My Hometown Grant by Danielle

My Hometown Grant by Danielle - May 2019 Scholarship Essay

If I were given a $10,000 grant, I would use that money to help sponsor children so that they could show animals in the county fair. I know that doesn’t sound like it would have that big of an impact other than just letting kids have fun, but there is so much more to showing livestock than just having fun. I was fortunate enough to show steer in my county fair and it taught me so many important lessons. Children are taught responsibility, how to properly raise livestock, and they learn about the agricultural industry which is a huge part of providing food for everyone on this planet.
Responsibility is one of the main traits I acquired while raising my steers. I had so many extracurricular activities going on during high school that it was hard to allocate my time between them all. I had to be responsible when it came to raising my steers, they needed my time more than soccer or cross country. Every morning I would wake up early in order to go to the barn before school started to feed my steers. After school I would have to go work with my steers, leading them, setting them up, and just spending the time to bond with them. Then later that evening I would go back to the barn and feed them again. The experience taught me more responsibility than any of my other activities.
I had no idea how much work went into raising a steer before I started showing in the county fair. When starting the project, I had to learn about the different breeds of cattle in order to know what feed would provide the most efficient results. Not only did I have to learn the breeds, but I had to also learn about the different feed companies and the ingredients they used. It is not like with a dog, you buy the best name brand and everything works on its own. When raising cattle you have to experiment with the different feeds to find the best one for that cow, every cow can use feed differently. Not only was feeding a huge part of raising my steers, properly vaccinating them was as well. Just like people, cattle can get sick and vaccinating them is the best was to prevent that from happening. I have learned so much about raising livestock for showing and I can take this information with me throughout my life.
The most important thing that can come from showing livestock in the county fair is the knowledge you gain about the agricultural industry. There are so many people that spend their lives raising livestock and crops in order to feed the planet. The world’s population is at about 7 billion as of today, but by 2050 the population is expected to rise to 9 billion people. The agricultural industry is going to have to produce about 70% more food than they are now. It is so important that we educate the younger children about the agricultural industry and spark their interest so that maybe one day they can help feed the planet.
A $10,000 grant could be used to better a community is so many ways. I believe that the best way to use such a grant would be to get the younger generations involved in showing livestock in the county fair. This would not only better the community in the present by making kids happier, more responsible, and better educated on the topic of livestock, it would help better the community in the future as well. These children will be given tools that can help better their lives as well as the lives of those around them. Even if they do not choose to travel the road of agriculture, they will be better equipped to help sustain the planet as the population increases.