Mid-Iowa Youth Beef Team members including Parker Schmidt, Hayden Pippert, Grant Dolezal, Colbie Fevold, Maddy Beavers, Claire Jankowski, and Adelynn Dirkx visit the ISU Beef Farm in Ames to learn about herd selection as part of Next Gen Day on Monday, June 15. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

AMES – Members of the Mid-Iowa Youth Beef Team (MIYBT) participated in the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) Next Gen Day on Monday, June 15, in Ames. They spent the day learning how the ICA develops policy and how laws are made, they heard from legislators, met industry professionals, learned about making keep/cull decisions at the Iowa State University Teaching Farm, and created their individual seasoning mix. They wrapped up the day testing their knowledge on what they learned during the day and how they could apply that to be leaders and advocates today and in the future. Our team members enjoyed the educational day. They shared the following comments.

-Hayden Pippert (GMG): “I really liked making the steak seasonings and learning about rations.”

-Parker Schmidt (G-R): “I really enjoyed going out to the beef farm and doing a keep/cull class. I think that going into depth on EPDs, and why those EPDs matter when choosing a good herd cow was a very good learning experience and something that I will use.

-Colbie Fevold (G-R): “I really enjoyed meeting new people in the beef industry. Visiting the farm was my favorite part. It was a great opportunity that I’m thankful I got to be a part of it!” -Grant Dolezal: “The activities were a lot of fun, especially making a seasoning to learn more about making a feed ration. I also liked touring the ISU Beef Farm.”