Tammy Bartholomew has been at the helm of the Show Me Youth Agriculture Academy since its inception
“The influence of a good teacher can never be erased.”
– Author Unknown
LAMAR, MO. – For nearly four decades, Tammy Bartholomew has been influencing future agriculturalists as an agriculture education instructor and FFA advisor. She taught in Missouri for 30 years before retiring. She then went on to teach in Kansas for six years.
Tammy found her love for agriculture and the beef industry on her family’s Oklahoma cattle operation.
“My dad was a forest ranger, and there were times during the fire season when he would be out for extended periods,” Tammy recalled. “I was the oldest child, so I took care of things. As I got older, I became interested in FFA and the cattle operation. FFA made such a difference in my life that I really wanted to do that for other kids, and that’s what made me want to be an ag teacher.”
In 2021, Tammy was approached to take on a new job back in Missouri.
“I was asked to be the executive director of a newly-formed foundation in Lamar, Mo., to provide extended learning opportunities in beef cattle production and ag business for high school students,” Tammy said.
That foundation, the Show Me Youth Agriculture Academy, was primarily founded and funded by entrepreneur and cattleman Danny Little.
Tammy’s classroom is now a 169-acre farm with cow/calf pairs, and utilizes a 400-head feedlot owned by Little.
“I’m teaching ranch management,” Tammy said, adding students are very hands-on at the academy, from assisting in the placement embryos to processing feedlot cattle, vaccinating the herd to general facility and equipment maintenance. “We have the theories in the classroom, but then they get to see what we do, why we do it, and the practical application of it.
“When I came here, within a month, I thought this was a whole different ball game. I’m working with a board and running an ag program, then we a benefactor who is very hands-on. We went at Mach one speed getting started. I got hired in June, and in August, I was teaching classes; we were still building barns and fences. Then there was trying to create a buy-in by the kids.”
The first year, 12 Lamar High School students enrolled in the academy. The upcoming school year will have about 26 students from seven schools that are part of the Lamar Tamar Tech Center. All are juniors or seniors at their sending schools and must be enrolled in ag education at their high schools.
“I didn’t want to steal anyone’s kids away from their ag department,” Tammy said. “I’m not their advisor; I’m just providing an extended opportunity for kids who want to more and focus on beef management. They are enrolled in the program, but I send their grades to their ag teachers.”
The farm is stocked with Akaushi cattle, which Tammy, who lives on the farm, and her students manage.
“What we’re doing is a complete conception to chief program,” Tammy explained. “We sell pot loads of fats to HeartBrand Beef (a Texas-based Akaushi ranch) for their marketing program. I work with the Meat Shed (a meat market and deli) in Pittsburg, Kan., to do some retailing, and that’s what we’re doing for our retailing experience.”
She added the owners of the Meat Shed are also former ag educators, so they are excited to work with the academy, and she plans to explore more marketing in the 2023-2024 school year.
Genetics for the beef program are from Show-Me Wagyu, where Danny Little is the CEO, and from grower partners. Grower partners can work with Show-Me Wagyu on the purebred side to obtain embryos or use an Akaushi cleanup bull, and those calves can be sold to the academy.
“That allows us to keep our feedlot relatively stocked,” Tammy said. “We also have some of our own grower partners, and that’s expanding.”
The academy also sells and leases Akaushi bulls.
“Last year, the academy bought eight bulls from Show-Me Wagyu, and I use those for the academy’s grower partners,” Tammy explained, adding that leases are for 60 days and bulls are tested and evaluated before going back out for a breeding season.
In addition to Tammy’s expertise, students receive instruction from other industry professionals, such as embryologists and veterinarians.
The Show Me Youth Academy is the only program of its kind in Missouri, perhaps the nation.
“We want the kids to feel like they have a seat at the table,” Tammy said. “I want to make sure any decisions I need to make, I run by them. They don’t make the decisions, but I want their input because they need to feel ownership of the program. The goal is that the program’s juniors will see a calf born this year, then see if hanging on the rail their senior year.”
By reaching out to beef producers from around the country, Tammy is working to develop a curriculum that will allow students graduating from the Show Me Youth Academy to be “work-ready.”
“I would also like to work with Missouri State University and Crowder (College) to get these kids college credit, so we’re working to make sure my curriculum allies with theirs and the skillset training they are getting. Hopefully, we can make that come together.”
Tammy’s involvement in agriculture goes beyond the classroom and the academy.
In addition to managing the academy, its facilities, animals and students, Tammy has her own cattle operation, New Journey Angus.
“I started that in 2020,” she said. “I wanted to get back into Angus business to have something with my grandkids. I’ve got a very small herd, and I’m placing embryos. My grandkids are part owners of the cattle. My oldest grandson is 6, and he’s very excited about it. I want to nurture that love of the beef industry with my grandkids and hopefully have some decent animals for them to show.”
Tammy recently finished her second term as a member of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers collection Beef Checkoff funds, and is responsible for approving the annual budget of national Checkoff-funded programs.
“I learned so much there that I’ve been able to bring into the classroom,” she said. “Life experiences are worth a lot.
When Tammy began her career in agriculture education, the field was male-dominated, but she never saw gender as an obstacle.
“I think it’s a mindset,” she said. “I worked really hard on my job, and I didn’t focus on gender at all. I think focusing on gender sometimes creates animosity, depending on the environment. I just kept my nose to the grindstone and wanted to do it for the kids; I didn’t put focus on myself. I took the gender thing out of it and just wanted to be a good ag teacher – bottom line.”
After nearly 40 years as a teacher and retiring once, Tammy said she doesn’t see herself slowing down.
“I love working with teenagers,” Tammy said. “I have this fire, this energy, and I’m not ready to give up on teaching yet. As long as I’m physically and mentally able, I want to keep doing something. If I can’t give it 100 percent, I’ll know I need to back away. I’m thankful to have some strapping boys here to work, and I know there are some things I’m not physically able to do, but I can teach kids how to think through a job, and a few steps ahead; that’s where I fit in. My goal is for them to see the whole picture, not just the job.
“I want to make a difference. I am so blessed by this industry, and I want to share it. Seeing the kid’s eyes light up, there is nothing like it.”
