4-H Youth Development
What is 4-H?
4-H Youth Development is part of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension. Extension’s mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of Kentucky citizens through non-formal education for the entire family. Extension agents and volunteers take the results of university research and explain it in such a way that different age groups can learn and apply the information to their own lives. Kentucky 4-H believes in providing positive youth development experiences that all youth to experience belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity.
4-H is a youth organization committed to building outstanding leaders with marketable skills to succeed in today’s global society. 4-H empowers youth to reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults.
The four H's represent the idea of Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. These are the values members work on through fun and engaging programs.
Head Managing, Thinking
Heart Relating, Caring
Hands Giving, Working
Health Being, Living
Enroll Today!
It's FREE to join Boone County 4-H!
Enrollment is valid from September 1, 2024, through August 31, 2025. Please note that the enrollment form includes the Code of Conduct and Participant Information Form. All pages of the form MUST be completed or it will be returned to you. You may return the enrollment form via mail, fax, or by dropping it off in person at the Extension Office. When you become a 4-H member, you'll receive the monthly newsletter (either by email or postal mail) and can choose among the many events and activities 4-H has to offer.
To be an active member, continue to receive the monthly newsletter, and participate in 4-H events, summer projects, and the Boone County Fair as a 4-H member, you MUST re-enroll by completing the 2024-2025 enrollment form to reactivate your membership.
Click HERE to get a 2024-2025 Enrollment Form
Interested in joining a club? Click here to see our 4-H Club Leader list!
The Kentucky 4-H Achievement program
The 4-H Achievement Program is intended to recognize 4-H participants who have outstanding accomplishments and incentivize youth to increase their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Contact Rusty Wolf rusty.wolf@uky.edu with questions.
Additional Information
Apply for a 2023/2024 4-H fair award:
- Outstanding 4-H’er Award: Presented to two 4-H’ers (1 Junior and 1 Senior), based on the number of points accumulated throughout the fair week with their exhibits in the 4-H division (Cloverville, fruits and vegetables, horse and livestock)
- Cloverville 4-H Award: Presented to two 4-H’ers (1 Junior and 1 Senior), based on the number of points accumulated from their exhibits in Cloverviille (Floral Hall).
- 4-H Travis Dunn Outstanding Equestrian Award Application: Presented to one 4-H'er that has been active in the 4-H Horse program.
Applications are due to the extension office by September 20, 2024, at 4:30pm.
4-H Newsletters
4-H Clubs
Livestock Information
Click here to access the 2024 Livestock Record Book
For more information, contact Rusty Wolf at rusty.wolf@uky.edu or call (859) 586-6101
Don't forget to fill out your buyer form as well? View and download the form here.
For Kentucky State Fair Catalog/ Cloverville click here:
Check the Kentucky 4-H Livestock Judging website for more information!
In addition to providing youth an opportunity to learn about animal selection and evaluation, nutrition and feeding, health and daily care, reproduction, and marketing, another of the important purposes for 4-H/FFA Youth Breeding and Market Livestock Projects are to facilitate learning the valuable life skills of responsibility, hard work, critical thinking, and decision-making. Achieving each of these purposes is best accomplished when the 4-Her or FFA member has personal ownership of their project and responsibility for the continuous daily care of their livestock or dairy project under the oversight of the youth’s parents or legal guardians, the local supervising Extension Agent or Vocational Agriculture Teacher, and (or) the volunteer
To help provide a framework where the above-mentioned purposes can be achieved, Kentucky has adopted rules pertaining to ownership, possession, and care of 4-H/FFA Youth Breeding and Market Livestock Projects. These rules apply to all 4-H/FFA beef, goat, sheep, and swine breeding and market animal projects (including beef heifers, beef cows, beef bulls, market steers, market heifers, breeding does, market goats, breeding ewes, market lambs, local leader. breeding gilts, and market hogs).
All 4-H/FFA market steers, market heifers, market lambs, market hogs, and market goats that will participate in market livestock shows in Kentucky (i.e., County Fairs, District Shows, Junior Livestock Expos, Kentucky State Fair, etc.) must be tagged with Radio Frequency Identification (R.F.I.D.) tags. The R.F.I.D. tag number will be used as the Kentucky Uniform Identification Program (K.U.I.P.) number. In addition, to be eligible for participation in the Kentucky State Fair, market steers, market lambs, market hogs, and market goats must have samples collected for DNA testing. The validation guidelines and required forms for validation can be found below.
The location where market animals will be housed is required to be identified on the validation form. The housing location must conform to the rules and guidelines found in the Ownership, Possession, and Care Rules for Kentucky 4-H/FFA Youth Breeding and Market Livestock Projects.
Animals that will only be exhibited as breeding animals (breeding heifers, breeding gilts, breeding ewes, and breeding does) do not need to go through the validation process. However, all breeding animals are required to be identified by June 1 by completing a Kentucky 4-H/FFA Breeding Animal Project Nomination and Location Form online.
Click here for the Kentucky 4-H/ FFA website
Horse
Jason S. Brown
Extension Assistant, 4-H Youth Development
(859) 586-6101 js.brown@uky.edu Boone County Extension Office 6028 Camp Ernst Road, Burlington, Kentucky 41005-0876Lisa K. Casteel
Extension Assistant, 4-H Youth Development
(859) 586-6101 lisa.casteel@uky.edu Boone County Extension Office 6028 Camp Ernst Road, Burlington, Kentucky 41005-0876Richelle L. Davis
Extension Assistant, 4-H Youth Development
(859) 586-6101 richelle.davis@uky.edu Boone County Extension Office 6028 Camp Ernst Road, Burlington, Kentucky 41005-0876Laila M. El-Amin
Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development
(859) 586-6101 lmelam0@uky.edu Boone County Extension Office 6028 Camp Ernst Road, Burlington, Kentucky 41005-0876Cathy Fellows
Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development
(859) 586-6101 cathy.fellows@uky.edu Boone County Extension Office 6028 Camp Ernst Road, Burlington, Kentucky 41005-0876Diane E. Watkins
Extension Assistant, 4-H Youth Development
(859) 586-6101 dwatkins@uky.edu Boone County Extension Office 6028 Camp Ernst Road, Burlington, Kentucky 41005-0876Rusty S. Wolf
Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development
(859) 586-6101 rusty.wolf@uky.edu Boone County Extension Office 6028 Camp Ernst Road, Burlington, Kentucky 41005-0876How does 4-H benefit youth?
4-H’ers, regardless of their background, socio-economic status, race or gender, benefit from their participation in Kentucky 4-H. Positive youth development studies have affirmed that compared to other youth, young people involved in 4-H are:
- Four times more likely to contribute to their communities.
- Two times more likely to be civically active.
- Two times more likely to make healthier lifestyle choices.
- Two times more likely to participate in Science, Engineering and Computer Technology programs during out-of-school time.
- 4-H girls are two times more likely (Grade 10) and nearly three times more likely (Grade 12) to take part in science programs compared to girls in other out-of-school time activities.
