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. 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. 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, 7:00 PM, First United Methodist Church, Raton
- Moreno Valley 4-H Club, Eagle Nest/Angel Fire, 2nd Monday monthly, 6:00 PM, Eagle Nest Elementary/Middle School, Eagle Nest
- Rocky Mountain 4-H Club, Miami/Cimarron area, 2nd Sunday monthly, 4:30 PM, Cimarron Elementary/Middle School, Cimarron
- Springer Sunshine 4-H Club, Springer/Farley area, 1st Sunday monthly, 4:00 PM, First United Methodist Church, Springer
- Vermejo 4-H Club, Maxwell area, 1st Tuesday monthly, 6:30 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
Downloads
Expanded 4-H Programs
The Colfax County Cooperative Extension Service conducts several public school based expanded 4-H 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:
"From 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.
Other programs have been conducted upon the request of teachers on a variety of topics including GPS Mapping, Bicycle Safety and others.
Colfax County Fair
All 4-H members in Colfax County must exhibit their 4-H project work at the Colfax County Fair as part of their completion requirements. Every 4-H project has a category at the Colfax County Fair.
The Colfax County Fair is conducted each year in August by the Colfax County Fair Association in Springer, New Mexico. It has indoor exhibits as well as junior livestock shows, horse shows, rodeos, and even a stock dog trial.
The Colfax county fairgrounds are also the location for the annual Spring Livestock Show which is conducted by the Colfax County Cooperative Extension Office. This show is always towards the end of June and gives 4-H members practice showing their 4-H project animal prior to the Colfax County Fair. Trophies as well as ribbons are presented to the winners the day of the show. All the trophies are donated by various businesses and individuals throughout the county. The show is also open to surrounding counties.
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 or call the Extension Office at 575-445-8071
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
- Farm Safety Day Camp
- Kids, Kows and More