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Youth For The Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) logo in front of a black and white image of a young girl feeding a small animal with a bottle

Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) in South Dakota 4-H resources

About YQCA – the national program
Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) is a national multi-species quality assurance program for youth ages 8 to 21 with a focus on three core pillars: food safety, animal well-being, and character development. The YQCA program is an annual certification created for youth producing and/or showing beef cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, meat goats, dairy goats, swine, poultry, and rabbits. The program has been designed by extension specialists and national livestock program managers to ensure it is accurate, current and relevant to the needs of the animal industry and shows, and is appropriate for youth learning levels.

Three bees on a wooden box.

Backyard Biodiversity: Nest boxes for native bees

Many of our native bee species are solitary. In order to ensure that these kinds of bees spend more time in our yards and gardens, it is important to make sure we include places for them to nest.

A wheat field at sunset.

Water Use by Plant Stage

Over the growing season, solar radiation, air temperature and plant size are the dominant factors in determining evaporative demand and the rate of water use by wheat. Water use can vary dramatically on a day-to day basis, depending on climate and wheat health.

Diverse group of school-age children sitting on bleachers outside in 4-H clothing.; Photos; 4-H Grows Here; Brand; 4-H youth

Character Links 5 curriculum

4-H Character All Stars will implement the Character Links 5 curriculum for the 2018-19 school year. Within the curriculum five character traits are highlighted: Honesty, Respect, Responsibility, Kindness and Citizenship.

4-H member working on a robotics project

Youth Development

SDSU Extension's youth development programs help prepare youth to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood.

A hand holding a soil sample taken from a soybean field.

Soil Testing Labs

This page contains a list of nearby state or private laboratories that can be used for crop production fields, gardens and lawns.

4-H, Shooting Sports, Muzzleloading gun, Adolescent girl shoting a muzzleloading gun while 2 adolescent males watch

South Dakota 4-H Shooting Sports State Plan

The South Dakota 4-H Shooting Sports program focuses on developing safe shooting habits in participating youth members.

a young man shooting a rifle

State Shooting Sports Records and Past Results

View state match records and an archive of past results for the South Dakota 4-H Shooting Sports program.

bunches of Aronia berries still on a bush

Soil Testing for Vineyards in South Dakota

Not all soils are conducive to growing quality grapes, so prospective vineyard sites should be tested before a decision is made to plant grapes. Tests can identify soils that are either too high in pH, salts, or salinity, or that are “too rich” (too high in organic matter and nitrogen) for grapes. In addition, testing before planting allows for the incorporation of nutrients—such as phosphorus—that do not move easily through the soil to plant roots.

SDSU Extension 4-H members win at Western National Roundup

February 29, 2024

It was a strong showing for SDSU Extension 4-H members, including a grand champion finish for Delaney Zoss from Sanborn County, who won the horse division’s individual demonstration for her talk on equine color genetics.