Our Mission
“To Make the Best, Better!”
The Somerset County 4-H Youth Development Program strives to deliver programs to area youth to help them become compassionate, responsible, and skilled members of the community.
4‑H Pledge
I pledge my head to clearer thinking,
My heart to greater loyalty,
My hands to larger service,
and my health to better living,
for my club, my community, my country, and my world.
History
1902: Youth Clubs are Formed
A. B. Graham started a youth program in Clark County, Ohio, in 1902, which is considered the birth of 4‑H in the United States. The first club was called “The Tomato Club” or the “Corn Growing Club”. T.A. Erickson of Douglas County, Minnesota, started local agricultural after-school clubs and fairs that same year.
The first 4-H emblem was a three-leaf clover introduced sometime between 1907 and 1908. The three leaves signified Head, Heart and Hands.
In 1908, a four-leaf clover design with an H on each leaf was introduced. The H’s stood for Head, Heart, Hands and Hustle.
Jessie Field Shambaugh developed the clover pin with an H on each leaf in 1910. In 1911, the fourth H, Hustle, was changed to Health, and by 1912 these early clubs were called 4‑H clubs.
The 4-H clover emblem was patented in 1924.
1914: Cooperative Extension System is Created
The passage of the Smith-Lever Act in 1914 created the Cooperative Extension System at USDA and nationalized 4‑H. By 1924, 4‑H clubs were formed and the clover emblem was adopted.
The Cooperative Extension System is a partnership of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 100 land-grant universities, including Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and more than 3,000 county offices across the nation. Cooperative Extension combines the expertise and resources of federal, state, and local governments and is designed to meet the need for research, knowledge and educational programs.
4‑H Today
Today, 4‑H serves youth in rural, urban, and suburban communities in every state across the nation. 4‑H’ers are tackling the nation’s top issues, from global food security, climate change and sustainable energy to childhood obesity and food safety. 4‑H out-of-school programming, in-school enrichment programs, clubs and camps also offer a wide variety of STEM opportunities – from agricultural and animal sciences to rocketry, robotics, environmental protection and computer science – to improve the nation’s ability to compete in key scientific fields and take on the leading challenges of the 21st century.
Info Courtesy: 4-H.org
Somerset County 4-H Historical Facts
The first 4-H club in Somerset County was the New Centre Dairy club, which is still in existence today.
The first Somerset County Fair was in 1948 located at Far Hills. The Fair moved from Far Hills to North Branch Park in 1962, and the location of the Fair in North Branch Park was renamed the Somerset County 4-H Fairgrounds in 2007.
The 4-H Prep program began in Somerset County, NJ in 1968. This program was the first to allow children in grades 2 - 3 to participate in 4-H, in a non-competitive way, to prepare for standard clubs upon reaching 4th grade. The program is now nationally recognized, includes members in grades K – 3, and is called Cloverbuds. In Somerset County, you will often see the name Prep/Cloverbud since we are proud that the program started here.
Diversity/Inclusion
4-H educational programs are offered to all youth, grades K-13, on an age-appropriate basis, without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, marital status, domestic partnership status, military service, veteran status, and any other category protected by law.