![Rayea R., Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/Rayea-4-H-state-ambassador-2023-2024.jpg?h=2fba7134&itok=APcoJZ1N)
From interviewing alumni for their Cloverchat podcast channel to planning BLU and TEEL events that will engage youth in leadership and energy conservation, this year's state ambassador team is definitely putting their skills to use.
![Close up of fencing buried under soil and mulch with small green plant inside.](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/Buried-hardware-cloth-fencing.png?h=b26af281&itok=GJrqCluo)
Winter weather is tough enough on plants. Use these strategies to protect your plants from animal browsers.
![Screenshot of the 2023 USDA Minnesota Plant Hardiness Zone Map - a map of Minnesota with assigned colored zones](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/2023-USDA-Minnesota-plant-hardiness-zone-map.png?h=701f4c72&itok=7X1Ye-Ly)
Using data collected from over 13,000 weather stations during a 30-year period, the new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map provides higher resolution and more accurate zonal information.
![three Somali men meet with a farmer](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/somali-community-members-visit-camel-farm.jpg?h=09e0c0a5&itok=q4CAzmoX)
Can camels be raised as dairy in Minnesota? An innovative collaboration between Extension and Somali community members in Stearns County is exploring the possibilities.
![An adult and two teens make a red, white and blue quilt](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/342202988_133416662938011_2141067592580478249_n.jpg?h=90fde879&itok=-I81Zx5X)
Youth in Swift County 4-H, in partnership with other community members, have sewn 110 quilts to deliver to the Montevideo Veterans Home, which opens in nearby Chippewa County in early 2024.
![signal crayfish held by someone](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/signal-crayfish-belly-rdclark-inaturalist.jpeg?h=43066d2a&itok=wrDay1NB)
Signal crayfish aren't fussy about habitat, grow faster and are larger than our native crayfish, and have the reproductive capacity to become a dominant species in introduced areas. What might this mean for Minnesota's waters?
![Zach W. holding his plane exhibit in front of a display board titled, "Gone - Not Forgotten - WWII Veterans."](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/zach%20w%20plane%20diff%20angle%20.jpg?h=186e227a&itok=SwRJacQo)
Zach Wesley, a 4-H’er from Dassel, memorialized the men of what’s been called "the Greatest Generation" in his Minnesota State Fair 4-H exhibit.
![Screenshot of Extension Spanish-version website](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/Screenshot%20Spanish%20translated%20website.jpg?h=4d205216&itok=bcmCL0kg)
A version of this website is now available, in recognition of Minnesota’s growing Spanish-speaking population.
![Emerald ash borer beetle on a green leaf](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/emerald-ash-borer3-JHahn.jpg?h=651c8870&itok=ZJ1S95JT)
Emerald ash borer has been confirmed in Cass County. Landowners need to be aware of the threat EAB poses not only on their land but to many thousands of acres of nearby ash forests.
![Aaron Bakke standing in front of grocery store refrigerators.](/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/styles/crop_featured_image_crop/public/Aaron%20Bakke.jpg?h=887bff81&itok=WHnyVJo3)
Aaron’s Grocery in Northwestern Minnesota is known as one of the few local spots where people can purchase fresh produce, meats and cheeses. To keep customers’ baskets full, the store recently underwent a big energy-saving upgrade.
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