Buckets of Experience

According to Farm Bureau, the average American is three generations removed from the farm.  You might ask why this is such a big deal, but the real take-away is that today’s youth has no idea of where their food comes from or how it is produced.  Above and beyond that statistic, Farm Bureau has concluded that farm families make up less than 2% of the United States population.  It is easy to see why the general public has misconceptions about the food that they are consuming.

This year a new project was started by the Christian County 4-H Livestock Club.  The Bucket Calf Project partners youth and cattle producers to help youth have a better understanding of where their food comes from and teaches them responsibility along the way.  Each youth was given the opportunity to work with a producer to select an orphan calf that needed to be fed cared for over a three month period.  As they worked with the calf, they halter broke them and prepared them to be exhibited at the Western Kentucky State Fair.  Of the nine participants that began the project, seven were exhibited at the fair.  After the conclusion of the fair show, the exhibitors invited spectators to come down and meet with them and ask them about their projects.  The result of the show was a display of completed projects, and ten additional youth spectators expressing interest in a project for the following year.

While the youth found a greater understanding of food and food production by working with their calves, they also received life skills that will allow them to be better citizens.  According to an article in the Journal of Agriculture Education, “4-H beef, sheep, and swine members identified key life skills such as responsibility, decision-making, communication, getting along with others, and leadership as being developed by livestock exhibition experiences (Rusk, C.P).”  As the Christian County Bucket Calf project grows, we will continue to see our youth grow through Buckets of Experience.