Getting Involved In Ag From the Top Down

Growing up we've heard the mantra a million times: get involved. And throughout high school and college getting involved wasn't a challenge because every club or organization we got involved with had a presence on campus or social media and/or a website for us to learn how to get involved. So, as a millennial, how do you get involved in an organization post-college that lacks those fundamentally basic ways for you to find it?

This has been my challenge for the last two years following my college graduation, and even more so for the past year as I've begun to explore life in a new state where I started off not knowing anyone. Recently, I finally cracked the code on getting involved in a local cattlemen's association.

Since beginning my career with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, I've grown a deeper and deeper appreciation for the cattlemen and women that I work on behalf of. You see, I didn't grow up on a ranch or farm, but I did grow up doing rodeo and showing cattle and other livestock through 4-H and FFA.

As my appreciation for the beef industry has grown, so has my desire to get involved. However, getting involved in local agriculture organizations can be a challenge as a transplant with no connections. Most ag organizations on the local level have a tendency to lack the basic tools that I have grown up using to find the information I want. What are those tools? Social media and Google. I've heard the saying: "If it's not on the first page of Google, it doesn't exist," and for as much as I love to try and break the mold of the millennial stereotype, it definitely holds true.

How did I find a way to get involved then, without the assistance of Google and Facebook? I attended the Colorado Cattlemen's Association's recent 150th Annual Convention. Attending this event gave me a unique opportunity to meet representatives from the local cattlemen's organizations across the state.

This is what I mean by getting involved from the top down. I had to get innovative in how I was going to get involved in a local cattlemen's organization. Making in-person connections presented the opportunity for me to network and learn how to get involved on the local level.

Sometimes getting involved in agriculture as a young member of the ag community can be a challenge because we really do speak a different language when it comes to finding information. And while getting involved in a local organization from the top down may not be a new way to participate in that organization, I hope it can help those who, like me, are new to an area become a part of their local ag organizations that can't be located online through a website or social media.