Janice Shofner
In Town: “I have been blessed to work with the University of Arkansas Extension Service as a County Agent for the past 12 years. I work with the 4-H program where I teach life skills, project knowledge and leadership development to youth between the ages of 9 to 19. Our goal is to provide a variety of opportunities to help develop strong and productive citizens. I really love working with the kids and watching them grow. Because my degree is in Family and Consumer Science, I work with the nutritional, clothing and consumer education side of the 4-H program while the other 4-H agent, who has a degree in Animal Science, does most of the Agriculture projects. We work together on all other projects. Not only do I work with the 4-H’ers, but I also provide school enrichment to schools within the county. One popular program is Embryology, which I teach primarily to K-4th graders. I teach them how the embryos develop and hatch and about the life as a poultry farmer. The students get to watch the eggs during the last few days of the incubation period and get to see them actually hatch. They then get a day or two of interacting with the new chicks. My in town life is so much fun. My days are filled with working with devoted volunteers and really great kids. ”
In the Country: “We run a herd of 60 commercial momma cows on the family farm which is a little over 100 acres. We do have a few registered Angus because my husband, Bob, was raised on a registered Angus farm. We have a couple of Angus bulls that service the herd. With both my husband and I working away from the farm, vacation time seems to be taken up with making hay or tending to the farm. My son and his wife live on the farm too with my 2-year-old grandson. It is so exciting to be at their house when it is chore time and to see him eager to carry the feed buckets or do whatever else is being done. The country is a great place to raise kids. I feel very blessed to have space for the kids to roam but yet be close to town. We have the best of both worlds.”
Story and Photo by Terry Ropp
