The problem

In Carroll County, it has been one of my goals to engage the youth in more farming activities and programming. I have worked collaboratively with our Cattlemen's association president, as well as our Carroll County High School Ag teacher. We came up with the idea of forming a Jr. Cattlemen's club. Our goal for this club is to be able to have our current producers mentor the kids in this group, take them out to show them the in's and out's of the industry, how to collaborate with other producers, teach them about financial opportunities between the YAIP program, as well as grants, and expose them to educational and meeting situations. 

We held our first meeting in May and had 13 kids attend! This educational meeting was led by one of our Cattlemen who spoke about selecting cattle. We have plans to have a program on how to effectively and safely work cattle, tour the bluegrass stockyards, and add an educational and meeting portion before our regular cattlemen's meetings. This is such a cool opportunity for the kids of Carroll County to learn about beef cattle, learn how to work with local producers, learn about the market, and learn about the directions that they can take their own business. The initial response to the Jr. Cattlemen's club has been wonderful, and I am very excited to be able to take part in teaching the next generation of producers!