Gallatin County 4-H

10/09/2026

The Gallatin 4-H Office will be CLOSED on Monday, October 12th. Regular office hours will resume on Tuesday, October 13th (8am-5pm). Have a great weekend! 🍀

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

Thankful Thursday 💚🙌

4-H is more than projects and meetings. It is mentors, friendships, opportunities, and experiences that leave a lasting impact.

Today, we are grateful for the volunteers, supporters, families, donors, and educators who help make 4-H possible for youth across Montana.

What are you most thankful for in your 4-H journey? Let us know in the comments or tag us in your Thankful Thursday post!

10/06/2026

More options in 4-H than you think!🍀🌟 Still thinking about joining Gallatin County 4-H? YES - there is still a place for you!

We know many families are looking at our 2026-2027 4-H enrollment options and may be disappointed to see that some of our most popular, leader-led projects have already reached capacity. But don’t let a full project stop you from joining 4-H! 💚

🍀Join a CLUB! Clubs are a great way to get involved in 4-H as a whole.

Clubs provide opportunities to:
- Gather as a group at a monthly meeting
- Meet other 4-H members of all ages
- Make friends in different project areas
- Take part in group activities, events, trips, and traditions
- Explore a WIDE variety of educational experiences – not just one project/skill!
- Develop confidence, communication, and leadership skills
- Serve the community
- Fundraise

**If you choose to participate in a Club ONLY – select “Exploring 4-H/CLUB PARTICIPATION ONLY” as your ‘Project’ in order for the system to accept the submission of your enrollment.

🌱Explore an Independent Study Project
Montana 4-H offers more than 200 different project areas! It is simply not possible for Gallatin County to have an official volunteer Project Leader for every one of those project areas. That’s where Independent Study comes in!!

If the Gallatin 4-H Project you were interested in “hit capacity” (leader-led projects) or does not currently have an assigned Gallatin County volunteer leader, you can still enroll in that project and complete it as an Independent Study with a parent/guardian serving as your “helper.”

**NOTE: Animal Projects (beef, sheep, swine, goat, rabbit, poultry, dairy cow, horse, dog) CANNOT be completed as Independent Study due to Fair requirements and rules.

Independent projects allow youth to:
- Work through the 4-H project curriculum
- Create, build, experiment, explore, and learn hands-on skills
- Set their own goals and work at their own pace
- Document their progress through photos and a project journal
- Explore careers and real-world applications
- Create an exhibit or presentation for the County Fair

Check out the 200 Montana 4-H Projects here:https://www.montana.edu/extension/pubs-linked-in-store/4-H_Clover_2024-2026_WEB.pdf

There is SO much more to 4-H than one skill, one project, or one meeting. 4-H is about learning by doing, building confidence, making friends, serving your community, developing leadership skills, and discovering what you’re capable of.

Join Gallatin 4-H at: https://www.montana.edu/extension/gallatin/4hnew.html

10/05/2026

Happy National 4-H Week!🍀

Help us pick the BEST Gallatin 4-H National 4-H Week Tire Decorating display! Cast your vote here & enjoy the live voting count! https://app.smore.com/n/2y3v0
Voting will CLOSE 10/12/26

Prize money will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place displays!
• 1st place = $150 to Club + Pizza Party sponsored by 4-H Office
• 2nd place = $100 to Club
• 3rd place = $75 to Club

Keep an eye out for these fabulous displays around the valley this week! Thank You & GREAT JOB to the Clubs that participated in our contest this year. We appreciate the time, energy and creativity you put into helping us promote 4-H to our communities!

10/05/2026

Welcome to Gallatin County 4-H!🍀💚
Meet Your Gallatin 4-H Staff (pictured left to right: Colyn Wiening, Kari Ballenger, Molly Yurdana)

Molly Yurdana: 4-H Extension Agent ([email protected])
Molly joined the Gallatin County Extension Office in 2020 and became the 4-H Agent in 2022. She oversees our county program, manages our volunteers and leads a variety of youth activities throughout the year.

Colyn Wiening: 4-H Program Manager ([email protected])
Colyn has been the 4-H Program Manager since 2021. She provides support to the 4-H programs and families, and manages all 4-H finances.

Kari Ballenger: Administrative Assistant ([email protected])
Kari has been with Gallatin Extension since 2020. She is at the front desk in our office and provides assistance to all Gallatin County MSU Extension events and programs.

We are excited to welcome our returning 4-H families and those joining us for the first time! A new 4-H year brings new opportunities for youth to explore their interests, learn new skills, build friendships, develop leadership, and contribute to our community. We are grateful for the dedication of our volunteers, the support of our families, and the enthusiasm of our youth. Together, we look forward to another year of hands-on learning, leadership, service, and Making the Best, Better!🍀💚

10/03/2026

ROLL into the new 4-H Year and National 4-H Week!🛞🍀✨ Reminder: Email photos and location of entries to [email protected] by October 4th to be considered.

Every year Gallatin County 4-H encourages Clubs, Projects and Individual youth members to show off their 4-H Spirit to our communities during National 4-H Week to help with recruitment and promotion. National 4-H Week will be October 4th – 10th, 2026. Historically, these displays have been in the form of window displays (or last year was hay bale displays) usually at local businesses, but this year we’re changing it up and keeping it WHEEL around here – TIRE DISPLAYS (see flyer attached for inspiration)!

Use your imagination for your tire displays – displays should promote, embody, and convey aspects of 4-H - the more creative the better! Tire Displays can be on roadways, at businesses, or in front of personal homes - just get proper approval. Be sure your Tire Display promotes 4-H (green, clovers, the motto, a creative pun or saying to encourage people to join, etc).
**Pro Tip: Contact local tire stores for junk tires (many tire stores are supporters/buyers of 4-H and may be willing to donate tires free of charge).

Prize money will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place displays! Prize money will be allocated to the 4-H club/project of your choice. Displays must be set up by October 4th, then taken down (& disposed of) by October 12th.

10/02/2026

Welcome to the 2026-2027 4-H Year!🍀
Check out our October 2026 Gallatin County 4-H Newsletter (https://app.smore.com/n/vncq3). It is overflowing with information for the new 4-H year!

Our office publishes the Gallatin County 4-H Newsletter on the 1st of each month. The newsletter is your best source for staying up to date on 4-H activities, events, deadlines, club meetings, project opportunities, and important reminders.

Each month, the newsletter follows the same format:
o Announcements/Upcoming Activities – Important office and county-wide updates and upcoming program activities. Read these sections first!
o Club Updates – Club meeting dates, reminders, and events, organized by Club location.
o Project Updates – Project information organized into Animal Projects and Indoor Projects, then alphabetically within each department.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the Gallatin 4-H Office!

10/02/2026

WOW! 🤩😮🍀 Gallatin 4-H, I think we broke some records (and I'm pretty sure the sound barrier) today as 450+ youth enrollments and 50+ volunteer enrollments have already ZOOMED into our system within just the first 5 hours of us opening enrollment. Unfortunately, A LOT of our popular projects are already at capacity and have been 'hidden' from enrollment selection list - families must email the 4-H office ([email protected]) if they need to be added to a particular project waitlist.

The office is only open 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday, so please be patient with us as we work through approving/activating enrollments as we have to do that manually and one at a time. "Welcome to 4-H" emails will be sent over the next few days to those who have enrolled. Thank you for your enthusiasm and welcome to Gallatin County 4-H!

How to join Gallatin 4-H: https://www.montana.edu/extension/gallatin/4hnew.html