gmail.com 

JodiLynn Kelley- (512)663-5569 jodilynnkelley08@gmail.com

Jodi Smith-(406)580-2984 kjsmithhouse@yahoo.com

Jake Noonan-(406)529-8107

Sarah Noonan-(406)529-6185

Chase Dykstrahouse-(406)539-2083

WORKSHOPS

You need 3 swine workshops!  Plan ahead and start getting your swine workshops in! This is a complete list for this years' remaining opportunities, details coming for the couple TBD pieces.

Posters, Marketing, Record Books Workshop

May 5 (Tuesday) @ 6:30pm Location: St Anthony's Orthodox Church, 66 St Anthony Way, BzmnDive into all the important things to know as you complete your workbooks, record books, how to market to buyers and our required educational posters that we hang up at the fair.  

Introduction to Showmanship

May TBD

Location: TBD

Tips on how to work with your pigs and show them in the ring at the fair!

Farrowing Workshop

May 14 (Thursday) 5 & 6:30pm

Location: Merle House, Poleman Rd, Manhattan

Dive into all the important things to know as you complete your workbooks, record books, how to market to buyers and our required educational posters that we hang up at the fair.

Weighing and Planning Gain

May 16 (Saturday) @ 10:00am

Location: Cory Taylor's House 11455 Gravel Pit Rd, Manhattan

For this workshop, you will need to haul your pigs to Cory's and we will weigh them on his scale and discuss growth plans for the fair.

Round Robin Bootcamp - ALL SPECIES 

June 7 (Thursday) @ 1-5pm

Location: Fairgrounds Indoor Arena

Learn how to show many of the animal varieties in this half day, hands on workshop.

Competitive Showmanship & Judge Terms Workshop

June 11 (Thursday) @ 6:00pm

Location: Fairgrounds TBD

Expand upon your showmanship understanding and skills at this advanced showman workshop.

Fitting and Clipping

June (date and time TBD)

Location: TBD

Expand upon your showmanship understanding and skills at this advanced showman workshop.

Marketing- ALL SPECIES June 16 (Tuesday) @ 6:30-8:30pmLocation: Fairgrounds Exhibit Building 4Great information and tips on marketing your animal to businesses and individuals.

WORKBOOKS

Workbook Requirements and Changes

We made some changes last year, so please reach out with any questions.   

 

Members 1st & 2nd Year in Swine - Please complete 7 workbook activities in the first swine workbook(pick this up from the Extension Office at the Fairgrounds if you do not have one)

Members 3rd year or more in Swine - NEW last year -You have the option of using books 2 and 3 or we have a list of activities for you to choose from.  You will still need to complete 7 activities total and turn in the written piece for any of the activities you choose from the list. These will be turned in with the standard My 4H Year and financial worksheets in your binder or folder. The list is attached to this email.

 

All Members - The My 4H Year packet and Financial Records packet still need to be completed every year and turned in with your workbook activities - these are at the Extension Office at the Fairgrounds if you still need them. Or snag them online.  Animal Project Journal and Financial Record.  My 4H Year
 
INFO

Like Reminders via text? Register your cell phone (and any Members) for our Remind page.

 

This app helps you stay in the loop! (we recently disabled the 2025 Remind so you must re-register for 2026) https://www.remind.com/join/2026swin or text @2026swin to 81010 and reply once with your name.

We also have a BAND group to help you stay in the loop!! https://band.us/n/aaafbcw1Z2y2m

 

Questions? Contact the Swine Committee at gallatinswineproject@gmail.com