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Four youth campers in lifejackets standing in the lake

4-H Camps

SDSU Extension 4-H hosts multiple different sessions of camp each summer, usually in early to mid-June.

4-H volunteer talking to a 4-H youth.

Impacts in 4-H Youth Development

1 in 5 South Dakota youth experience 4-H positive youth development programs.

a teenage boy with short hair and glasses wearing a grey t-shirt and shorts stands next to a teenage girl with short hair and glasses wearing a bright green t-shirt and jean shorts holding an award plaque

Yankton County 4-H members receive SDSU Extension Hands to Larger Service award

October 23, 2023

Yankton County 4-H received the 2022-2023 SDSU Extension 4-H Youth Development Program Hands to Larger Service award based on their contributions to the statewide Paws for a Cause community service effort.

Series of trophies on display at a 4-H contest.

Why 4-H?

Reasons why 4-H is a great option for South Dakota youth

Youth campers working on a project together

Life Skills in South Dakota 4-H

Life skills are tools people use to deal with daily situations, make important decisions and enhance their quality of life.

A young man sitting at a laptop discussing a project with a 4-H leader.

4-H STEM

4-H utilizes a ‘learn by doing’ approach that’s ideal for teaching core STEM concepts and skills.

A lush field with corn, soybean, and forage rotation.

Crop Rotation Potential: Improving Soil Health & Farm Profitability

Two-year corn-soybean rotation coupled with heavy chemical inputs has become the routine practice of agricultural production in the Midwestern United States. According to USDA/NASS data, corn and soybean prices received by producers in South Dakota both reached the peak levels of $7.39 and $16.00 per bushel, respectively, in August, 2012.

Citizenship Washington Focus delegates and chaperones in the U.S. Senate Chamber with Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds and Governor Kristi Noem.

Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF)

CWF is a week-long 4-H citizenship program for thousands of 4-H’ers hosted in Washington D.C. each summer.

A series of red barns and grain silos on rolling hills in a farmyard.

Farm Structure Trends

Farm decisions are often undertaken with a very long outlook. The purchase of land or a change in a cropping system are not choices done with short-run gains in mind. As a result, structural changes in agriculture are often slow to occur and to observe.

4-H youth exhibiting a cat to two judges.

South Dakota 4-H Seeks Project Committee Members

October 20, 2021

These committees cover a range in interests, from traditional animal projects and youth-in-action events, to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs.