Important news & January dates

Important News

 

Just wanted to let everyone know that Mr O'Neil had an accident at the farm today.  He is at Beth Israel.  He injured his hand and broke some fingers. We will have a barn meeting as scheduled on Saturday (January 2nd). We will set up a schedule to send over some meals. Please do not contact him directly, you know how boss is. He will appreciate the quiet things we can do!  We will make a welcome home banner on Saturday.

 

Important January dates

• Saturday, January 2nd - Barn meeting from 8:30 - 10 a.m.
• Monday, January 11th - Monthly meeting at Marshfield Fairgrounds Admin building from 6 - 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, January 16th - Barn meeting from 8:30 - 10 a.m.
• Saturday, January 16th - Plymouth County 4-H Awards Night from 6 - 9 p.m. at Knights of Columbus in Pembroke.  Please let us know by Wednesday, January 6th if you will be attending. 

Happy New Year to all and see you in 2010!

 

Susan, Courtney and Big Jim

These are some things that need to be done when we go to the barn:

- sweep aisle

- scrape down

- water and feed calves

- move hay around

- brush cows

Barn meeting this Saturday

Just a friendly reminder that there is a barn meeting this Saturday, December 19th from 8:30 to 10 a.m.  Be sure to dress for the weather (hat, gloves, boots...). 

 

See you there,

 

Mrs. Peavey, Big Jim and Courtney

Horse Bowl results

Congratulations to Merrie, Lexi and Emilie.  Merrie and Lexi continue on to the state contest.  Emilie gave up her spot since she had a conflict.

 

Mrs. Peavey

 

 

 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Plymouth County 4-H Horse Bowl on Saturday.  We had a great contest and I think we have some wonderful teams set up for the state contest which will happen in April of 2010. 

 

Thank you to all our volunteer's who helped with 4-H Horse Bowl including Valerie Schell, Reva Levin, Robin Carter, Cheryl Mechan, Kathleen Fowler, Susan Peavey and Paige Pongratz.  We couldn't have done it without all their help, especially with correcting the tests!

 

I am please to announce the following teams for Plymouth County 4-H Horse Bowl.

 

Buzzer Boards- Seniors

1. Bridget Fowler

2. Alexa Nielsen

3. Tommianne Runnals

4. Meredith Archer

Alt Becky McPherson

Alt. Sammi Traficante

 

Hippology- Seniors

1. Meredith Archer

2. Alexa Nielsen

3. Bridget Fowler

4. Paige Mechan

Alt. Tessa Kell

Alt. Marissa Young

 

Buzzer Boards- Juniors

1. Ashley O'Malley

2. Brianna Jarvis

3. Macie Jones

4. Mya Neary

Alt. Emalee Schell

Alt. Taylor Ridge

 

Hippology- Juniors

1. Ashley O'Malley

2. Cara McGilvary

3. Mya Neary

4. Brianna Jarvis

Alt. Taylor Ridge

Alt. Suzanna Tempest

 

Congratulations to all our 4-H'ers, Valerie Schell will be in contact with you shortly with more information about being on the Plymouth County 4-H Horse Bowl Team and when to expect practices, etc.  You can contact Valerie directly at vschell1231@comcast.net or 339-933-2947

 

All 4-H'ers should have received their knowledge tests and hippology sheets back on Saturday at the contest.  If anyone needs more information or has any questions, please let me know.

 

Thanks,

 

Molly Vollmer

Extension Educator

Plymouth County Extension

266 High Street, PO Box 658

Hanson, MA 02341

P: 781-293-3541

F: 781-293-3916

mvollmer@umext.umass.edu

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Be sure to check the blog for up-to-date information, pictures and more.

http://farmtastic4h.blogspot.com/

Dairy Camp survey

We received the email below regarding a 4H Dairy Camp survey which can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QVRFSDT.  Please take the time to complete the survey since it will help the program plan for the 2010 Dairy Camp.  There are only nine questions.

 

Thank you.

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Molly Vollmer

To: susan@susanpeaveytravel.com

Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 11:30 AM

Subject: Fw: [All-4h] 2010 4-H Dairy Camp Survey

Hi Susan,

 

Could you forward this email survey on to the kids in Farmtastic?  Some of them have gone to dairy camp before and others might be interested if they knew more about it. 

 

Dairy camp is held out at UMass Amherst usually over a weekend in May. 

 

Thanks,

 

Molly

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Carrie Sears

To: all-4h@umext.umass.edu

Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 9:20 AM

Subject: [All-4h] 2010 4-H Dairy Camp Survey

Good morning:

 

Could you please forward the below survey link to all your dairy cattle 4-H members. The information gathered from the survey will be used to plan the 2010 UMass 4-H Dairy Camp. If your leaders or 4-H youth have any questions, please refer them to me.

 

 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QVRFSDT

 

 

Thank you, Carrie

 

Carrie Chickering-Sears
Director of Community Education in Animal Agriculture
UMass Extension
111 North Maple Street
Hadley, MA 01035
phone 413-549-3257

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Be sure to check the blog for up-to-date information, pictures and more.

http://farmtastic4h.blogspot.com/

Election Results

Thank you to everyone who ran for a position.  And thank you to the entire club for coming out in such large numbers to vote. 

 

The results are:

• President - Alexa Nielsen
• VP - Merrie Archer
• Secretary - Megan Glattstein
• Treasurer - Emilie Peavey
• News Reporter - Molly Doyle

 

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Be sure to check the blog for up-to-date information, pictures and more.

 

http://farmtastic4h.blogspot.com/

 

 

Saturday, Dec. 12th ~ Plymouth County 4-H Horse Bowl and Hippology contest

The Plymouth County 4-H Horse Bowl and Hippology contest will be held this Saturday, December 12th from 10 AM - 1 PM at the Hanson Senior Center.  The Hanson Senior Center and Hanson Library are in the same location at 132 Maquan Street, Hanson.  Directions are below. 

 

We will start with the knowledge test, move on to Hippology and finish with the junior and senior buzzer boards.  We will need help correcting the tests once the kids have finished so we can get them into order for buzzer board. 

 

Please let us know via email by Tuesday if you are coming.  We need to give Plymouth County 4H our numbers on Wednesday so they can prepare enough materials.

   

All 4-H'ers are invited to attend and may participate in one or all contests, all 4-H'ers must be currently enrolled to participate.  You do not need to own, lease or ride a horse to participate.

 

 

Directions to Hanson Senior Center & Hanson Library

From Boston, Quincy, Weymouth:

Rte 3 south . Exit at 16B/Rte 18 Weymouth. Follow Rte 18 about 3 miles through South Weymouth until you come to Rte 58 bearing off to the left at a set of traffic lights. Factory Paint Store is on the right. Turn on to Rte 58 and follow it through Abington, Whitman, and into Hanson. You will pass Shaws Plaza on the right. Continue through two sets of traffic lights on Rte 58, past the Town Hall and up a small hill, where you will take a left at a small island, off Rte 58, and on to Rte 14. St. Joseph the Worker Church is on the left. First right onto School St., then immediate left into parking lot brings you to the Library/Senior Center.

From Cape Cod, Plymouth, Kingston:

Go Rte 3 north to Exit 9 (Rte 3A) then north about 1 mile to where Rte 27 bears off to the left.Travel west on Rte 27 until you reach a traffic light in Hanson where Rte 58 crosses. Turn right to go north on Rte 58 until you reach the stop sign after the Indian Head School.You'll see a funeral home on the right. At that stop sign turn right onto Rte 14. Take the first right onto School St.and an immediate left into the parking lot of the Library/Senior Center.

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Be sure to check the blog for up-to-date information, pictures and more.

http://farmtastic4h.blogspot.com/

Reminder: Elections on Monday

Just a friendly reminder that Election Night is Monday at the Marshfield Fairgrounds Administration Building from 6 to 7 p.m. Please note that it may end earlier. This meeting is for voting only; there will be no other business.

Directions are posted on the blog, http://farmtastic4h.blogspot.com/.

If you are going to run for a position, please have a speech prepared. After all speeches have been given, voting will be done by silent ballot.

Volunteers & baked goods still needed for this weekend

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered so far.  We still have slots open for this weekend's event at the Jaycox Tree Farm.  As volunteers sign up, it will be posted on our blog's Google calendar (located at bottom right of blog).  This way everyone can see which time slots are available.  The more help the better.

 

Volunteers (kids and parents) are needed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Please reply to this email with the time slot you are available.  Remember this counts towards barn hours.

 

If you are unable to volunteer, we ask that you still contribute baked goods.  Please make arrangements to drop off your baked goods early or feel free to drop off either Saturday or Sunday at the Tree Farm.

http://farmtastic4h.blogspot.com/

December events & newsletter

Hi Farmtastic 4Hers,

Upcoming events are listed below. Attached is the 4H Plymouth County December 2009 newsletter.

There will be no barn meeting this Saturday. The tree sale (see below) will replace the barn meeting and will count towards barn hours. So no barn meeting from 8:30 – 10 a.m...

This weekend, December 5^th & 6^th, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

We will be at the Jaycox Tree Farm in Duxbury from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. We need volunteers (4Hers & parents) to work in one hour shifts to help sell baked goods and hot cider.

We are asking each family to bring two or three plates containing one to two dozen treats (holiday cookies, brownies, cupcakes, etc.) and wrap festively for sale. This was a great fundraiser last year. Wear Santa hats or other festive clothing.

Bring your treats with you to the shift you are working. If you are unable to volunteer, please contact us for advance drop off information.

Please reply to this email and let us know which shift(s) you would like to fill. If you want to volunteer for more than one shift, just let us know.

Directions:

Jaycox Tree Farm is located at 214 West St., Duxbury. From Rte 3, take exit 11, Rte 14, and bear right at fork just past Duxbury Police Station. Continue about 0.8 miles to sign on left- drive up and park on the right.

Monday, December 7^th, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Election Night at the Marshfield Fairgrounds Administration Building from 6 to 7 p.m. If you are going to run for a position, please have a speech prepared. After all speeches have been given, voting will be done by silent ballot. This meeting is for voting only; there will be no other business.

Directions:

Entrance is at 140 Main St. (Rte 3A). Enter through the open gate area and stay to the right. The Administration Building is the white cape style building.

Saturday, December 19^th, 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Barn meeting at O'Neil Farm. Attendance will be taken.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Susan, Big Jim & Courtney

todays event-rescheduled to Sat 10-2p

Hello Farmtastic 4H'ers

todays event at the Marshfield fair grounds will not take place due to the rain...We will be there on Saturday from 10a-2p

If you can make it that would be great!

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

 

If you have any questions you can reach Jimmy at 339 793 3775 or myself at 781-308-9727 those are our cell numbers.

 

Thanks again and hope to see you on Saturday.

 

Susan, Jimmy and Courtney

 

 

781-319-1960-p
781-319-1962-f

 

www.susanpeaveytravel.com

 

travel@susanpeaveytravel.com

Friday, Nov. 27th at the Marshfield Fairgrounds

This Friday, November 27th, the Farmtastic 4Her's will be at the Marshfield Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. We will have a small petting zoo along with boxes to collect winter jackets, canned goods and cans. We will also have a raffle for a beautiful John Deere blanket, $2.00 per raffle ticket or 3 tickets for $5.00. And lastly we will be selling our 4H recyclable bags for $3.00 per bag.

Let us know if you can attend and the approximate time frame you will be there. The more the merrier.

Rain date will be on Saturday, November 28th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

PS. We have been busy compiling everyone's email in one master list. If you see someone missing, please forward to them and let us know so we can add them.

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Be sure to check the blog for up-to-date information, pictures and more.

http://farmtastic4h.blogspot.com/

4-H Toys for Tots

Dear 4-H Clubs,

The Plymouth County 4-H Teen Council will be holding the second annual 4-H Toys for Tots collection starting Monday, November 23 through December 16th.

If your 4-H club would like to participate, please bring a new unwrapped toy to the Plymouth County Extension Office or the East Middleboro 4-H Clubhouse by December 16th. Collection boxes will be set up in these locations. Please leave your club name on a note on the toy so we can be sure to thank all 4-H clubs that participate.

All toys that are collected will be donated to the US Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. All toys are then distributed as Christmas gifts to needy children in the area.

Please contact 4-H Teen Club Leader Lisa Zadrozny at lmaz7@aol.com or let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Molly Vollmer

Extension Educator

Plymouth County Extension

266 High Street, PO Box 658

Hanson, MA 02341

781-293-3541

http://www.blogger.com/

Marshfield Fair Schedule 2009

Here is the current Marshfield Fair Schedule.   Email Mary Hunt at mary.hunt@verizon.net for changes and additions.

Farmtastic 4H Prepares for County Fairs.

Some of the club is going to the Westport Fair and some are going to the Barnstable Fair.   Visit the fair links to find out more about these fairs.   The Westport Dairy Show is on Sunday at noon and the Barnstable Dairy Show is on Monday at 4 pm.      

Westport Fair

Barnstable Fair

Mr. Hornstra in the News

Article in the Patriot Ledger about Mr. Hornstra purchasing land in Norwell. 

Fwd: 4h meeting

Tommorow at the meeting we will be filling out lease forms but also learning about horses!

Below is what i will be handing out at the meeting.

 

                                                                                                                  - merrie

Horse Terminology

Stallion- A male horse over 4 years of age that has not been castrated

Mare-A female horse over 4 years old

Gelding- A castrated male

Foal- A baby horse

Filly- A female under the age of 4

Colt- A male under the age of 4

Weanling- a horse that has been separated from its mother

Yearling- a horse turning one

Suckling- a horse that has not been weaned from its mother

Dam- mother of the horse

Sire- father of the horse

Stud- stallion used for breeding

Broodmare- Mare used for breeding

Gestation/Lactation

Gestation period- 330-345 days (11 mos)

Lactation period- 90-150 days

horse jobs

Farrier- shoe the horse

Horse Dentist- file down horses teeth

vet- someone who checks the horse heath

use of horse:

-riding

-disciplines- western, saddle seat, jumping, dressage, huntseat..etc.

-carriage driving

-therapy riding

Colors:

Bay, chestnut, black, white, gray, roan, buckskin,

Breeds:

Morgan, quarter horse, Arabian, saddle breed, thoroughbred

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations! Olivia

Yes, Sue confirmed that this is Bonnie.     Olivia also is on top of Farmtastic 4H events by looking at the blog regularly.      

Reminder: Please send kglatt@comcast.net an email if you want something changed/added to on the calender, layout, etc.    Everyone should feel free to contribute.

You can post something to the blog by sending an email to farmtastic4h.oneilcows@blogger.com.

kg

is the cow bonnie?

oz

Article Featuring the O'Neil Farm

Pick up a copy of Edible South Shore and page 20 has an article about the O'Neil Farm.   One of the Jersey's graces the cover!   The first person to email the blog and name the Jersey will receive a prize!

Hey all-

Just wanted to update you on April births so far:

Nikki calved yesterday and had a HUGE bull calf!  Aurora calved today and had TWINS - both boys though....  Sydney got to watch her give birth!  Hope everything is going well!
ss

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Save money by eating out! Find great dining coupons in your area.

Answers to 4-H Udder Conformation Quiz

A - f.u. attach

B - v.u. attach

C - udder floor

1. teat

2. cleft/suspension

3. quarter

4. rudder attachment 

1. milk vein

2. fore udder

3. teal

4. rear udder

1. udder

2. holstein

a. netherlands

3. 4

b. ligaments skin

Courtney's 4H Meeting Notes from 2/21 on Udder Conformation

These notes are stored in google docs under 4H Meeting notes under the same id as our registration forms.

 Udder Confirmation page 1 
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=F.5d52f44b-18b1-4928-b0f3-d0f379521cc7

Udder conformation page 2 
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=F.66bf46aa-a66e-4d21-925d-a52f7b50b979

Udder conformation page 3 
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=F.754eaad9-860e-497e-a181-69d34b542ef1

Udder Conformation Test
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=F.6c36d67a-45fd-4ab7-a77e-4628843533bd

Fwd: Bay Path Cancelled

Hello all,  

 

Please note we do have to cancel this Saturday's event at Bay Path.  There is a virus going around, so it's not a good idea to have a group activity at this point in time.

 

Once the better weather appears, we can discuss another date that works for everyone.

 

Thank you,

Lynne Currul

 

 

Milk and Production (Recap of Saturday's Barn Mtg)

UDDER -- Mammary organ of female cattle (sheep, goats, and horses)
Cows have 4 teats. Sheep, Goats, Horses have 2 teats
Udder starts developing before birth of first offspring. Mammary system matures with puberty of animal.
Cows, goats, sheep, and horses have udders placed in the posterior on their body.
No Muscle holds the udder - the udder is held up by skin and ligaments
Main Ligaments include: Rear Udder Attachment and For Udder Attachment.

Picture will be posted with this.

Visual Presentation Application -- Due March 4

http://www.mass4h.org/PC%20VP%202009.pdf

CONGRATS Alexa, Merrie and Jamie !!

They competed in last weekend's contests and made it to the state competition with Horsebowl and Hippology. Good Luck in April!

How to Select Your Dairy Cow and the evaluating a cow's conformation -- morning of Jan. 31 at the barn

For anyone that is interested I have asked Mr. O'Neil to review the Dairy Scorecard for Conformation with us on Saturday morning.

We will refer to the attached document: http://www.gov.ns.ca/agri/4h/manuals/dairy/section1.pdf 

Before meeting with Mr O'Neil: for Novices and anyone else who would like a review: 

We will review the section "How to select a Dairy Cow" in the Dairy 1 books (I'll make copies for you) and

         The Parts of a Dairy Cow --  I've posted a diagram on our blog.

Tentative Schedule:

Help with Dairy Chores -- 8 - around 9:30

Activity  "How to Select you dairy cow"  - 9:30 - 10:00 am

Mr. O'Neil will review Dairy Conformation around 10:00 unless there is something at the farm he needs to attend to.

Also, I've posted a "term of the week" on the blog and will try and keep up with it for the novices to come up to speed with the dairy terminology.

This week's term is "conformation".

This should also help us in reviewing for the Dairy Quiz Bowl.

 

Thanks, Kim

Mini-Conference on Feb. 7 -- registration form

Saturday 4H mini conference in Walpole, MA on Feb. 7 

Click on this registration link to access forms for registration.