First Testing Of the 4-H News Line!

My first attempt at a newsletter so bare with me. I had the best of intentions of trying out this new idea of mine as soon as I returned from the Kett Center goat workshop in mid-October but into each life a little stress must fall, and it seems as if it has been hovering over my rooftop for way too long. Enough of that though, here it is midnight, if I don't get this it might never happen. This whole idea of mine is to get info out to the several 4-H families throughout the state and then in turn, each of you pass it onto folks in your county and community. Can't you see the potential of spreading the word if we all do a just a little. Right now our state 4-H goat project area is in jeopardy. Right now  Caprine Expo and Caprine Classic are not getting the number of participants to make these events financially feasible to continue. When asking why families don't participate, the leading response is that "our extension office does not let us know about them". Ok, so the buck stops here I am trying to make a difference through you.
Some dates that I would like to pass along to you are:

12/7 GLOM Holiday Get-together - This is a goat club in the
mid-Michigan area (Morrice I69 & M52 area). We meet the first Saturday
evening of each month with guest speakers and lots of great
socialization. Dr. Judy Marteniuk is the president and ever so helpful
to us all. Our December meeting is our fun meeting, an auction of
items, snack potluck and lots of goat folk. If you would like more
info. let me know. lk

12/13 LCP deadline, found the info on this program in the Nov/Dec
2002 MDGS newsletter, page 22. Last summer, many counties were
considered draught areas and folks in those counties are entitled to
payment for these conditions through this Livestock Compensation Program
(LCP). All you need to do if you know your county was one of those
included, is to stop by your USDA/FSA office (farm service) we got the
phone number through our extension office. For goats you are entitled
to $4.50 for each animal on your place on June 1st this summer. I took
our registration book, our breeding list detailing who had what and made
a list of who was still here on June 1st and I don't know what all else.
The lady at the front desk grabbed the form, asked me how many goats we
had on that date, wrote down the number, had me sign it and sent me on
my way ( all my books/ proof and all). We received a check in a couple
of days. It is certainly worth checking into but time is running short.
3/01/2003 MDGS ANR week spring program, this is a free program with
numerous sessions pertaining to goats. Anthony Hall on the MSU campus.
This is exceptional, don't miss out.

4/12/03 State 4-H goat Expo (formally known as Caprine Expo) with
quiz bowl, judging, problem solving, illustrated talks, creative writing
and crafts. Must be pre-registered with your extension office well in
advance.

6/18-20/03 4-H Exploration Days on the MSU campus. This is an event
whereby 3000 4-Hers come each summer and participate in the 100s of
exceptional options available. You must register for this through
you extension office well in advance.

7/26/03 State 4-H Goat Show (formally known as Caprine Classic)
this is the 4-H goat show (pretty much all breeds) which includes
showmanship, breed classes, market withers, along with classes for cart
goats and an obstacle course. Must pre-register. There is a chance
that THIS DATE MIGHT BE CHANGING to an earlier time in June so keep
watching here.

and last but not least, I did promise several recipes. My first here is for:
Orange Sherbet
1 cup water
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 quart whole goat milk
1 3 oz package orange Jell-O
1 package orange Kool Aid - unsweetened

Combine all ingredients except the milk in a saucepan. Bring mixture to
a boil. Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature. Stir in goat
milk and freeze. This is just like the store bought kind, I can't
encourage you enough to try this recipe, you won't believe how easy and
delicious it is. We love the orange but I am sure that you could do the
same with other flavors, possibly raspberry, strawberry, etc. Gook
luck.

I had so wanted to make this just the perfect little letter but in
trying to find the time to put into it, it just hasn't gotten done so
please excuse the style. As I so stated in the opening paragraph,
please help me by passing this along to others, we can increase our
program participation by letting families know what is available and
going on and also, if you have info of interest, get it to me and I will
include it in the next e-mail. I hope to do this at least once a month.

Thanks. Linda Kast ( lk )