Marion County 4-H is the youth-development component of the Marion County Cooperative Extension Service. 

4-H is the oldest and largest youth organization in America.  To learn more about the history of 4-H, check out:  http://4h.ifas.ufl.edu/about4h/beginning.htm

Marion County is proud to have one of the best traditional 4-H programs in the nation.  The backbone of our 4-H program is the Community 4-H Clubs, which are all run by outstanding volunteers.  We provide educational experiences for young people ages 8-18.  We strive to develop life skills in young people as they “learn by doing.”  Our 4-H leaders and our paid staff strive for excellence in youth development, and we would be happy to get you involved in a 4-H Club near you!  We can always use quality adult volunteers to lead clubs, judge 4-H contests, or help with 4-H activities.

We are excited to be developing a working 4-H Farm for urban and suburban youth who want to raise an animal or garden.  We also offer School Enrichment curriculum to local teachers.  For more information about joining a 4-H Club, or about the 4-H Farm or 4-H School Enrichment, please call (352) 620-3453.

We provide many opportunities for local young people.  We still provide the traditional 4-H projects like raising a hog or steer, gardening, participating on judging teams and family and consumer science projects.  We also offer many other interesting projects such as bicycle safety, citizenship, rocketry, wood working, and small engines.  We will be adding a shooting sports program within the next year.  Our goal is life skills development in young people.  This means we want young people to learn how to keep accurate records, speak in public, write legibly and clearly, solve problems, manage money-the list goes on and on!  It doesn’t matter what 4-H project young people choose, because all of our projects teach these and other life skills!