Sam Peterson
Age: 8
Family: Parents, Jacob and Emily Peterson; younger brother and sister, Ben and Ellie
Hometown: Mountain Grove, Mo.
School: Mountain Grove Elementary
4-H: Kritter Kids 4-H
4-H Leader: Jennifer Phillips
How did you become involved in raising animals? “We live on Journagan Ranch. It’s owned by Missouri State University and my dad works there. We have Hereford cows, 10 registered and 40 crossbred commercial cows and Southdown sheep. We also have two goats, two dogs, a cat and chickens.”
Sam recently showed at the Missouri State Fair, where he showed Southdown sheep.
“Age 8 is the minimum age to show here at the Missouri State Fair so this is Sam’s first time here,” his mom Emily said. “Along the way, however, Sam earned Grand Champion status at the Laclede and Webster County fairs, as well as at the Tri-County Fair. He also did well at the Ozark Empire Fair in Greene County.”
Would you like to work with animals in the future?: “I’d like to keep showing at the fairs,” Sam said. “I’m in 4-H now and I like that. I might like to be a herdsman and operate a large farm, like my dad, when I grow up.”
“We would like to see him stay involved in 4-H as a path to FFA later on, as a teen in high school,” Emily said. “We’d like to see him keep showing, and building up his own flock or herd. We are taking pictures now so we can document his progress and continued success.”
What else do you like to do when you are not working in agriculture? “I play baseball and was on a traveling baseball team this summer. That was fun. I’m getting ready to start Mighty Mite football soon.”
