Route 144 Showdown

Our Howard County 4-H Sheep and Meat Goat Show will be held on Saturday, June 20th. This is a great learning opportunity for our youth and their animals. So please consider coming as this is a low stress opportunity made possible by many generous donors and volunteers.

Entry forms will be collected at tagging/weighing on Monday evening (June 1st) with an entry deadline by June 5th. Please find attached all information and the entry form.

We are still looking for sponsorships for this show so if you know anyone that might be a sponsor, please connect with them. Checks need to be written to the Howard County 4-H Foundation and can be sent to Sheryl at University of Maryland Extension, Howard County, c/o Sheryl Bennett, 8930 Stanford Blvd., Suite 25, Columbia, MD 21045.

When paying for 4-H events check need to be made payable to:

University of Maryland
Ascend One Building
8930 Stanford Blvd, Suite 25
Columbia, MD 21045
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UPCOMING EVENTS, INFORMATION AND DEADLINES

On-Line Animal Husbandry and Quality Assurance  (AHQA) Program is Open

All 4-H members enrolled in the following species - alpacas, beef, dairy, goats, horse and pony, llamas, poultry, sheep, swine and rabbits must be current on their AHQA completion requirements to be eligible to exhibit their project animals in 2026 Maryland County 4-H and State 4-H Shows.

You must complete the AHQA if:

  • New to 4-H

  • Changed from Junior to Intermediate or Intermediate to Senior

  • Add a new specie

You will be able to self check after June 1st at https://howard4-h.net/countyfair/last_name.php

The online AHQA training program  https://ahqa.umd.edu/

2026 4-H Enrollment:

Enrollment for members and volunteer is open.  We would like everyone enrolled by March 1st.  Please note that 4-H Online has a new landing page. It is super easy. Sign In if you are a returning 4-H member, or Sign Up if you are new to 4-H Online. 

The Qualtrics Survey must be completed after watching the video for new and returning volunteers:

New Volunteer

Volunteer Refresher

4-H Office is closed - The County Government Energy Saving Days:

Our 4-H Office is affected by the Howard County Government Energy Saving Days. During these days the Ascend One Building will be physically closed to the public, staff will be working remotely to ensure the needs of community members are still being met and are accessible via email. Please make note of the following days for the rest of this year:

  • March: 30th - April 2nd and the 3rd holiday
  • June:  29th - July  2nd and the 3rd holiday
  • August:  3rd - 7th - the week before the fair
  • November: 23rd - 25th - 26th & 27th holiday

2026 Special Awards:

We are looking for your support.  We have special awards for the 2026 Howard County Fair in need of sponsorship.  Since we had no awards last year we may have a number of awards that become available.  Please check availability often.

Maryland 4-H Annual Report

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2026

JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJuly/AugSeptOctNov-Dec

Enrollment Information

As the youth development program of the Cooperative Extension System of land-grant universities, 4-H is the nation’s largest youth development organization, empowering six million young people throughout the United States. Cooperative Extension of 1862 and 1890  land-grant universities provide the leadership to engage young people in 4-H in all 3,007 counties of the United States.

4-H'ers belong to 4-H Clubs that meet in local communities.  University of Maryland Extension Volunteers help youth learn life skills to become caring, competent and responsible individuals through club work, community service, and 4-H project curriculum.  4-H members work with their club leaders to develop their educational plans for each year.  These plans might include community service projects, speakers, field trips, or learning activities.

4-H'ers participate in county-wide programs organized by volunteers and University of Maryland Extension faculty.  These programs include activities such as fashion shows, camps, public speaking contests, workshops, and more.  With so many community clubs and specialty clubs in Howard County, there is always something to do in Howard County 4-H.

Please click on the Club Information link to find specific information about joining a club and the 4-H clubs in Howard County.

To join the Howard County 4-H program, you will need to complete the online enrollment process.  Please keep in mind that we ask potential members to attend at least one 4-H meeting prior to enrolling in the online system.  

Current re-enrollment for the 2025 is currently open and the link to register is https://v2.4honline.com/#/user/sign-in. 

Volunteers

Please check back for the updated process.

Officer Training

The Central Maryland 4-H Cluster is pleased to announce the release of a virtual Officer Training resource that was created to help our 4-H club officers.  

The direct link to the resource is: https://go.umd.edu/MDofficertraining

Since this is a google presentation, anyone viewing will need to select the present mode. 

Once that has been done, click through the different images and words to take you to the next

slide. (Be sure to click around and have fun!).  If you wish to go back at any time, click the purple
“BACK” button at the bottom left of your screen.

For more information, please see the informational flyer.

2026 Howard County 4-H Member Policy

2026 Howard County Club Policies and Guidelines

For more information about the Howard County 4-H Program please contact one of the following:

Sheryl Bennett

4-H Youth Development Educator

410-313-1912

sherylb@umd.edu

Chris Rein

4-H Program Coordinator

410-313-1915

crein@umd.edu

Thomas Mooring

4-H Program Assistant

410-313-2711

tmooring@umd.edu

Rick Hodiak

4-H Program Admin

410-313-1914

hodiak@umd.edu