adair county extension 4-h news · 2017. 10. 20. · page 2 oct/nov/dec 2017 adair county isu...

Oct/Nov/Dec 2017 ADAIR COUNTY ISU EXTENSION 4-H NEWSLETTER

Adair County Extension 4-H News

October/November/December 2017

Visit the Adair County Extension Office Website at www.extension.iastate.edu/adair Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of

race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, 3280 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.

Welcome New 4-H Members!

Adair County Hot Shots - Kenna Funke, Kaden Herr Harrison Hummers - ShadowMae Doherty, Aiden Hardman (CloverBud) Jefferson Pioneers - Farrukh Azizov; Abigail, Isaac, and Jacob Balsmeier; Connor Beane; Macy Long; Zalina Morse; Bo (CloverBud) and Karli Rumley NV Champions - Gracelyn Lewis, Avery Lewis (CloverBud) Orient Bulldogs - Krista James, Taylor Sloth Rohrig (CloverBud), Matthew Rudolf Steele Richland Royals - Dylan Wallace (CloverBud); Reegan Waldeier Summerset Citizens - Ayden Goetz; Zayley Martin; Gavin Meisenheimer; Allyson Pickrell; Slade Gettler; (CloverBuds - Paul and Luke kading, Silas Pieken, Derek Raasch) Summit Super Stars - Blaze Dorsey, Justin and Kylie Elledge; (CloverBuds - Jovie Denney and Joseph Fagan) Washington Stars - Kacie Ford, Kylie Nelson, Chloe Rardin, Remington Woosley, Taylor Laughery (CloverBud)

Football games, Cross Country meets, Volleyball matches, and Marching Band

– it must be Fall. It’s also the beginning of a NEW 4-H YEAR! When you think

about all aspects of 4- H, it could be considered a ‘year-round sport’. You set

goals and work hard to reach those goals. You develop new skills and talents

along the way. Each 4-H’er is encouraged to have a ‘Pep Rally’ for 4-H…get

excited and share your enthusiasm with your friends and family.

4-H has something to offer everyone. Showing a breeding heifer or market

steer may not be in your game plans, but showing a dog, refinishing a piece of

antique furniture, learning new photography techniques, or perfecting your

favorite cookie recipe could be in your goal planning.

As a 4-H’er, you are an important team member of over 200+ Adair County

4-H’ers. Your team coaches consist of family and friends, valuable volunteers

and staff from Adair County Extension. All team coaches are devoted to help-

ing you develop, grow and enjoy a successful season. Your practices will help

you learn life skills such as communication, leadership, citizenship and record

keeping. Along the way, you will network with other teams and build relation-

ships and memories that will last a lifetime.

Get excited about 4-H!! Enroll before October 31st to receive the $10 dis-

count on enrollment fees. Encourage your friends to enroll and be a member of

your team! Share your project areas and the fun you’ve had as a 4-H’er. You

will have opportunities to participate as an individual and as a group member in

activities ranging from capturing that perfect photo to organizing a food drive

with other team members.

Events happening very soon on this season’s schedule include –

Volunteer Leader Training , Wednesday, October 18, 6:30—8:30 pm, 4-H/FFA Center on fairgrounds

4-H Awards Day, Sunday, November 5, 2:00 pm, Warren Cultural Center Auditorium

Harrison Hummers helped with set-up and take down for vendors, and helped buyers taking items to their vehicles at the Stuart Farmers Market.

Sammi Long with Reserve Champion Simmental breeding heifer at AKSARBEN


In Donna’s World… Donna Wallace — 4-H Program Coordinator

4-H AWARDS DAY will be Sunday, November 5th, 2 pm at the

Warren Cultural Center on the east side of the square in Greenfield.

Family and friends are invited to join you for this special occasion.

Be part of your club photo taken at Awards Day. Every 4-H club

will be recognized during the program. All club members including new members and leaders (both new and retiring) come to the stage as their club is recognized. Designate a club member to brief-ly describe your club activities. Let’s work really hard for 100% attendance. Club photos will be taken immediately following their recognition.

Ellie Brewer, member of Summerset Citizens, will be continuing the

“Holiday Mail for Heroes” project. Contribute to the campaign by bringing holiday cards (do not seal the envelopes) with a handwrit-ten message of encouragement for a member of the Armed Ser-vices or sign a card on the spot at Award’s Day. A Holiday Station will be located in the Gallery of WCC for anyone to sign and drop off cards.

Traveling Iowa History bus exhibit is scheduled from 1 - 5 pm. Enjoy

the exhibit either prior to or following the Awards Program. Explore the history of Iowans at home, work and play and how that shapes who we are today.

Enjoy refreshments provided by the NV Champions 4-H Club.

WELCOME VOLUNTEERS & LEADERS

Angie Engles - Summerset Citizens

Gina Gettler - Summit Super Stars

Jessica Denney - Summit Super Stars

2017 Volunteer Leader Training is scheduled for Wednesday, October 18th, 6:30 – 8:30pm at the 4-H/FFA Center. Join 4-H leaders from across our county in an interactive, hands-on training that will help volunteers develop belonging, mastery, and independence in all youth. “4-H Builds Resilience” is the theme for this year’s training. During this training, 4-H leaders will learn the importance of resilien-cy, brain development, and growth mindset as you help develop belonging, mastery, and independence in all youth. You will leave with tools and resources to support your work with building resiliency in youth!

A benefit of participating in the face-to-face volunteer training is the interaction and sharing with other volunteers. No cost to attend.

Iowa 4-H requires all 4-H leaders (organizational, assistant and county-wide project leaders—including Shooting Sports volunteers) to participate in one training each year.

Only leaders who have met the training requirements are covered as part of our insurance plan and eligible for tort liability coverage. By not attending the face to face training or completing the online ver-sion (if one is made available), you are putting yourself and Adair County Extension at risk for a possible lawsuit if accidents should occur during a 4-H club meeting or activity. The guidelines sent from the State 4-H Office are in place to protect us. The many, many hours that each of you, as volunteers, dedicate to the Adair County 4-H Program is certainly appreciated. We could not continue to pro-vide the quality program without your support. We need you to be fully protected by attending volunteer training.

Please make attending the face-to-face volunteer training a priority. Call Donna at the Extension office

Adair County Fair 2018 Calendars

will be available for purchase at Awards Day! Purchase of a calen-dar ($25 each) will count as one entry in the drawing for one of the cash prizes throughout the year. Each month features photos from past fairs. You may see someone you know! The calendars also make a great gift. Name and contact information will be filled out on a raffle ticket at the time of purchase. The winner of each raffle prize will have a check mailed to them on or near the date the prize is listed on the calendar. The prizes range in value from $25 to $1000.

Purchase a calendar at Awards Day and support

the Adair County Fair!

Is an important piece of preparing our volunteers for their new role. The Iowa 4-H program’s volunteers play a critical role in the success of the 4-H program! The training program is designed to be flexible for volunteers, with an online learning component as well as a face to face component, both are required within your first year as a 4-H volunteer. The online learning consists of 4 training sessions that should be com-pleted prior to the face to face New Volunteer Training (NVT). The 4 online trainings can be taken at any time prior to the face to face training and are designed to be short, 15 minutes or less per session via 4H Online. The face to face training will be offered at the follow-ing locations. Go to http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/volmgt for the Helpsheet for completing the 4 online trainings and to register for one of the face-to-face trainings listed below.

November 4, 9 am—noon, Clarke County Fairgrounds Event Center, Osceola

November 29, 6—9 pm, Cass County Community Center, Atlantic

Thank you to Jeannette Jorgensen, retiring 4-H club leader of the

Summit Super Stars, for her many, many years of dedication, effort, and

hard work given to the Adair County 4-H Program.

Thank you also to Scott and Natalie Suhr, retiring club leaders of the

Summit Super Stars, for their dedication given to the Adair County

Program.


President’s Volunteer

Service Challenge All 4-H’ers, including Clover Kids and CloverBuds, are encouraged to participate in the President’s Volunteer Service Challenge. A log sheet, along with an explanation of what qualifies as community service, is posted on our website http://www.extension.iastate.edu/adair/news/community-service-descriptions-and-log-record-your-hours or can be picked up at the Adair County Extension Office. Volunteer logs will be due to the Adair County Extension Office October 1st. An awesome total of 4295 volunteer hours were logged by 49 Adair County 4-H’ers during the 2016-2017 program year! Start logging your hours now! Requirements for each award are as follows:

Kids ages 5 – 10:

Bronze (26 – 49 hours); Silver (50 – 74 hours); Gold (75 hours or more)

Teens ages 11 – 15:

Bronze (50 – 74 hours); Silver (75 – 99 hours); Gold (100 hours or more)

Young Adults 16 – 25:

Bronze (100–174 hours); Silver (175–249 hours); Gold (250 hours or more)

Help with Clover Kids Sessions Clubs are encouraged to help with Clover Kids Sessions the first Saturday of each month, 10—11:30am (but helpers should be there from 9:30-11:30am) at the Greenfield City Hall Meeting Room. Please email [email protected] with your choice of month. Richland Royals are helping with the January session.

Wednesday, December 27, 9–11:30 am at the Adair County Fair-grounds. All market beef (market steers, market heifers and junior feeder pens) must be weighed at the countywide weigh-in to be eligible at the Adair County Fair and other 4-H shows. Members who exhibited a feeder calf or bucket/bottle calf at the 2017 county fair are encouraged to show their animal as a market beef at the 2018 fair. Each 4-H or FFA member may weigh six market beef for lead animals and six head for a junior feeder pen. A junior feeder pen needs a minimum of three head at county fair. There is no minimum or maximum weight limit at the December 27 weigh-in, but as you select your animals you should consider what they will weigh in July at the county fair. There are 203 days between weigh-in and county fair. The average gain for all 4-H and FFA ani-mals in the beef performance contest last year was 3.30 pounds per day. A 500 lb. animal gaining 3.30 lbs. per day would weigh 1170 lbs. at the fair. Ideally, your animal should weigh between 1150 and 1300 pounds at the county fair. When you arrive at weigh-in, be prepared to –

Pay $1.50 per head for the special 4-H tag.

Identify in which category each animal will be entered (i.e. market

beef, junior feeder, or returning bucket/bottle calf). Separate market steer and market heifer classes will be offered.

Indicate which animals are 4-H and which are FFA.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR MARKET BEEF GOING TO

IOWA STATE FAIR OR AKSARBEN

4-H members who are currently in 5th grade or above are eligible to nominate market beef for the Iowa State Fair and/or AKSARBEN as part of the weigh-in process on December 27. Market beef nominated for the Iowa State Fair and AKSARBEN must have a retinal image taken. Verification forms must be completed at weigh-in and signed by the exhibitor and a parent. Nomination fees - Iowa State Fair and AKSARBEN will be $10 per head (includes ear tag).

to 4-H Donors & Record Book Evaluators

Adair County Corn Growers

Adair County Pork Producers

Dan & Pat Westphal, Bridgewater

Dave and Connie Wallace, Greenfield

FNB Bank, Fontanelle, Greenfield, Massena, Anita, Correctionville

Farmers Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Farmers & Merchants State Bank, Orient & Winterset

Paul & Gini Herr Family, Fontanelle

Rex & Hope Wilhelm, Stuart

Ron & Becky Dreher Family, Adair

Steve and Carol Baudler, Fontanelle

Union State Bank, Greenfield/Bridgewater

THANK YOU to the dedicated team of record book evaluators: Jane Langguth, Angie Ford, Marilyn Jensen, Grace Evans, Alyse Dreher, Rachel Hall, Elaine Bohling, Linda BreDahl, Connie Wallace, Lori Christensen, Tammy Walk, and Sondra Baudler,

Evaluating 71 individual record books and three club records is a huge job! Please thank these people the next time you see them.

YOUTH ACTION COMMITTEE

Youth Action Committee will be meeting Wednesday, January 10, 2018, 7:00 pm at the Extension office. Both high school teens and adults are needed to serve on the Youth Action Committee. This group is in charge of setting county policy including developing rules for the 4-H and FFA divisions at the county fair and assisting with fundraising. Applications are completed with appointments made by the Adair County Extension Council. Teen members are approved for one-year terms and may apply for consecutive terms. Each term for an adult member is a maximum of two years. Members may serve two consecutive terms. Application forms are available at the Extension office or http://www.extension.iastate.edu/adair/content/all-things4-h

Donations are appreciated for Friends of 4-H Record Keepers. A $10 donation helps to recognize one member for record book completion. If you would like to make a donation, simply drop off a check written to Adair County Extension 4-H Booster Fund by October 17

th.

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/adair/news/community-service-descriptions-and-log-record-your-hours




CLUB CHECKLIST As a Club:

√ Remember to turn your club treasurer’s record into the Extension

office for review. Distribute county fair ribbon premium checks.

√ Work on your membership recruitment plan. Each member invite

a friend to be a part of your club. Make sure to think about home-schoolers.

√ Complete enrollment forms and medical forms using 4honline or

complete paper forms and return to the Extension office. You will get a $10 discount for each re-enrollment turned in by October

31st and new enrollments submitted by December 31st.

√ Recognize retiring leaders, if you haven’t already done so.

√ Elect club officers and turn the list of officers in to the Ex-

tension office. Use the officer books provided by the Exten-sion office. If your club needs a new Secretary or Treasurer book, contact the Extension office.

√ Create a club budget – Remember $30/member for Development

Fee. (There is a discount for turning enrollments in early.) Clubs are also asked to support the county program by donating to the Silent Auction and sponsoring a trophy.

√ Review or establish club guidelines and expectations; and devel-

op a club program for the year. Turn in a copy to the Extension office and make sure every family gets a copy.

√ Encourage a parent or high school age youth to apply to be a

member of the Youth Action Committee.

√ Save pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House.

√ Plan to attend 4-H Awards Day on November 5th as a club.

Be sure parents, family members and friends are invited, too. Designate a club member to briefly describe your club

activities when your club is being recognized on stage.

Following Awards Day -

√ Write thank you notes to Friends of 4-H Adair County 4-H

Record Keepers and other Awards Day sponsors.

√ Congratulate and recognize members who earned 4-H awards.

Distribute $10 to each member who completed their record book.

√ Encourage high school members to apply for state honors.

√ Hold a mini-4-H record book workshop. Work as a group on up-

dating 4-H Participation Summary. Showcase the top record books from last year.

√ Plan a holiday party. Stress belonging and generosity in your

plans. Invite potential members.

√ Decide on a club service project. Explain the concept of

community service. Help members start service logs.

√ Encourage your photographer to email action photos as jpeg

photos so we can include them on the Adair County ISU Extension & Outreach facebook page.

√ Review requirements for market beef projects.

Awesome showing and what a way for Joe Herr to end his 4-H livestock showing career by exhibiting the Grand Champion Market Steer at AKSARBEN! Congratulations Joe!

Summit Super Stars sold 101 mum plants for their annual fundraiser.

Congratulations to Madison and Cameron Christensen for a great showing of their goats at the Clay County Fair - Madison was class, division and Overall winner; Cameron was class, reserve division, and Overall reserve winner.

Summerset Citizens enjoyed their first meeting of the year at the Greenfield Lake with presentations and packing snack bags for farmers as they begin the harvest season and deliver grain to the local elevators. Members also partnered with Colors Floral in Greenfield with the “Petal it Forward” project by deliver-ing bouquets to individuals and businesses in the local area.

Youth Council members promoted 4-H in our community school districts.

Congratulations to AKSARBEN exhibitors - Sophie Dorsey with

blue ribbon on her market steer; Cody Long with 3rd place to division champions with market wether; and Sammi Long with Reserve Champion Simmental heifer. Cody and Sammi also conducted the lamb clinic.

Good job to Cody and Sammi Long who placed third in the

Sheep Herdsmanship Division at the Iowa State Fair for the 2nd consecutive year.

Congratulations to Adair County Hot Shots Storm Hoadley - 3rdplace in Archery Traditional Intermediate Division; Zayden Rawlings participation in Archery Traditional Intermediate Division; and Makenna Lilly participation in Shotgun Trap Senior Division, at the State Shooting Sports Match.

Thank you to 4-H clubs for promoting National 4-H Week by wearing 4-H t-shirts. Austin Shelley won a $5 coupon at the Tiger Drive-In for posting his photo wearing his 4-H t-shirt on facebook.

Sadie Marnin (clothing), Zayden Rawlings (shooting sports), Jill Wallace (record keeping), and Ellan Clay (communication) gave presentations at the New Member/Parent Meeting. Abby Engles (Bead Magnets) and Brandon Raasch (Straw Rockets) hosted working exhibits. Thank you 4-H’ers for presenting information to members and parents attending.

SOFA XXIV - Speak Out For Agriculture

SOFA or Speak Out For Agriculture will celebrate its 24th birthday in 2018. Twenty four years of empowering and equipping young people with the skills to be ag-vocates! Six Adair County 4-Hers and four Cass County 4-Hers will be providing leadership for the 2018 program. Returning members are Alexis Shelley, Tim Beane, Skyler Rawlings, Madison Suhr, Haley Becker and McKenna Stuhr. New members include Sara Beane, Jennifer Holliday, Emma Penton and Myah Rubio. Adults mentors for the group are Beth Baudler, Kathy Rohrig and Shelby Van Horn. The planning committee will meet Sunday, November 19 at 4:30 pm at the Adair County Extension in Greenfield.


Kathy’s Remarks… Kathy Rohrig - Ag Coordinator & SOFA Director

Kathy’s Remarks… Kathy Rohrig - Ag Coordinator & SOFA Director

Fall Commercial Applicator Training Dates All classes start at 9:00 am and are held at the Adair County Exten-sion office, 154 Public Square, Ste. C, Greenfield. Cost is $35, ex-cept for Pest Control Operators. For more information contact Kathy Rohrig at [email protected] or 641-743-8412.

October 18 Aquatic, Forest, & Right of Way Pest Management.

November 8 Ornamental & Turfgrass Applicators

November 15 Commercial Ag Weed, Insect, and Plant Disease Management

December 6 Pest Control Operators – cost for this training is $60

Applicators that miss the scheduled training dates can call the Extension office 641-743-8412 to schedule a re-show prior to December 22.

Pro-Ag Outlook and Management Meeting December 4

th

What does 2018 have in store for area grain and livestock farmers and agri-business professionals? Plan to attend the Pro Ag Outlook and Management meeting on Monday, December 4, at the Warren Cultural Center Auditorium, 154 Public Square, Greenfield. Registration begins at 8:30 am, program runs from 9 am-12 noon. This program is designed to provide participants with a concise evaluation of current market conditions, expected trends in crop and livestock income potential, and management implications. The fol-lowing ISU Extension and Outreach economists will be speaking that day - Chad Hart, grain markets specialist, Lee Schulz, livestock outlook, and Wendong Zahng, comparisons of U.S. and Chinese agriculture. The session is free and open to the public thanks to our sponsors: Adair County Corn Growers; Adair County Farm Bureau; Exchange State Bank – Adair; FNB – Fontanelle, Greenfield, Anita, Massena, Correctionville; Farmers & Merchants State Bank – Orient, Winter-set, St. Charles; First National Bank – Creston, Afton; First State Bank – Stuart; Rolling Hills Bank – Atlantic, Anita, Adair, Stuart, Casey, Menlo and Rippey; Union State Bank – Greenfield, Bridgewater. Please rsvp by Friday, December 1, call 641-743-8412 or email [email protected]

With decorated trees on Christmas, roses on Valentine’s Day or jack-o’-lanterns on Hallow-een, plants are at the center of many holiday gatherings and special events. The 2018 Iowa State University Extension and Out-reach Garden Calendar highlights these plants surrounding beloved celebrations. Each month highlights a different tradition or celebration that has plants as a centerpiece. The large calendar grid also offers space to create a gardening journal to record the progress of your own garden. There are three to four monthly tips that provide timely information for fruits and vegetables, lawn care, trees and shrubs and much more. Whether it be flowers, fruits, vegetables, trees or turfgrass, this annual calendar provides tips on a variety of topics so you can easily know what task should be completed next in your garden. Cost of the calendar is $7. If you would like to order a calendar please contact the Extension office by November 1. Any calendars ordered after that will be charged $7 plus shipping.

MANURE APPLICATOR TRAINING DATES:

Commercial Manure Applicator Certification (video) Thursday, January 4, 2018, 9 am - 12 noon Adair County Extension office conference room

Confinement Site Applicator Certification Monday, February 5, 1:30 - 3:30 pm, Adair City Hall

Commercial Manure Applicator Certification (dry, face to face) Monday, February 19, 1:00 – 4:00 pm, Warren Cultural Center Green room


Danielle’s Musings … Danielle Morgan - Youth Development Coordinator

Welcome new Youth Council members!

We are excited to welcome Storm Hoadley, Jennifer Holliday, and Zayden Rawlings to the Adair County Youth Council!

During our October meeting, members elected officers. The

officers for the 2017-2018 year are: Sadie Marnin– president, Halee Wallace– vice president, Jennifer Holliday– secretary/treasurer, & Ashlyn Kralik– historian/photographer. Congratu-lations to all our new officers!

Youth Council members went to the 4th grade classrooms in

the county and promoted 4-H. All of the kids were very en-gaged and had great questions. The YC members did an ex-cellent job and presented the information in a way that was easy for the kids to understand. Great job to everyone who helped!

Thank you to everyone who helped with the SWAP Meet! You

all did an awesome job cleaning and being there on time! We had a lot of people who thanked us for keeping the bathrooms clean!

Youth Council members will be helping hand out candy at

Spook the Loop on October 31st from 4:30-6:00pm on the Greenfield Square. Stop by the Extension Office to get a treat or an allergy friendly toy!

Awards Day will be held on November 5th at 2pm. Youth

Council members will arrive at the Green Room at the Warren Cultural Center at 12:30 pm for a short meeting, a quick pro-gram run-through, and pizza. Youth Council members who have been chosen to speak will be sent their speeches the week before. Youth Council members will be inducted during awards night, so all Youth Council members must attend! Please dress formally!

In December, we will be going around to the preschools in

Adair County and reading books. During our December meet-ing, we will talk about planning these visits and see who would like to read to preschoolers. We will also be gift wrapping books for all the preschoolers at our December meeting.

It’s not too early to start thinking about applying for State

Awards! If you are thinking about applying but need some help, feel free to reach out! I will practice interviews with all of you to help you get ready for State Awards!


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Welcome new Clover Kids!!

We would like to give our warmest welcome to our new Clover Kids! Welcome Bailey Breheny, Kinnick Froehlich, Hayden Griffith, Taryn Gutierrez, Zara Martin, Bentley Mil-ler, Karsi Skellenger, Elliot Uhrmacher, and Laura Uhr-macher. We’re excited to have you!

Our first Clover Kids workshop was held on October

7th. The theme for this workshop was Halloween/ Har-vest. Jill Wallace read a story about Halloween safety and a fun book about trick-or-treating. Riley Abbott gave a short presentation on how to stay safe during harvest season. After that, the Clover Kids had a healthy snack of a banana or an apple and some choc-olate chips. We gave them the option of water or apple juice to drink. After that, we made scarecrows out of popsicle sticks until parents arrived.

Our next workshop will be held on Saturday November

4th from 10am-11:30am in the meeting room next to Greenfield City Hall. Our theme will be Pet Care & Safety. We’ll be talking about the basics of pet care and how to stay safe around a strange dog.

For our December workshop, we will be going to the

rehabilitation center in Greenfield to do some activities with the residents there. Drop off and pick up will be at the rehabilitation center which is located next to the Adair County Hospital. Parents are welcome to stay and participate.

It’s not too late to sign up for Clover Kids!

The registration form can be found on our

website or you can stop in the office and

pick one up. If you have any questions,

please contact the Clover Kids mentor

Danielle Morgan at [email protected] or

by phone at 641-743-8412.

Properly Harvesting

and Storing Fall

Garden Produce

How do I harvest and store sweet potatoes? Harvest sweet potatoes immediately before or after a vine killing frost. When harvesting sweet potatoes, dig carefully to avoid cutting or bruising the roots. After harvest, cure sweet potatoes for one week at a tempera-ture of 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity of 90 to 95 percent. Curing promotes healing of minor cuts and bruises, prolonging the storage life of sweet potatoes. Curing also improves the flavor of sweet potatoes as starches are converted to sugars during the curing process.

After curing, store sweet potatoes at a temperature of 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity of 85 to 90 percent. Storage temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit may stimulate sprouting. Sweet potatoes may develop an off-flavor and the flesh may become discolored when stored at temperatures below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If properly cured and stored, sweet potatoes can be stored for four to six months.

How do I harvest and store winter squash? Harvest winter squash when the fruit are fully mature. Mature winter squash have very hard skins that are difficult to puncture with the thumb-nail. Additionally, mature winter squash have dull-looking surfaces.

When harvesting winter squash, handle them carefully to avoid cuts and bruises. These injuries provide entrances for various rot-producing organisms. Cut off the fruit with pruning shears. Leave a one-inch stem on each fruit.

After harvesting, cure winter squash (except for the acorn types) at a temperature of 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and a relative humidity of 80 to 85 percent. Curing helps to harden the squash skins and heal any cuts and scratches. Do not cure acorn squash. The high temperature and rela-tive humidity during the curing process actually reduce the quality and storage life of acorn squash.

After curing, store winter squash in a cool, dry, well-ventilated location. Storage temperatures should be 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not store squash near apples, pears, or other ripening fruit. Ripening fruit release ethylene gas, which shortens the storage life of squash.

When properly cured and stored, the storage lives of acorn, butternut, and hubbard squash are approximately five to eight weeks, two to three months, and five to six months, respectively.

How do I ripen green tomatoes indoors? Just before the first frost, remove all mature, light green fruit from the vines. (Immature, dark green tomatoes will not ripen off the vine.) They should be solid, firm, and free of defects. Remove the stems, then wash and dry the fruit.

Tomatoes that are starting to turn color (have a pink blush) can be placed on the kitchen counter or a shelf to ripen. Individually wrap tomatoes that are completely green in a piece of newspaper. Place the wrapped toma-toes in a single layer in a box and store in a cool (60 to 70 degree Fahren-heit) location. Inspect the tomatoes frequently and discard any which show signs of decay. When the tomatoes begin to color, remove the news-paper and place the tomatoes on a countertop or shelf to ripen fully.


Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 Annual Volunteer Leader Training 6:30 - 8:30 pm, 4-H/FFA Center

CPAT - 9am EO

19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31 4-H re-enrollment forms due to receive $10 discount Trunk or Treat, Spook the Loop 4:30-6pm Greenfield Square

October 2017


1 Last day to order ISU Garden Calendars - see pg. 5

2 3 4 New Volunteer Train-ing, 9am-12 pm, Clarke Co. Community Center, Osceola Clover Kids 10-11:30am,

Greenfield City Hall Meeting Room

5 4-H Awards Day Event, 2pm, WCC

Youth Council 12:30pm Iowa History Bus 1-5pm

Daylight Savings Time

6 7 8 CPAT Ornamental & Turf 9am, EO

9 10 11 VETERANS’ DAY

12 13 14 15 CPAT Commercial Ag, Weed, Insect 9am, EO

16 17 18

19 SOFA Planning Comm. Mtg. 4:30pm, Adair Co. EO

20 21 22 23

THANKSGIVING Extension Office

Closed

24

Extension Office Closed

25

26 27 28 29 New Volunteer Training, 6 - 9 pm Cass Co, Community Center, Atlantic

30

November 2017



1 2 Clover Kids Session 10-11:30 am, Greenfield City Hall Meeting Room

3 Youth Council Mtg, Green Room, WCC Time TBA

4 Pro Ag Outlook Mtg. 9am, WCC Theater, Registration 8:30am

5 6 CPAT Pest Control Operators 9am, EO

7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 SOFA Planning Comm Mtg 4:30pm, Cass Co. EO

18 19 20 21 22 CPAT Final Reshow Date for 2017

23

24 25 Christmas Holiday


26


27 Beef Weigh-in 9 - 11:30am, Adair County Fairgrounds, Greenfield

28 29 30

31 Jan 1st

New Year’s Day Extension Office

Closed

Jan 2 Jan 3 Jan 4 Commercial Manure Applicator Training 9am-12pm, EO

Jan 5 Jan 6

December 2017

adair county extension 4-h news · 2017. 10. 20. · page 2 oct/nov/dec 2017 adair county isu...

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