Alberta Beef Producers hosts its Young Guns contest
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
An Alberta Beef Producers competition is calling on young farmers to share their ag stories.
The Young Guns contest is for anyone between eight and 21 years old, who is involved in Beef 4-H, junior cattle shows or general beef production.
Young farmers are encouraged to submit entries before May 31 that demonstrate how cattle and beef production has affected their lives and shaped their individual futures. Entrants can submit essays, videos, social media campaigns or several other forms of communication.
Contests like this one serve multiple purposes.
The Young Guns entries help rural Albertans connect with their urban counterparts and demonstrate the changes in ag, said Nicole Viste, a producer from Hanna, Alta.
“People who are unfamiliar with ag are very good at making their voices heard so we have to counter that,” she told Farms.com. “We’re behind the eight ball in getting our story out and it shows. I think there’s also a stereotype out there that farmers are all 60-year-old men stuck in 1975. Whoever enters the contest will prove this isn’t the case.”
Industry reps encourage all young producers to enter this contest and ones like it.
Farmers should celebrate their collective passion for agriculture, said Lyndon Mansell, a member of the Beef Advisory Committee with 4-H Alberta.
“We try to get all young people in agriculture to tell their story,” he told Farms.com. “If you don’t show you’re engaged in the industry and show that you believe in it, people might have a hard time taking you seriously when you talk about it.”
Alberta Beef Producers will name three winners during its semi-annual meeting in June.
The first-place entrant will receive a $1,000 cash prize, second place will win $500 and third place will earn $250.