Upcoming Events

Tour the Plymouth County Greenhouse and the Bristol County Sheriff Department's Aquaculture program.  We will also review habitat analysis.  Wear closed toed shoes and be prepared to be indoors and outdoors.  Bring your lunch or join us for a bite of pizza.  Will be 10am-2pm and meet at the Plymouth County 4-H office at 44 Obery St. in Plymouth. Registration open in 4-H online.

Join the UMass Extension Fruit Team and Foppema's Farm for the second Twilight Meeting of the season on April 22, 2026 at 5:00 PM at Foppema's Farm in Northbridge Mass. This meeting will include orchard & berry updates, timely pest and horticulture management discussions, and an opportunity to connect with Extension specialists and fellow growers. A light dinner will be provided, and pesticide recertification credits will be offered. We hope to see you there.

In order to be ready for this year's New England 4-H Programs at the Big E in September, all youth interested in participating in the animal commodities must attend a mandatory information session and register in 4-H Online in the “Big E Delegation Interest Form” under the events tab. 

The 91st Annual Bay State Livestock Classic has been canceled. 

Join UMass Extension Educators Artie Siller and Maria Gannett and Julie Fine from American Farmland Trust for a cover crop variety trial field walk at the UMass Crop Research Farm!

Are you interested in learning how to use a drone to apply fertilizer on your bog? We are hosting a workshop at the Cranberry Station in partnership with NexGen Drone (A.D. Makepeace Company) on April 29, 2026 (Rain date April 30, 2026) to demonstrate fertilizer application. The workshop will cover FAA regulatory requirements, launch preparations, and conclude with a drone fertilizer application demonstration. 

For safety reasons, a maximum of 15 participants will be allowed for the workshop. The participants will serve as visual observers during the operation. Preference will be given to growers who have a drone and are planning to apply fertilizer this coming season. We are planning to hold another workshop in August if there is enough demand. 

For more information about the workshop, contact Giverson Mupambi at gmupambi[at]umass[dot]edu (gmupambi[at]umass[dot]edu) or 508-970-7638, and Jake Arnold at jarnold[at]Admakepeace[dot]com (jarnold[at]Admakepeace[dot]com).

The Animal Project Verification Form is to be completed for any animal exhibited at the 4-H Fair or New England 4-H Animal Programs. 

Deadlines are as follows:

May 1: Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Working Steer

June 1: Alpaca, Goat, Llama, Sheep, Swine 

Paper forms are available and can be requested through the Animal Science Specialist office.

The Animal Verification Form is used to identify 4-H animal projects for the year.  Forms for all cattle should be completed by May 1.  Dogs, goats, camelids, sheep, and swine should have their forms completed by June 1 of the project year.  Poultry and rabbits should be completed by June 30. This year, verification forms will be completed digitally through 4Honline. Paper copies are available by request. This is a new requirement for poultry and rabbit exhibitors.

Norfolk County 4-H Open Horse Show, please see the show website for more details: https://norfolk4hhorseshow.weebly.com/

The MA 4-H Rabbit Advisory Committee produces the MA 4-H Rabbit Workshop each year.  They also organize the MA delegation to the New England 4-H Rabbit Show.

Meetings are held every other odd numbered month on the 1st Wednesday from 7-8PM.

The STEM Advisory meets the 1st Wednesday of the month at 7pm.  The goal is to increase the awareness and grow STEM programs in the Massachusetts 4-H program.   Some of what we work on is the NEW 4-H Family STEM Day, STEAM Festival, Explore UMass STEM track while looking at increasing STEM at Fairs and in 2026 a STEM in Ag series.

In order to be ready for this year's New England 4-H Programs at the Big E in September, all youth interested in participating in the animal commodities must attend a mandatory information session and register in 4-H Online in the “Big E Delegation Interest Form” under the events tab. 

The primary goal of the New England Bee Identification Course is to improve field-level identification for New England bees and understand key taxonomical differences between bee families, genera, and species in the region. This course is composed of six in-person workshops held on UMass Amherst campus from May through September 2026. There will be short supplemental pre-recorded lectures and additional resources online, on Canvas Catalog, to be completed before each workshop. Registration is limited to 17 spots.

The MA 4-H Beef Advisory is a state-wide animal science team of youth and volunteers.  This group is responsible for the MA 4-H delegation to the New England 4-H Beef Program.  They also coordinate participation several programs such as the Animal Science Academy and National 4-H Livestock teams.  This group meets on the third Thursday of the month at 7:30 PM. Please join us!

The MA 4-H Goat Advisory Committee coordinates the delegation to the New England Dairy Goat Program at the Big E as well as an annual workshop.  Other events are planned as well, such as tours of local goat farms.  This group meets on the second Thursday of the month at 7:30PM on Zoom.

The MA 4-H Poultry Advisory is a state-wide animal science team of youth and volunteers.  This group is responsible for the MA 4-H delegation to the New England 4-H Poultry Program.  They also coordinate participation several programs such as the Animal Science Academy and National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference teams.  This group meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM. Please join us!

Registration for UMass Extension's Pollinator Steward Program Spring 2026 cohort is now open through February 28 or when full. This fully online, asynchronous, self-paced course provides essential foundations in pollinator ecology and habitat provisioning. Students have through May 31 to complete the program.

The Animal Verification Form is used to identify 4-H animal projects for the year.  Forms for all cattle should be completed by May 1.  Dogs, goats, camelids, sheep, and swine should have their forms completed by June 1 of the project year.  Poultry and rabbits should be completed by June 30. This year, verification forms will be completed digitally through 4Honline. Paper copies are available by request. This is a new requirement for poultry and rabbit exhibitors.

The MA 4-H State Dairy Advisory conducts several learning events during the year such as: Blue Ribbon Calf Sale Helpers, Animal Science Academy, the State 4-H Dairy Show, and the MA 4-H Dairy Team at the New England 4-H Dairy Program at the Big E.

The STEM Advisory meets the 1st Wednesday of the month at 7pm.  The goal is to increase the awareness and grow STEM programs in the Massachusetts 4-H program.   Some of what we work on is the NEW 4-H Family STEM Day, STEAM Festival, Explore UMass STEM track while looking at increasing STEM at Fairs and in 2026 a STEM in Ag series.