4-H Youth and Development

Colfax County has approximately 3,312 school age youth and approximately 9,391 adults. It has a total population of approximately 13,597. It contains four school districts, which are the Raton School District, Springer School District, Maxwell School District, and the Cimarron School District (which includes schools in Cimarron, Eagle Nest, and Angel Fire). Traditional 4-H Programs are conducted throughout the county as well as several Expanded 4-H Programs in the public school systems.

The 4-H program in Colfax County consists of five traditional 4-H clubs. These clubs meet once a month as a group and participate in many youth educational activities. 4-H Clubs in Colfax County are made up of all 4-H participates in each community. To learn more about joining one of these clubs, please contact the Colfax County Cooperative Extension Service for additional information.

  • Johnson Mesa 4-H Club, Raton area, 2nd Tuesday monthly, 6:00 PM, First United Methodist Church, Raton
  • Rocky Mountain 4-H Club, Miami/Cimarron area, 3rd Sunday monthly, 2:30 PM, Maverick Club Arena, Cimarron
  • Springer Sunshine 4-H Club, Springer/Farley area, 2nd Sunday monthly, 4:00 PM, First United Methodist Church, Springer
  • Vermejo 4-H Club, Maxwell area, 1st Monday monthly, 6:00 PM, Maxwell School Auditorium, Maxwell

All of the 4-H clubs in the county take part in the Adopt a Highway program and they are active in various community service activities such as Coats for Kids and Make-A-Wish Foundation donations, work with community food banks, and work days at the Colfax County Fairgrounds, and many others.

The most popular projects for Colfax County are livestock (beef, horse, lambs, goats, pigs, chickens, and rabbits) and shooting sports (rifle, shotgun, and archery). The 4-H Horse Certificate (see link below) is now available online. For a complete listing of 4-H Forms, visit the State 4-H Forms page.

Resources

Forms, Links, Downloads

Cloverleaf Newsletters

September Cloverleaf

For a copy of the September Cloverleaf newsletter, please contact office or stop by to pick up copy.

Forms & Certificates

Please Note: When you turn in an Enrollment Form, you must turn in a Liability Form as well, both youth and adults. Both forms need to be filled out and return to the Extension Office each year. We are required to have new filled out forms for everyone each year. Thank you!

  • 4-H Enrollment Forms
    link to New Mexico 4-H forms on NMSU State 4-H website. Adult and youth enrollment and combined liability forms are to be found here.

Colfax County 4-H Record Book Forms

County Report form is being revised. It will be uploaded soon.

Colfax County Fair & Rodeo

4-H members of Colfax County, after meeting certain requirements (like club attendance), can participate in the Colfax County Fair. 4-H members can show their livestock animal projects in the livestock shows and then even sell them in the Jr. Livestock Sale! They can enter their projects in the Exhibit Hall for all to see as well!

All categories of items you can enter in the Colfax County Fair (both open and 4-H), as well as all the events happening during the Fair, are listed in the Colfax County Fair and Rodeo fair book! The fair book is also available on the Colfax County Fair's webpage and on Facebook.

Enrichment Programs

The Colfax County Cooperative Extension Service conducts several public school based enrichment programs in the county. These programs provide assistance to teachers and help to reinforce educational materials being presented in their classrooms. Titles of programs presented last year are listed below:

"Egg to Chick" - A program that involves hatching chicken eggs. It is conducted in 5th grade classrooms in the Springer, Raton, and Maxwell School Systems. Students learn about embryonic development, nutrition, animal care, and many other life skills.

Gardening in a Glove- A program where seeds are "planted" in cotton balls in clear plastic gloves to show students how plants grow and where some of their food comes from. The gloves are given to each member of the class to raise. The clear gloves allow the students to see each stage of the plants growth. After the plants reach seedling size the students can take the plants home to plant.

Kids, Kows & More - A half day for presentations for Second to Sixth Graders to teach them a variety of topics. Some of the presentations teach about where our food comes from like honey, dairy products, and meat. There are also presentations on how to prevent forest fires and about water sheds.

There are several 4-H related special projects that are conducted or assisted with by the Colfax County Cooperative Extension Service. They are:

  • Spring Horse Show
  • Spring Livestock Show
  • Northeast District 4-H Rifle, Archery, and Shotgun Competition
  • Colfax County Fair & Rodeo
  • Farm Safety Day Camp
  • Kids, Kows and More

Special Activities

Colfax County 4-H Clubs have opportunities to participate in local, district, state, and even national events. Included on this page are some of the upcoming events available for 4-H members.

For more information, please call the Extension Office at 575-445-8071.