Members of the American Junior Shorthorn Association traveled to the frontier of North Dakota to “Unlock their Potential” at the Knowledge Empowers Youth (KEY) Conference hosted by North Dakota State University (NDSU). During the weekend of July 16 through July 18, juniors from 10 states spent their time in Fargo, N.D. and the surrounding areas sharpening their leadership skills and increasing their knowledge about the beef industry.
The youth conference started off on Friday with an ultrasound presentation by ASA Director of Genetic Improvement, Patrick Wall. The session included some easy identification methods of carcass ultrasound followed by an actual demonstration at the NDSU Beef Cattle Unit. After the demonstration, juniors had the opportunity to measure and view data from live animals at the unit. They were then able to view the same beef cattle on the rail at the end of the weekend and compare actual data to what was gathered from ultrasound on Friday.
Juniors continued their campus tour of NDSU with a visit to the Sheep and Dairy Units as well as the ANPC (Animal Nutrition & Physiology Center). Dr. Charlie Stoltenow led the group through the ANPC where they saw the latest in NDSU research activities.
After returning to the Animal Sciences Dept. on campus, juniors enjoyed a short break with an ice cream social.
Rob Maddock, Ph.D., of the Meat Sciences Dept. and coach of the NDSU meats judging team, gave an interactive presentation on feeds and nutrition. During the session, Maddock had the juniors and members of the Shorthorn University (SU) tour break into groups to assess a successful strategic plan for their beef operation. Maddock supplied each group with four scenarios to choose from. Three out of the four groups chose to build their operation around the same scenario.
Eric Berg, Ph.D. gave a short lecture on beef cattle nutrition followed by a taste panel introduction led by Paul Berg, Ph.D. The taste panel led the group directly into a flavor-filled dinner which included beef kabobs and a wide array of vegetables and salads.
With their hunger full-filled, juniors were treated to an eventful outing to the Fargo Redhawks baseball game just down the street from the NDSU campus. The group enjoyed an evening of entertainment, where even a couple of juniors were able to participate in in-between inning competitions. Tyler Pierson from Minn. competed in a Buffalo Wild Wings chicken race around the infield and Karl Miller from Ill. swept the pretzel eating whistling contest by eating six pretzels then successfully whistling into the microphone before the other contestant. Juniors sure enjoyed watching some of their own take the field in Fargo!
Early Saturday morning a beef advocacy lecture was given by Calli Thorne, NDSU Agricultural Extension Agent. She highlighted several effective ways to promote the beef industry to those not involved in agriculture. One of her most unique suggestions was to find what really makes you passionate about the industry and to tell your own personal story.
While listening to Thorne speak, AJSA President Brenda Sisung became more aware of what an impact she could make in the industry.
“After listening to speakers I have come to realize that there is no better time than now to stand up for the beef industry and agriculture by promoting it positively, because I am a part of the future of this industry,” said Sisung.
After her lecture, juniors had the task of creating and editing a video which promoted the beef industry and cleared any misconceptions about animal welfare or the nutrition value of beef. Videos were then posted to YouTube under KeyConference2010, so that anyone can view and learn from them.
The skillful new videographers took a break from their activities to enjoy a lunch provided by Carnivore Catering. However, they could not break for long as there was a full afternoon of leadership activities and sessions planned for them.
Alaina Mousel, editor of the Tri-State Livestock News quickly started off her leadership session with an active game of mugger in the park. Mousel followed her outdoor game with an activity that led the juniors to get to know one another better by answering random questions written on a beach ball.
The skills in Mousel’s session would soon come into play when conference participants competed in Barnyard Olympics organized by NDSU staff. First, juniors competed in teams of two to build the highest tower of straw bales within 60 seconds. Team members Logan Plate and Megan Dragstrem took first with the tallest, longest standing tower.
Yet the most interesting competition came after, when each junior had to find a piece of bubble gum in a plate of whip cream using only their face and mouth! Between the two teams, each team member had to blow a bubble using the newly found bubble gum all before the other team. It’s safe to say that everyone got quite the laugh out of that competition! However, team members Hannah Winegardner, Logan Plate, Karl Miller, James Sullivan, Riley Francis, John Reasor and Megan Dragstrem had the last laugh as they took home the winning honors.
Juniors returned to the hotel to rest before taking off to see the North Dakota country side and some good Shorthorn cattle. Both KEY Conference and SU visited the home of Jungels Shorthorn Farm near Kathryn, N.D. where Derek Jungels graciously welcomed the juniors to his farm to look through spring calving pairs.
The conference then traveled to Englevale, N.D. for a steak dinner sponsored by Jungels Shorthorn Farm at a local grill. The evening also consisted of a rodeo and social, which was enjoyed by all!
The final day of the conference started off with a team building exercise with Dean Aakre and a quiz bowl competition. Quiz bowl questions highlighted general information about the beef industry as well as the Shorthorn breed. After a few intense rounds of questions, Megan Dragstrem and Logan Plate were named quiz bowl champions of KEY Conference.
Following the quiz bowl, juniors made their way to the cooler for the evaluation of carcasses that were ultrasounded live on Friday. The conference wrapped up with the viewing of YouTube videos they created after the beef advocacy lecture on Saturday.
AJSA member and KEY Conference participant Crosley Francis from N.D. confirmed that her time was well spent at the youth conference.
“The passion that one small group of people can have for a single breed of cattle is amazing and admirable all at once. My favorite and most influential part of the whole weekend had to be the conversations with others involved with Shorthorn cattle. Just getting to know others thoughts and opinions and why they feel the way they do about different aspects of the breed really made an impact on me,” said Francis. “I hope that we as Shorthorn breeders can continue to spread the word about the productivity of the breed so that others can have the same experiences as we do,” she added.
Juniors and staff also enjoyed seeing photos of Dr. Bert Moore during his time as the livestock judging coach for NDSU. Dr. Moore served as the livestock judging coach and Animal Sciences instructor from 1969 to 2009 before taking the position of Executive Secretary/Treasurer of the ASA in January 2009.
The 2010 KEY Conference was a success for everyone in attendance. The North Dakota State University campus was a beautiful place to be for the summer weekend.
The development of the juniors’ leadership skills were witnessed by the ASA staff as well as the conference hosts, who really believe in the future of the youth. Gwen Crawford, ASA Director of Registrations elaborated on how beneficial the youth conference has been for everyone who has attended.
“KEY Conference is an opportunity where juniors 14-21 have the ability to not only develop leadership skills that can be used in their future, but also a place where they are able to gain new friendships, experience a new college campus and expand their knowledge on the current issues of the agricultural industry,” Crawford said. “I enjoy watching these young individuals come together and grow through this short period of time while they attend KEY Conference. A common theme among the new attendees is how much fun they had, how much they learned, and how they plan to attend in the future,” she added.
A big thank you goes out to the National Shorthorn Lassies and the Shorthorn Foundation for their continued support and sponsorship of the youth conference. The American Junior Shorthorn Association would also like to extend a thank you to the following sponsors who helped make this event possible: North Dakota State University Animal Sciences Department, Stockmen’s Supply, Biozyme, Inc. and Jungels Shorthorn Farm.
KEY Conference began in 2006 with the first event held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. KEY promotes leadership skills, beef industry knowledge as well as networking and building friendships. Watch for the 2011 location at www.shorthorn.org and visit facebook.com/americanjuniorshorthornassociation for continual updates on junior activities and how you can become more involved! |
