Join Us for this Exciting New Project!
This year, New Jersey 4-H is introducing a Turkey project, offering the chance to engage families in poultry science and community service by raising turkeys for families in need for Thanksgiving.
The 4-H Turkey Raising And Youth (TRAY) project is for families who wish to participate in a community service project while also learning how to raise turkeys that will be donated to food banks with the support of Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
With 4-H TRAY, youth will:
- Gain valuable life skills by caring and providing for their birds
- Set goals and plan activities and strategies to achieve those outcomes
- Give back to their communities through service
- Learn skills in record keeping and financial management, through the keeping of a turkey raising record book
Here is the timeline for this program:
March 30, 2019: Participants attend the NJ 4-H Junior Breeders Symposium for a program orientation and turkey-raising seminar.
April 2019: Mandatory bio security webinar (details available after registration for the program).
May 2019: Mandatory educational webinar for all participants on what to expect when your turkeys hatch.
June 2019: Families receive poults.
Summer 2019: Opportunity to show birds at County Fairs.
September 2019: Mandatory webinar on the next part of the program process.
October 2019: Processing or issuing of official pardons.
November 2019: Deliver turkeys to food banks.
Interested members should contact their most local county Extension office listed below to get more information:
Atlantic County 4-H – Kendrin Dyitt
Mays Landing, NJ
(609) 625-0056
dyitt@njaes.rutgers.edu
Essex County 4-H – Marissa Staffen
Newark, NJ
(973) 353-1337
mblodnik@njaes.rutgers.edu
Warren County 4-H – Alayne Toretta
Belvidere, NJ
(908) 475-6502
torretta@njaes.rutgers.edu