Age: 18
Hometown: Lebanon, Mo.
Parents: Levi and Amy Mast
4-H Club: Show Barn 4-H
Celeste is a special needs and non-verbal young lady who loves animals. Although she is non-verbal she can communicate using some sign language and repetitive sounds that have meaning. Her parents own Texas Longhorn cattle and they recently moved to Missouri from Wisconsin. They have approximately 20 head of cattle.
What she likes about living on a farm? Celeste enjoys living on a farm because she loves to be outside and she loves animals. She especially enjoys the babies, whether they be kittens, puppies, goat kids or calves. Although she is unable to care for them herself, she assists with whatever the family is doing. Riding along in the UTV, she stays involved in farm life. She has a collection of stuffed animals, the most prevalent being cows, which she calls Moo-moos.
Involvement in 4-H: Celeste was active in 4-H in Wisconsin, where she showed Longhorns at the local county fair. She plans to show this summer in Laclede County, Mo. She has recently joined a 4-H club in Conway, Mo. She participated in the Conway Christmas parade this past fall on the Show Barn 4-H float.
Involvement in showing Longhorns: Celeste is a junior member of both the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America and the International Texas Longhorn Association. She will be showing two heifers in separate classes and will also show two steers in the Trophy Steer class. An adult comes into the ring with her to assist in leading the animal, while Celeste walks along beside. Upcoming shows are in Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana and Ohio. She is hoping her older steer, who is almost 3 years old, will meet the TTT (Tip to Tip) of more than a 100-inch horn length at maturity. Her steer, Lippy, got reserve grand champion junior steer at the 2019 ITLA sanctioned show in Indiana in 2019.
Future plans in agriculture: Celeste helped brand calves at another breeder’s farm in Weatherby, Wis., and will be assisting with freeze branding 2020 calves soon. Although Celeste has special needs, she is still able to enjoy working with animals and in the agricultural world and will continue to do so with her parents help. Regardless of one’s abilities, anyone can enjoy the farm life.
Celeste was a good friend to our family here in Wisconsin. Glad to see she’s doing well!
I enjoyed the story very much, as I have a granddaughter that has special needs also.