Energy Industry Supports Junior Livestock Auction at the Washington County Agricultural Fair
Range Resources Vice President Dennis Degner and Cayden Montgomery
Jeanine and Alexa Miles with Laural Ziemba from Range Resources
For Washington County’s young members of FFA and 4H who have been raising and caring for livestock for several months, this past weekend’s Junior Livestock Auction was an opportunity to finally demonstrate their achievements. Some participants were able to show off Grand Champions, for others the experience didn’t include a top prize. But the lessons each young person walked away with: responsibility, commitment, leadership, and pride in a job well-done – will stay with them well into adulthood.
Walt Bumgarner is the livestock educator with the Penn State Cooperative Extension. He has a long history with both 4-H and FFA, and has been involved with the Washington County Fair since 2006. Locally, Walt also provides outreach and education to leaders of agricultural education programs for young people. He is passionate about importance of the work that he and other “ag” educators are doing at the fair and beyond.
“Sometimes people think agriculture isn’t important anymore,” says Bumgarner. “But agriculture is still the number one business in this state – and in most states. With our programs, we’re not training kids how to be farmers necessarily, but all of our kids will leave knowing something about agriculture, about raising an animal and the importance of it, and the responsibility of it. With an animal project, you are responsible for that animal every day. You’ve had to feed it. You’ve had to water it. If your family went on vacation you had to get someone to come take care of it. You had to brush it. You had to teach it how to be led. You can’t put it down and step away and come back to it. It’s constant responsibility.”
Marcellus Shale drilling company Range Resources is a long-time supporter of the Fair and Junior Livestock Auction. Over the last ten years, Range and its service company partners have contributed funds and in kind donations that have amounted to over $1 million in support of young people and agricultural programs in Washington County. Range was back at the auction Friday evening and all day Saturday, helping to raise additional funds for FFA and 4H by bidding on livestock animals and then donating them back — so exhibitors could offer them for sale a second time. This year, Range and its service company partners provided $65,000 in support of livestock auctions; including $100 for every child that participated in the Washington County Junior Livestock Auction.
Months of hard work came to fruition for Alexa Miles of Buffalo Ag 4-H, who showed and auctioned off a lamb, hog and a goat at this year’s livestock auction. Alexa spent time caring for her animals before and after school every day.
“It was tough, I worked so hard, so it is a really proud moment for me,” says Alexa. “But I am looking forward to starting this all over again!” The direct support received from buyers at the livestock auction is reinvested into next year’s project by the students. “I’ve been doing this for six years now, and it gets a little bit easier each year.”
Range Resources Landman and North Strabane resident Laura Schimmel was also at the auction with the Range group on Saturday. Laura’s job was to keep track of the animals and exhibitors that Range bid on. But before that, she got to know some of the FFA and 4H participants in the days leading up to the auction.
“I’ve been volunteering with Range at the Fair for nine years, and specifically at the livestock auction for two years now,” says Schimmel. “So I have a system in place. I take my kids to look at all the animals a few days before the auction. We see the names of the farms that we pass by every day and that I see on my documents at work, many are landowners I’ve become familiar with. I get to meet people that I’ve talked to on the phone but not in person, until I see them at the Fair. And a lot of times you’ll also see these beautiful posters over the livestock pens: ‘Thank you Range for buying my hog last year’, that type of thing – and it’s always really nice to see that the kids are so appreciative of what we do.”
Schimmel admires all of the young people who participate. “It’s nerve-wracking for them. They’re going out in front of all of their peers, their friends. And they’ve worked so hard, they’re well-mannered, they’re thankful. I’m honored to be in the audience with Range and to be able to support the efforts of such a great group of kids.”
Over the past several years, Bumgarner and his agricultural education collaborators have seen the positive impact that Range Resources and other energy companies have had on the Junior Livestock Auction. “The energy industry has been a great partner,” says Bumgarner. “And we remind the kids to be grateful for that. We’re lucky. We need to be happy and appreciate the support we have from the business community – especially the energy industry. Washington County is the envy of the fairs around Pennsylvania.”
This article is written and sponsored by Range Resources.