Young producers vie for scholarships, prize money at livestock show
Cole McMahon may be the standard for the next generation of farmer.
He will be educated and he will be adaptable. He may grow grain, raise livestock or do both.
Raised on a grain farm at Galahad, Alta., the 18-year-old is off to the University of Saskatchewan this fall to study agribusiness.
“The University of Saskatchewan offered me the most comprehensive education to give me the tools to move into farming,” he said.
He is leaving behind the beginnings of a successful livestock career, which he hopes to take up again when he returns to the farm in a few years. He had the supreme champion commercial female, which was also the provincial 4-H heifer champion, during Summer Synergy, which was held in Olds, Alta., in conjunction with the Calgary Stampede July 3-12. He has won thousands of dollars in scholarships through 4-H and the Synergy program and gained a strong appreciation for livestock.
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His best friend introduced him to cattle, and he was attracted to the idea right away.
“It gave me tons of opportunity that I would not have had otherwise,” he said.
His 4-H steer was regional champion, and he sold it for $3.20 a pound, well over the club average. His supreme champion Sim-mental cow, which he bought from Garth Rancier at Killam, Alta., will appear at more shows this fall, and the bull calf is for sale.
Summer Synergy began five years ago as a co-operative venture with the Calgary Stampede. Held at Olds, young people aged nine to 21 are invited for a week of marketing, judging, grooming and socializing as well as opportunities to show livestock.
This year, 300 young people from the Prairies competed for $70,000 in scholarships.
Purebred and commercial beef were held this year as well as the provincial 4-H shows for dairy, sheep and equine.
Supreme winners were an-nounced on the final day of the Stampede, and each received $500 cash for winning their categories:
- Supreme sheep: Shannon McLaughlin, Whitecourt, Alta.
- Supreme dairy: Tyson Rietveld, Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
- Supreme equine: Kaitlin Malterer, Ponoka, Alta.
- Supreme crossbred beef female: Cole McMahon,
- Supreme purebred beef female: Dakota Townsend, Sylvan Lake, Alta.
