County Beef Club

[paj315]

There have been several kids in our county that have showed interest in having a beef club . I have been asked by our county extension educator if I would help get it started. So, that being said I have some questions to bounce off of everyone here and get their feedback and input. I'm thinking about doing more than just a 4H club for beef members. I'm thinking more along the lines of how I can help kids learn more about their projects and how to do things in a better way and giving them the knowledge that it took me 20 plus years to learn the hard way. We are located in central Indiana and Umbarger Feeds is about 15 minutes from us so I'm thinking about having them come and talk about nutrition and how to feed a steer or heifer. Also getting someone to come do a fitting demonstration and maybe having a few calves brought in for the kids to practice on. Having someone come talk about daily hair care . Maybe getting a rep from ABS or one of the other semen companies to come talk about AIing calves and maybe bringing some semen for those that have access to a tank to buy some semen. One of the parents have suggested giving away door prizes at the first couple meetings . I'm wondering about how to fund some of these activities so I' not paying out for everything and the kids don't have to pay either. What are your ideas? Is there anything I'm leaving out or maybe should leave out? Thanks in advance

 

[FriedgesCharolais]

You could do a fundraiser of some kind. I would also think that some of your local businesses would donate money for something like this, especially the ag related ones. I would have the kids get on the phone with some of them and ask if they would be willing to donate to help with expenses for things.

 

[simba]

First off, good for you for wanting to organize such an active club! My 4-h club does most of the activities that you described, and we pay very little out of our pockets. But as members, we do a lot of fundraising. I remember in my first year of 4-h, my leader said to us "This is YOUR club. You can do as many activities as you want, but you need to figure out how to pay for them. YOU do the fundraising, not me or any of the other parents. If this club runs out of money, that's your problem, not mine. I just want you to think about that when you decide how hard you're going to try when we have fundraisers." As a 9 year old, it was a lot to take in, but it's something that's really stuck with me. Our club has sold beef jerky, garlic sausage, chocolates, flower baskets, bird feeders, worked consession booths, raffled off steers, cleaned up after rodeos, painted town bleachers and picked garbage, all as fundraisers. The hard work pays off, and deciding how expensive to sell things is a really good way to teach kids about business. And lastly, don't be afraid to have kids go ask businesses to donate, usually they're glad to do it, and the kids learn how to talk to people. Good luck!

 

[paj315]

Thanks for the input. I want to try and keep the to the kids as low as possible since there are some single parent kids and some others that don't have a lot of extra . The local businesses are very supportive of 4H here in our county and several show up at our county fair auction to support the kids. Just didn't know if I should ask them for more support or not, don't want to take advantage of their generosity .