The latest news and updates related to the wonderful Livingston County 4-H Program! Office hours:
Mon-Fri 9am- 4pm (closed for lunch 12-1pm)
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4-H originally began in 1902 as the Boys and Girls Club. It w
as established to encourage agricultural education through "learning by doing". The first 4-H emblem appeared around 1907-08 and was originally only a 3-leaf clover: Head, Heart, and Hands. In 1911, it was proposed to add the fourth H, but it was originally going to stand for Hustle: "to render ready service, to develop health and vitality". It was not changed until another proposal, in the same year, suggested adding the fourth H for Health. MSU Extension came around in 1914, but under another name: Cooperative Extension Service or CES. CES served as an organizational entity of the USDA and was created to "conduct educational programs of an 'informal, non-resident, problem-oriented nature.'"
4-H officially became the name of the organization in 1924 (although it had been proposed as early as 1918). The 4-H Pledge was written by Otis Hall, State Leader of Kansas, and was adopted officially in 1927 by the State 4-H Leaders at the first National 4-H Camp. It was unchanged until 1973 when it was modified to include the words, "and my world". The first recorded bulletin of a "Fair-like" showcasing of agricultural products by 4-H-aged youth in Livingston County was in January of 1915. Boys between ages 10 and 18 were encouraged to show off their best crops of corn, potatoes, apples, or a livestock project (one pig from weaning to market or one dairy cow for an entire lactation). Girls of those same ages were encouraged to showcase their best projects related to housekeeping, garment making, canning and marketing, or gardening and canning. All youth were encouraged to showcase poultry and market gardening projects. The first ever recorded 4-H Club in Livingston County was organized in 1919 in the Brown School in Conway Township. It was called the School Lunch Club (sometimes The Brown School Club). It's primary leader was Miss Florence Rogers and it reached 18 members. The first successful livestock club for Livingston County was called the "HOMAGO Livestock Club" which surfaced in 1922. HOMAGO was the combination of the 3 townships that the members of the club were representing: Howell, Marion, and Genoa.
08/20/2026
Michigan 4-H members ages 13-19 are invited to join a special Zoom webinar to meet Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden on August 27th! Justice Bolden will speak about civic engagement, healthy living and character development along with her personal story of leadership through career aspirations.
We lied! One final post on the 2026 Fowlerville Family Fair.
As our program year comes to a close at the end of the month, and our 2026-2027 program year begins, we want to thank ALL of our families, supporters, and volunteers for their dedication not only to the Fowlerville Fair during fair week, but to our 4-H program all year long. We could not do this without you all!
We cannot wait to see what great things everyone accomplishes this next year!
Stay tuned for county awards information, coming soon! This month is a great time to reflect on your accomplishments from the last few years in preparation for county medals applications.
08/13/2026
Last, but certainly not least, we want to celebrate our 2026 Goosechase contest winners for another great Goosechase!
For the third consecutive year, Roots and Wings has been awarded the title of GOOSECHASE CHAMPION, and will have Clover the Goose return to their booth in 2027! This year, some of their club members made sure Clover was dressed for the occasion - we can't wait to see what they do next year!
08/12/2026
We want your Fowlerville Fair photos! 📸
Send in your photos for the 4-H Cornerpost Newsletter for August 2026.
Photos must include a list of the 4-H'ers featured so we can check for media releases.
Photos must be sent to Jenny ([email protected]) by Friday August 14th at 3 pm if you want them in the newsletter.
08/12/2026
For our third post-fair post, we want to highlight our club booths from this year! Everyone did a great job and we are ready to announce our club booth contest winners.
1st place - Little barn
2nd place - Tri-County Kids
3rd place - Gustyacres 2.0
4th place - Barnyard Banditz 4H Club
5th place - U Shoes
6th place - Roots & Wings
7th place - Rangers
8th place - Keepin It Country
Excellent work everyone!
08/11/2026
For our second post-fair post, we want to highlight our Livestock Judging Contest! Congratulations to all of our participants!
Senior:
Champion - Brenna W.
Intermediate:
Champion - Nolan R.
Reserve - Kenton A.
Junior:
Champion - Lina S.
Reserve - Haiden V.
Novice:
Champion - Aubrey R.
Reserve - Elsie M.
If you are interested in joining our Livestock judging team this fall, or are an adult volunteer who would like to help coach the team, please contact Kat at [email protected]!
08/10/2026
For our first post-fair highlight post, we want to congratulate ALL of our 4-H youth on their hard work and dedication through fair week! We didn't catch pictures of everyone, but did catch some of our 4-H Teen Ambassadors with their animals and awards!
Drop your win photo, success story, or favorite show photos in our comments!
08/02/2026
We hope you all had a fantastic fair week! Photos, club booth placings, and livestock judging results to come the week of August 10th! 💚🤍
Send a message to learn more
07/29/2026
ATTENTION 4-H Families!
We will be accepting DAY OF entries both in the 4-H office, and immediately before the contest in the Sheep Barn! Come find Kat to register today!
Want your school to be the top-listed School/college in Howell?