CCE Erie Helps Youth Gain Marketing Savvy and Raise Livestock Prices

Aug 28, 2025

By Holly Hartigan

As her 1,411-pound steer lumbered out of the auction ring, Jolene Mesch, 13, studied the crowd of bidders, looking for the man who had just bought her animal. She marched straight over to shake his hand.

“I know the effort and time these kids put in,” said the buyer, David Knoll, of Hamburg, New York. “You’re not going to get better quality elsewhere.”

Mesch was one of 78 kids in the 4-H Livestock Program run by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Erie County. The program culminated with auctions on Aug. 9 and 16 at the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, where kids in either 4-H or Future Farmers of America (FFA) sold the chickens, rabbits, turkeys, hogs, lamb, meat goats and steers they raised this year.

Source : cornell.edu

Video: Trade Uncertainty and Pork Growth - Cam Dahl

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Cam Dahl, General Manager of Manitoba Pork Council, discusses how trade uncertainty affects growth across Canadian pork production. He explains why CUSMA, market diversification, non-tariff barriers, access to capital, labor needs, and producer advocacy all matter as the industry plans for investment, exports, and long-term competitiveness. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Trade uncertainty makes access to capital difficult when producers and processors are ready to invest and grow."

Meet the guest: Cam Dahl / cam-dahl-58115832 is the General Manager of Manitoba Pork Council. He has extensive leadership experience across Canadian agriculture, including Cereals Canada, the Canada Grains Council, Manitoba Beef Producers, and the Canadian Grain Commission. His work focuses on policy, advocacy, trade, business development, and strengthening market opportunities for Canadian producers. Learn more from Cam Dahl on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.