June Inside this issue:

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1 TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE EXTENSION June 2014, Volume 23, Issue 10 June Inside this issue: Agent s Corner 2 4-H News 3 4-H News 4 4-H News- 4-H App 5 4-H News 6 4-H Spotlight 7 4-H Congratulations 8 4-H News in Agriculture, National Dairy Month 4-H News in Agriculture, Steer Validation 4-H News in Agriculture June 3 June 5 June 9 June 9-12 June 9-12 June 12 MANDATORY Round Up Office; 6 pm Bus Seat Deadline for Leadership Lab; Reserve your seat today!! 4-H Recordbooks Extension Office by 5 pm Texas 4-H State Round Up; College Station, TX Summer Nature Camp; San Juan Community Center Sewing Extravaganzas/Healthy Eating Youth Camp, Extension Office, 9-11 AM June 15 June 16 June 18 June 19 June 20 June June 26 June 27 Father s Day 4-H Recordbook Judging Steer Validation, McAllen Ag Farm, 8-11 AM Sewing Extravaganza/Healthy Eating Youth Camp, Extension Office, 9-11 AM District 12 Horse Show; Robstown, TX Leadership Lab; Uvalde, TX Sewing Extravaganzas/Healthy Eating Youth Camp, Extension Office, 9-11 AM Election Convention; Uvalde, TX Get ready Gold Star Applications Due July 31! More info coming soon! Hidalgo County 410 N. 13 th Ave Edinburg, Texas Ph: Fax : Want to write about your 4-H experience? Submit your article to the 4-H Spotlight! andrea.valdez@ag.tamu.edu This newsletter can be viewed Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service Hidalgo County 4-H Times June P a g e

2 Hello 4-Her s and 4-H families, 4-H NEWS Welcome to the official start of summer! Congratulations to all graduating seniors and to all 4-Her s for making it through the year! While summer is a time for vacations and sun, it is also a time for preparation. Hurricane season has officially begun so we, here at the Extension Office, urge everyone to discuss your family emergency plans in case of a storm and buy supplies now. And speaking of preparation great job to all the 4-Her s who will be competing at State Round Up! We wish everyone the best of luck; we know you have worked hard and are prepared to bring home that 1 st place ribbon! Leadership Lab is also a great event happening this month and it is a great time to learn some new leadership skills and have some fun! There are still seats for the Leadership Lab bus so reserve yours before June 5, 2014! And as always, we would like to thank all the volunteers and parents who make our 4-H program strong! Please call the Extension Office any time if you have questions about any of your 4-H projects. Sincerely, Barbara Storz, County Extension Agent Horticulture Adelita F. Muñoz, County Ex tension Agent Family Consumer Science Al Lopez, 4-H Youth Outreach Coordinator Brad Cowan, County Extension Agent AG/Natural Resources Andrea Valdez, County Extension Agent Family Resources SUMMER NATURE CAMP June 9-12, San Juan Community Center Come learn how to identify plants, find garden bugs and make critter masks! For kids ages 8-10! And it is FREE!! Call the Extension Office for details ; Registration June am on site Get Ready for Record books!! Hidalgo County 4-H Record books are due to the County Extension Office by June 9, Record book Judging is June 16 th! Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service Hidalgo County 4-H Times June P a g e

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4 4-H NEWS 2014 Southern Exposures Youth Nature Photo Contest - Professional nature photographer Ruth Hoyt will conduct youth workshops on Saturdays in June and July at Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen. The workshops are designed to help youths of all ages prepare for the contest and are scheduled June 7th, 14th, 28th and July 12th and 26th. Advance registration for the workshops is required and is limited to the first 25 participants. All photos for entry in the contest must be taken in the Rio Grande Valley during the months of June and July Details will be posted soon on the websites for the Valley Land Fund ( and Quinta Mazatlan ( so check back often! Questions may be directed to the Valley Land Fund ( ) or Quinta Mazatlan ( ). Rural Youth Loans U.S. Department of Agriculture s/ Farm Service Agency (FSA) Hidalgo County 4-H Foundation Summer Camp Scholarship Program The U.S. Department of Agriculture s Farm Service Agency (FSA) makes operating loans of up to $5,000 to eligible individual rural youth, ages ten (10) through twenty (20) to finance income producing, agriculture-related projects. Project must be of modest size, educational and initiated, developed and carried out by rural youth participating in 4-H clubs, FFA or a similar organization. For more information and applications, contact Vidal Saenz, Extension Agent CEP (Farm Advisor) at (956) Don t miss out on your opportunity for the Hidalgo County 4-H Foundation Summer Scholarship!! Deadline is September 1, For more information including eligibility requirements and application visit : To view the fact sheet, just follow the link: Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service Hidalgo County 4-H Times June P a g e

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6 4-H NEWS Don t forget about State 4-H Roundup! Make sure your bags are packed and your garments and presentations are ready! June 9-12, 2014; Texas A&M University; College Station, Texas 2014 District 12 Leadership Lab June 24-26, 2014 Join Us This Summer! This is a great leadership camp put on by the District 12 Council Officers to meet other 4-Hers, and learn some new leadership skills. Location: Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde, Texas Leadership Lab Registration Fee. Charter Bus sitting for the first forty-eight (48) 4-H ers and nine (9) adult chaperone. Deadline to Reserve Your Seat: June 5, Reserving your seat for Leadership Lab, will include Election Convention. Register on 4-H Connect May 1, 2014-June 5, District 4-H Election Convention June 27, 2014 Convention will be at Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde Visit District 12 Website for Election Code and Standing Rules May 29, Deadline for Voter Registration and Election Judge Applications June 19, 2014-Deadline for RSVP on 4-H Connect (all attending youth, adults, agents). Registration on 4-H Connect: June 1-19, Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Presents. THE SEWING EXTRAVAGANZA AND HEALTHY EATING YOUTH CAMPS (ages 8-18) When? June 12, 19, 26 & July 10, 17 (Show & Tell/Graduation) Where? Extension Office 410 N. 13 th Ave, Edinburg, Texas Time? 9:00-11:00 AM Cost? Only $5.00 per class/$20.00 for 5 classes For more info and RSVP call LISTEN UP PHOTOGRAPHERS! The Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg is going to display all Top Winner photos from the County Photography Contest. The date is still to be determined so like all good photographers- KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED! Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service Hidalgo County 4-H Times June P a g e

7 4-H SPOTLIGHT This month we have a featured spotlight article: My name is Annette Alanis, a Veterinarian Science Program student. I attended the Texas A&M Veterinarian School Open House at College Station on March 29, I felt it was important to attend in order to learn more about the Veterinary Science field. I saw and participated in most of the Veterinary Open House activities, toured the small and large animal clinics, witnessed a dog undergoing surgery and understood the importance of a fistulated cow. At the small animal clinic, veterinarian students demonstrated proper CPR procedures by keeping arms locked and pushing on the dummy dog's side until a pulse appeared. I also learned how to check a dog's heart rate using a stethoscope. I listened to lectures in the radiology room about how to recognize abnormalities in X-rays; for examples, broken bones and foreign object pets swallow; such as, a fishing hook and a golf ball. At the operation room, I saw through a large glass window as Veterinary students performed a spay surgery procedure on a female dog. There were complications because the dog was pregnant. At the large animal clinic, I saw a fistulated cow with a six inch surgical opening into the side of the body. I observed the digestive system with a flashlight and reach my hand inside the stomach to feel the texture and warmth of its lining and listened to the cow's heart beat. I learned that a fistulated cow allows easy removal of healthy bacteria from the rumen. The rumen is the first chamber of the stomach that digests hay and feed. Veterinarians transfer the healthy rumen mixture to sick cows to re-establish good bacteria, which allows them to get better. Without a fistulated cow, veterinarians would need to stick a tube down the cow's throat to obtain the healthy bacteria mixture, which would be uncomfortable for the cow. A fistulated cow lives a normal life and the hole is covered with a plastic cap when not helping with a procedure. Yes, the fistulated cow is a Longhorn and yes, the Longhorn horns are cut off for safety reasons. I learned of the different specialties available for veterinarians to pursue in their careers. I was amazed at seeing how veterinarians help animals recover and wanted to share my experience with my 4-H friends. With a flashlight, I observed a fistulated cow s stomach digesting hay and creating rumen fluids. Performing first aid CPR on a dog dummy. My name is Onelisa Garza and as a 4-H Alumnus I am thrilled to be working with Texas AgriLife Extension this summer. I attend Texas A&M University- Kingsville and I am currently majoring in Agriculture Science with a concentration in Wildlife Recreational Entrepreneurship and minoring in Communication Speech. Upon graduation I would like to work with Extension because of its abilities to influence youth or with a government agency such as the US Department of Agriculture or US Fish and Wildlife with their Public Affairs departments. Through my summer internship I wish to look at different areas of Extension. My biggest goal is to use my communication skills to instill the importance of agriculture in youth and to instill the importance of agriculture education in adults. I hope that you all enjoy your summer and I look forward to meeting everyone! Howdy! My name is Klarissa Cantu and I am currently doing a summer internship with the Texas AgriLife Extension Office. I am a junior at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas and majoring in Agricultural Leadership & Development with a minor in Business. 4-H has always been a huge part of my life growing up so I m glad to be back home where it all began and to learn everything that the Extension Office has to offer for our community. I plan on getting a better understanding of everything that goes on behind the scenes in the office as well as out in the field. I currently am undecided on what it is I want to do once I graduate but I know at the end of this internship I will have absorbed as much knowledge and experience to help navigate me in the right direction once the time comes for me to choose a career. Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service Hidalgo County 4-H Times June P a g e

8 4-H CONGRATULATIONS A BIG SHOUT OUT to Renee Boyle! Renee was selected to attend Texas 4-H Congress this summer as a Lobbyist. She will be representing our county at this state- wide event July in Austin, Texas at the State Capitol. Renee will also have to opportunity to sit and work in the House and Senate Chambers of our capitol building. Texas 4-H Congress is an event that allows 4-Her s to participate first hand in the legislative process as well as meet other youth from across the state. (If you re lucky, you may even get to meet the Governor of Texas!) And Now A Word from Our Clubs Town & County 4-H held its end of year party at Valley Bowl in Mission. 4-H ers were encouraged to invite a non-4-h er to join in the celebration! New Officer Alert! Town & County 4-H elected its officers for the H year during their May meeting. Pictured from left to right are: Tyler Denny, County Delegate; Ashlyn Martinez, County Delegate; John Chapa, Parliamentarian; Jocelyn Boyle, Reporter; Krista Olivarez, Treasurer; Arianna Pulido, Secretary; Remi Hargett, 2 nd Vice-President; Renee Boyle, President; and Bianca Garcia, 3 rd Vice-President. Not pictured: Dallas Goldammer, 1 st Vice-President. Congratulations to our Class of 2014 Seniors from Linn-San Manuel 4-H Club! Pictured from left: Taylor Martinez, Nisha Sanchez and Brianna Pena. We wish them the best of luck in their life after 4-H! We will miss you all! Congratulations to our new Hidalgo County Council Officers for : President: Itza Garza 1 st Vice-President: Hailie Ciomperlik 2 nd Vice-President: Remi Hargett Secretary: Krista Olivarez Treasurer: Vanessa Martinez Reporter: Renee Boyle Parliamentarian: Brianna Bullion District Delegate #1: Charles Lee District Delegate #2: Bianca Garcia Good luck on the upcoming year, we know you will do a great job and have a good summer! Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service Hidalgo County 4-H Times June P a g e

9 4-H NEWS IN AGRICULTURE Have You Had Your Milk Today? Written by Onelisa Garza Did you know that it takes more cows to produce milk annually for Pizza Hut cheese than there are people living in Green Bay, Wisconsin? Or that cows can smell something up to six miles away? Or even that it takes twelve pounds of whole milk to produce one gallon of ice cream? June is National Dairy Month and with all 50 states having dairy farms it is a way for Americans to celebrate the contributions of the dairy industry. It all started as National Milk Month in 1937 as a way to promote drinking milk during our country s dairy surplus. With the average cow producing enough milk each day to fill six one- gallon jugs, it s pretty obvious we need to give them some more credit. Milk is not the only dairy product out there, but it is the base of other dairy products. Dairy products are products such as yogurt, ice cream, pudding, sour cream, and all types of chesses. Not only do dairy products taste good, but they are also healthy for you when consumed in the correct portions. They are filled with potassium, B vitamins, protein, and vitamin D. The most abundant nutrient that dairy has is calcium. Calcium helps keep bones and healthy, supports muscle and nerve function, and prevents disease. Dairy products are good for us, but because of milk being the second largest agricultural commodity, it is good for our country too. Milk accounted for $27 billion of cash receipts for producers and according to Dianne Feinstein, Senator of California (the largest dairy state), and Americans drink more than 6 billion gallons of milk per year and another 10 billion gallons of milk are used to produce cheese. Just this past year in 2013, the U.S. exported $6.7 billion worth of dairy product to Mexico, Canada, South Korea, Japan and many other countries. As you can see, the dairy industry is very important to us in many different aspects. Dairy farms are decreasing in number each year so it is essential that people support dairy because soon it could be us importing it instead of exporting it. Have you had your glass of milk today? Horse Judging Camp June 25-27, 2014 & July 8-10, 2014 Texas A&M College Station The Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society invites you to the best week of your summer WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CAMP Format: For beginner/intermediate and advanced. Open to ages Fee: $290 per participant (includes meals, housing, judging manual, notebook and t-shirt). Register Online by clicking on this link: Register by: May 30, Contact: Dr. Clay Cavinder at cac@tamu.ed Camp introduces students to Wildlife Conservation and Management The Conservation Camp focuses on exciting hands-on activities with presentation led by wildlife professionals from across the state. Please visit for details on cost, locations, and the application process. Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service Hidalgo County 4-H Times June P a g e

10 4-H NEWS IN AGRICULTURE HIDALGO COUNTY 4-H STEER VALIDATION June 18, 2014 McAllen Ag Farm District 12 4-H Horse Show Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds Robstown, Texas Friday, June 20, :00 AM 11:00 AM Texas A&M Horsemanship School Jim Wells County Fairgrounds June 16-17, Hours of Instruction: The Program is for beginners to advanced riders and will be hands on educational activity for 4-H members. The instructors will be from Texas A&M Equine Science Department. For more information or questions, call Jim Wells County 4-H at (361) Registration on 4-H Connect through June 10, Stall reservations must be made on 4-H Connect. Written by Klarissa Cantu The lack of rain in our area as well as other counties has greatly impacted our production in agriculture from cattle operations to crop production. Small businesses have especially been greatly affected which results in them selling their land, livestock or the entire business as a whole. We have been fortunate enough to have been receiving several inches of rain within the past couple of weeks but we do need more. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor Index at least half of Texas is in severe to exceptional drought. This has led to ranchers having to decide whether to send their livestock to slaughter or to send them to another part of the country for feeding. Without water you are pretty much done in the cattle business. No grass, no water and no cows are what it ultimately leads to in the end. The drought has fueled wildfires in different parts of Texas and has fueled dust storms due to the lack of crops in certain areas as well. Economists have estimated that the drought has cost farmers and ranchers upwards of $8 billion. This all comes from ruined crops, increase in price of hay, decrease in cattle production, increase in price of feed, etc. In efforts to improve this the 83 rd Texas Legislature voted and passed to allocate $2 billion from the Rainy Day Fund to launch a rotating loan program to fund conservation, pipelines, reservoirs and other water projects that are approved by the Texas Water Development Board. There are predictions that Texas is going to have an El Nino this fall which means more rain but that may not be the case since in the past they have known to not have much of an effect on Texas as we need. In the Rio Grande Valley we are predicted to only get 50%-75% below normal precipitation for the summer. This makes sense since meteorologists are predicting that it will need to get worse before it gets better. There is no guarantee what the El Nino will bring for us in the fall but let s hope it involves more rain. Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service Hidalgo County 4-H Times June P a g e

11 4-H NEWS IN AGRICULTURE Texas 4-H Livestock/Equine Ambassador Applications - The Texas 4-H Livestock/Equine Ambassador program strives to provide high school aged 4-H members the opportunity to develop and practice advanced leadership skills related to mentoring other youth, and to become advocates for animal agriculture. Program locations, dates and applications: Texas 4-H Livestock Ambassador Short Course at Texas A&M University: July 7-10, 2014 Texas 4-H Livestock Ambassador Short Course at Texas Tech University: July 21-23, 2014 Texas 4-H Equine Ambassador Training in Gainesville, Texas: June 29, July 3, 2014 Application available or 5ONeyV For questions regarding these programs, please contact Billy Zanolini at (940) USDA Agricultural Ambassador Program Hispanic Serving Institutions National Program APPLY TODAY! The USDA Agricultural Ambassadors Program provides high school students with the opportunity to intern with USDA for 5 weeks over the summer. The program is designed to expand students knowledge of the importance of public service, provide educational and professional experiences and increase students awareness of career opportunities with the USDA. For more information please contact the Texas Regional Director, Ruby De La Garza, at Ruby.delagarza@osec.usda.gov Educational programs of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service Hidalgo County 4-H Times June P a g e