CALF_News_February_March_2020

24 CALF News • February | March 2020 • www.calfnews.net Meat and Greet Empowering Future Ag Leaders through Raising Livestock and Partnerships By Kelsey Pope Contributing Editor Showcasing how food is raised while building better connections between people who live in rural and urban areas was the emphasis of the Colorado FFA Foundation’s Third Annual Meat and Greet. This event was held this past November at the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) Complex in Denver, Colo., featuring Colorado-raised protein and beverages while highlighting youth involved in livestock production. T his was just the beginning of building relationships between youth involved in agriculture and their urban counterparts. Twelve youth participants were chosen to par- ticipate in the event through an appli- cation process, earning a scholarship, and attended the event in November to show their animal and answer questions about raising livestock. Each participant walked away with a “partner” – a busi- ness or individual who purchased an “experience” with these youth to learn more about them and their project between then and when they showed at NWSS in January. Throughout the two-month period, partners communicated with the youth to foster the relationship and learn more about each other. “We have been communicating with each experience through email,” Hannah Ross, 4Rivers Equipment Marketing Manager says. 4Rivers Equipment won experiences with three youth partici- pants: Madison Crider, Corbin Jagers and Sara Wiechman. “These students have each been great at keeping us updated with what they are working on, and I am always astounded by their energy and dedication for their projects. Especially in the cold weather, they find ways to exercise and take care of their animals,” Ross adds. Jay Hasbrouck, Double J Meat Pack- ing and Double J Lamb, Pierce, Colo., has been involved with the Meat and Greet program since its inception and has donated the lamb for the cook-off portion of the event all three years. This year, Double J partnered on an experi- ence with Chase Williams. “Chase is a great young man and has done a great job keeping me updated with his project,” Hasbrouck says. “Communicating with Jay has been fun,”Williams says.“I’ve been emailing back and forth with him about my steer, Ernie, and what I'm doing to prepare him for Stock Show.” In turn, youth participants have been able to learn about their partners’ businesses and explore career possibili- ties. One partnership even led to a job shadow opportunity. Connecting careers “It’s been great to connect with 4Rivers,” Sara Wiechman, a senior at Green Mountain High School, says. “We’ve been emailing since the Meat and Greet, and I’ve been keeping them updated on my pig, Mr. Frederickson, and sending pictures and videos of me walking him.” Wiechman’s involvement has opened her eyes to possible careers in the agri- culture industry. “What’s been even better are my conversations with Hannah Ross, who majored in ag communications, which is what I’m going to be going to school for,” she adds.“So I get the chance to go to 4Rivers and shadow Hannah for a day to see what a career in ag communications would be like.” Wiechman plans to attend Texas Tech after graduation to study creative media and agriculture communications. Her experience communicating with Ross has opened up an opportunity for a first-hand look at a marketing job in agriculture. “When discussing with Sara about her hobbies and the other activities she is involved in, she mentioned she had an internship with the local 4-H office where she has been working on a video project,” Ross says. I asked her a bit more about what made her take that internship, which led to a conversation about her goals for going to college for ag communications. Chase Williams walks his steer, Sir Ernie, down the runway at Meat and Greet. Double J Meat Packing won the experience with Chase.