Age: 14
Hometown: Lebanon, Mo.
Family: Parents, Jason and Ashlae Simmons; brother, Colton (11)
4-H Chapter: Laclede County 4-H
4-H Leader: Leslie Lawson
What is your involvement in agriculture? “We live on our farm and raise Beefmaster cattle. I help my dad, in feeding the cattle and help working them, breaking some to lead and help with calving. I had to help with pulling a calf this year when one of our cows had a problem.
“I’m also in 4-H and we have projects with that. We meet at least once a month. And the office is at the University Extension office in Lebanon.
What is your favorite part of what you have learned so far? “Showing our cattle at the different fairs. Our prize bull, Top Mack, is my favorite. You can just hug on him. He’s really gentle and he’s my baby. We showed him this year at fairs in Marshfield, Buffalo, Fair Grove, Wright County and the Ozark Empire Fair where he won grand champion. We also went to the show at Long Lane. This was their first year to have a fair and he won supreme champion there.”
“We’ve got a whole wall full of ribbons that he’s won. We also showed a heifer this year for the first time. Her name is She’s All That. She didn’t win a lot this year but she’s still young.”
What are your plans for the future? “Right now, I’d like to learn more about how to do AI and practice on some of our own cattle, and learn how to do that really well.
“I’d like to be a vet and have my own farm and keep farming going in our family. I’d like to be a small and large animal vet. I like the small animals, like dogs and cats, but I really lean toward the large animals, like the cattle.”
