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North
American International Livestock Exposition | |
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“They participate in all aspects of the show. They work with the feeder cattle, the steers, and the junior heifer show. Over in the sheep barn, they work with the market lambs and the breeding sheep. Everything we do, they get to be a part of it.” Kim
Ragland, Boyle
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By Laura Skillman LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 24, 2004) – College students from four
Kentucky universities gained valuable experience helping with beef and
sheep shows at the recent North American International Livestock
Exposition. The internship program began about four years ago under the
direction of Kim Ragland, a former University of Kentucky College of
Agriculture faculty member who now serves as
Ragland said it started to infuse younger people into the volunteer
ranks. “We recognized that those of us who volunteer every year at the
North American were getting older and finding it harder and harder to walk
on this concrete," she said. "So we realized we needed to get some young
people involved and people that love it as much as we do and want to come
back year after year as volunteers.” The program started with just beef but expanded this year into the
sheep area as well. This year
there are eight interns. Four are animal science students at the UK
College of Agriculture. The others are from Interns must be nominated by their college to participate in the
program. “We let them pick the students based on those who want the
experience, are able to participate and are ready for the experience,”
Ragland said. Ragland said the assignments are made by the beef and sheep show
superintendents who work heavily with her in her role as superintendent of
the junior beef heifer show. “They get to do a lot, from assigning stalls and checking in
animals to assisting with the conduct of the shows – a lot of running,”
she said. “They participate in all aspects of the show. They work with the
feeder cattle, the steers, and the junior heifer show. Over in the sheep
barn, they work with the market lambs and the breeding sheep. Everything
we do, they get to be a part of it.” Ragland said they hope the program is educational for the students.
Many have never exhibited livestock so they get to see something they’ve
never experienced. “The second part of it is we hope they get to make a lot of
contacts as far as their job searches,” she said. “A lot of them are
juniors or seniors who are starting to think about their careers. We come
into contact with a lot of state Department of Agriculture people and
university folks here and then there are breed representatives and
purebreeders from across the country. So, we are hoping they can make some
contacts that will help them in their future careers.” Harold Workman, president and chief executive officer of the
Kentucky State Fair Board, which puts on the North American annually,
praised the internship program. He said it helps with manpower for the
show and helps the students further their education. “It’s a great learning tool,” he said. “It will help shape what
they are doing in college and maybe what they do after college. It is a
great program and we are pleased to be a part of it and have the
opportunity to help those students further their educations.” Andrea Lunsford, a “It’s an honor to get picked and it
is a good thing to put on a resume, plus you get to meet people,” said
Ashley Hawkins, a For “They told us it would be pretty strenuous,” she said. “They said
we’d probably be working late into the night and getting up early in the
morning.” UK Sophomore Brent Brockman said he hoped to gain more knowledge on
how shows work. “I think it is just great to actually be a part of what makes this
show run,” he said. “It is a great honor to be a part of the largest
purebred livestock show in the world and to be able to make it work the
way it is supposed to.”
-30- Writer: Laura Skillman 270-365-7541 ext. 278 Source: Kim Ragland, 859-236-4484 Return to Main News page. |
