McKenzie County 4-H Continues Virtually Due To COVID-19

In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, staying active as an organization is difficult, but the McKenzie County Extension Office has implemented ways to keep the 4-H fair time experience alive. By implementing a virtual 4-H market animal sale and hoping for a 4-H Achievement Day at a later date, the McKenzie County Extension staff believe this will help provide a fun 4-H experience for 4-H members while still following CDC guidelines.

Due to the 2020 McKenzie County Fair being canceled, there will be a virtual sale of the 4-H market animals on Friday, June 19. Devan Leo, McKenzie County Agriculture, and Natural Resources Extension Agent said, "There has been a lot of bustle around the livestock sale and decisions to make it all come together. On Wednesday, May 13, we had a short meeting with the 4-H Livestock Committee to discuss the finite details, and we concluded that the livestock sale would be conducted virtually; this format will be run through an online auctioneer platform provided by Rex Korslein. There will be no livestock weigh-ins due to the amount of work and coordination it will take for all parties involved, due to the COVID-19 restrictions."

Leo explained that if the McKenzie County 4-H group were to have a weigh-in, they would have to have it scheduled through many days and have only one family through at a time. "After each family, we would've then had to disinfect every touched surface and rotate individuals out to limit their exposure to so many people throughout the scheduled days. Our committee decided against doing a weigh-in and will sell livestock by the head rather than by the pound," said Leo.

In addition to a virtual 4-H livestock sale, showmanship and project completion will also be conducted virtually. There will be a McKenzie County 4-H Project Expo/Communication Arts Event via video submission - videos will be due for submission on Friday, May 29.

This year the McKenzie County 4-H is hoping to schedule a 4-H Achievement Day, but the possibility of having this event will be dependent on how things progress with CDC regulations and COVID-19. Marcia Hellandsaas, McKenzie County Family and Community Wellness Extension Agent, said, "For Static Exhibits, we will hope to have a 4-H Achievement Day in August. If our directives stay as they are, this will not be possible. So, we are really in a wait and see mode right now. We are quite restricted as to our contact with the public at this point."

While 4-H meetings and group activities are canceled, 4-H members can still receive hands-on, educational activities, including the latest 4-H at Home Activity Guide and 4-H curriculum to help inspire members to do, learn, and grow, by visiting the http://www.4-h.org/about/4-h-at-home.