North Carolina 4-H Presentation Guidelines:
Livestock and Dairy Production

Purpose/Objectives:

• Encourage youth to teach other youth management techniques and to educate audiences about issues facing the livestock and dairy industries by the correct use of visual aids and/or equipment.

• Give youth confidence in their ability to orally present information in a logical and concise manner.

• Increase the level of knowledge and expertise of production technologies and issues of the livestock and dairy industries.

• Increase members' study skills and ability to use correct English.

Eligibility:

Individuals or teams may compete.

• 9-10 - 4-H'er must be 9 years old prior to January 1 of the current year and not have reached their eleventh burthday before January 1 of the current year.
  
  
• 11-13 - 4-H'er must be eleven years old prior to January 1 of the current year and not have reached their fourteenth birthday before January 1 of the current year.
  
  
• 14-18 - 4-H'er must be fourteen years of age prior to January 1 of the current year, and not have reached their nineteenth birthday before January 1 of the current year.

Suggestions/Helpful Hints:

These presentations should be presented to clubs and associations in the county and surrounding areas, to improve the awareness of the livestock and dairy industries.

Suggested Topics:

• Feeding

  Urinary Calculi ; Balancing Rations ; Feeds & their Function ; Feedlot Equipment & Uses ; Early Colostrum Feeding ; By-Product Feeds ; Water Requirements & Equipment ; Hay &/or Silage for Cattle/Sheep ; Vitamins in Rations ; Minerals in Rations ; Grains & their Relative Value ; Protein Supplements ; Feed Additives (Ionophores & Coccidiostats) ; Creep Feeding ; Fescue Fungus ; By-Pass Proteins ; Immune System ; Feed Toxins.

• Management

  Animal Growth Curves; Use of Dogs; Docking; Dehorning; Castration; Vaccination; Implants; Pasture Rotation; Ventilation & Drip Cooling Systems; Saving More Baby Pigs; Care of Young Animals at Birth; Soil & Forage Management; Identification Systems; Waste Management & Confinement Safety; DHIA Records; Heat Stress; Growth Hormone & Beta-Agonists; Proper Milking Procedures.

• Herd Health

  Control of Internal & External; Parasites; Disease Losses; Disease Prevention & Control; Prevent Pig Scours; Brucellosis; Mastitis Prevention/Somatic Cell Counts; Foot Care and Trimming.

• Promotion

  How to Take Livestock Photos; Laying Out an Ad; How to Show Livestock; Judging of Animals.

• Marketing

  Methods of Marketing; Marketing Classes of Animals; Grades & Grading of Stock; Culling Procedures; Milk Marketing.

• Genetics & Reproduction

  Performance Records (EPD, FEPD, etc.); Performance Testing; Selecting Breeding Animals; Artificial Insemination; Handling Birthing Problems (calving/ lambing/farrowing); Breeding Systems for Multiple Farrowing; Phases of Gestation; Management of Breeding Stock; Embryo Transfer; Estrus Detection; Pedigree Interpretation.

• Handling

  Hog Houses; Farrowing Crates; Equipment for Handling; Loading & Hauling; Preventing Bruise Damage; Keep Them Comfortable; How Many Make A Load; Make a Rope Halter & Neck Rope; Trimming Feet; Creep Feeders; A Good Corral; Facility & Housing Design.

• Economics

  Sell Your Forage & Grain Through Livestock; By-Products From Livestock; Value of Livestock; Farm Records; Utilizing Crop Residues in Feeding; Livestock.

• Industry Issues

  Environmental Issues; Animal Rights/Welfare; Grazing of Governmental Lands; Soil Conservation - Livestock Effects.

Resources:

NC Cooperative Extension Office (in your county)

North Carolina Cattlemen's Association -2228 N Main Street, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526 ; (919)552-9111; e-mail: ncbeef@aol.com

North Carolina Pork Producers Association- 156 Mine Lake Ct., Raleigh, NC 27615; 919/846-9758

National Cattlemen's Beef Association - 5420 S. Quebec St., Greenwood Village, CO 80111; (303)694-0305

Purebred Dairy Cattle Association - c/o Holstein Foundation, PO Box 816, Brattleboro, VT 05302-0816

NC Pork Industry Handbook - Extension Swine Husbandry - NCSU, Box 7621, Raleigh, NC 27695-7621; 919/515-4000

Sheep Industry Handbook - Sheep Industry Development Program, Inc., 6911 South Yosemite St., Englewood, CO 80112-141; 303/771-3500

Hoard's Dairyman Magazine and Dairy Herd Management Magazine

North Carolina State University

Extension Animal Husbandry Newsletters & Fact Sheets

Extension Dairy Husbandry Newsletter & Fact Sheets

NC Cow-Calf Handbook - NC State University, attn.: Cow-Calf Handbook, Box 7621, Raleigh, NC 27695-7621

World Wide Web Sites:

Cowtown America - http://www.cowtown.org

Cattlemen on the Web - http://www.ncanet.org

North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service - http://www.ces.ncsu.edu

Oklahoma State University - http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/library

Net Vet & Electronic Zoo - http://netvet.wustl.edu

United States Department of Agriculture - http://www.ars.usda.gov

National Pork Producers Council -http://www.nppc.org

Rules/Regulations:

• Entrants in this contest may present a demonstration or illustrated talk, or a combination of these two methods in their respective division.

• Presentations should emphasize the production, management, marketing, industry issues, etc. of the livestock or dairy industries. Any subject or topic related to livestock or dairy that will lend itself to a demonstration that has economic importance would be satisfactory.

• The use of visual aids to emphasize major points of demonstration is encouraged.

• 9-10, 11-13 presentations must be at least 5 minutes long. 14-18 presentations must be at least 8 minutes long. No presentation should exceed 12 minutes in length. This does not include time allowed for questions.

• Areas of consideration:
  Appearance
  Introduction
  Subject Matter
  Summary
  Presentation
  Questions answered appropriately
• Entry must be completed in its entirety and meet the deadline date as established by the 4-H office in order to be considered for participation.

• The same presentation may be repeated from one year to the next; however, the individual's personal development will be much greater if the presentation is revised and improved.

• When the winner cannot attend Congress or participate in the state presentation contest, the district scholarship will be given to the District runner-up if the District runner-up registers and attends Congress for the week, and participates in the presentation contest.

• Four-H members may continue to compete in a particular presentation category until declared a state winner.

• For the purpose of competition in a presentation category, a "team" may be composed of no more than two individuals.

• District winners (9-10, 11-13, 14-18) and runner-ups (14-18 only) are eligible to compete at the State competition.

Awards:

District winners receive a $75 scholarship to State 4-H Congress; if a team each receives $37.50

State winners will receive a $50.00 Award.

Donor: N.C. Livestock Auction Market Association, 2228 North Main Street, Fuquay- Varina, NC 27526.

Specialists:

Brinton Hopkins
108-B Polk Hall
Box 7621 NCSU
Raleigh, NC 27695-7621
phone: (919) 515-7592
brinton_hopkins

Return to NC 4-H Presentation Guidelines

Last updated Apr 20, 2005

October 11, 2008