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Impact Report

For plan Youth Development (Otero County)
Date September 23, 2009, 5:21 pm
For Objective Short-term Show short-term objectives
Impact Report Otero County Fair is an opportunity for Otero County 4-H members to showcase the projects they have worked so hard on all year to the public. This year Otero County 4-H had over 100 4-H members exhibit indoor and livestock projects this year at the Otero County Fair August 13-16th, 2009 in Alamogordo, NM. Indoor exhibits ranged from electrical projects to leather braiding to baked goods to ceramics to sewing projects to photography exhibits. Life skills that were acquired in the process of learning to make these exhibits will allow these 4-H members to be excellent citizens in our communities. Many of these indoor projects require the youth to keep careful and accurate records, determine goals for their projects, learn how to begin and complete a task, follow instructions and many lessons in the area of competition. These young people also learned viable project skills like how to prepare a dish or baked good, different computer skills in photography, learned different types of electrical wire as well as how to create a ceramic piece from a piece of clay. The livestock projects that these 4-H members have worked with all year ranged from meat goats, market steers, market swine, breeding heifers, market lambs, breeding lambs, dairy goats, meat rabbits, breeding rabbits and poultry. Many of the projects exhibited at the Otero County Fair had been raised by the exhibitor themselves which allows the young people to learn essential skills in breeding decision, nutritional programs and grooming skills for their projects. These 4-H members work very hard to train their animals, groom them and feed them to a proper weight so that the animal will perform well in the show ring. These 4-H members also establish goals for their livestock projects in the beginning of the year and learn to adjust their goals as the project year goes on. As one 4-H member stated, “I really enjoy showing livestock with my friends and family. It allows me to be outside and I have a lot of fun working with my show pigs.” As one 4-H parents said, “Showing livestock is the only youth activity that allows my children to spend time with our family. In basketball, I am putting the kid on a bus and meeting them at the gym to watch them. In showing livestock, we are together as a family doing chores, working with the livestock and attending shows together. I know where my children are when they have livestock because they are at home with me. Showing livestock allows my children to learn important life lessons such as hard work and winning as well as losing.” This year Otero County 4-H members who exhibited livestock also gained important speaking skills through visiting local area businesses and inviting them to the fair. Over 80 of the 4-H members visited businesses in Otero County and invited them to the fair to see the livestock projects and attend the Jr. Livestock Sale. These young people learned how to organize a short speech and network with local organizations and businesses.