4-H livestock specialist earns awards, board term

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Dean Jousan helps the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association select the annual winner of its Paul F. Newell Award, which honors an outstanding Mississippi State University Extension agent for serving in Extension’s 4-H livestock program.

This year, some of those recipients came back to present that award to Jousan. And that’s not the only recognition he has received lately for his work. The 4-H livestock specialist for MSU Extension was also recognized by the American Youth Horse Council, or AYHC, during its annual symposium with its distinguished service award.

Jousan was also re-elected to the AYHC board of directors. He was first elected to serve in 2013 and is currently wrapping up a two-year term as board president. He has also served as treasurer and as vice president on the council’s executive committee.

The AYHC is a national nonprofit organization that provides leadership and resources to youth equestrians.

Jousan said AYHC gives professionals the tools and resources to engage the youth they work with locally using a horse as their teaching model.

“We believe youths who engage with horses grow in leadership and life skills. By empowering adults who teach the youth about horses and connecting these adults with resources, we are fostering a thriving horse industry,” Jousan said. “It is exciting and encouraging to see the youth attend each year and become more confident as the week progresses. In my opinion, the annual AYHC symposium is the best return on investment for any youth or adult interested in horses.”

 

Dixie National sales surpass $9 million

JACKSON, Miss. -- Hinds County 4-H’er Mason Williams had already represented Mississippi in a national competition less than a year ago, so showing animals in a statewide event was no sweat.

“Those experiences make it a little bit easier to be in front of all those people,” Williams said. “It doesn’t take all the pressure away, but it makes it easier to manage, so when you walk out there and see everybody, you don’t get stage fright.”

Williams’ hard work paid off when he placed a goat in the Dixie National Sale of Junior Champions and the highest bid was $8,000. More than 2,500 animals across the state competed in the Dixie National Junior Round-Up leading up to the sale. Of those, only 53 advanced.

A high school sophomore, Williams has been showing animals since he was 8 years old. Last year, he was one of only four Mississippi 4-H’ers to compete in the National 4-H Livestock Skillathon Contest. He attributes his social development to the opportunities 4-H membership has given him.

“I think it’s helped me get out of my shell a little,” he said. “I’ve always been kind of an introvert, but I enjoy competing and the feeling of winning and all that hard work paying off.”

This year’s sale, the 55th consecutive one, marked several milestones. It surpassed the $9 million mark in total sales, broke the record for the total number of champion market animals featured with 53, and set a new record sale total, $484,010.

Another record was also set: the highest price paid for a steer in sale history. The grand champion steer shown by Tripp McGee of Jones 4-H was sold for $30,000 to the highest bidding group.

Held Feb. 8 at the Mississippi Trade Mart, the Sale of Junior Champions included eight steers, 17 hogs, 12 lambs, 12 goats, and four hair sheep. The shows featured 1,225 members of 4-H and FFA showing 2,084 animals.

Dean Jousan, 4-H livestock specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said events like Dixie National help young people build life skills that will serve them now and into adulthood.

“The exhibitors with champion market animals began a lengthy process of raising them many months ago,” he said. “Getting any animal show-ready is challenging, but having one reach the sale should be a source of pride for these young people because they’ve gone the extra mile.”

The Sale of Junior Champions Promotion Committee awarded 25 $1,500 scholarships to exhibitors who are high school seniors, six $2,000 scholarships to premier exhibitors and eight $1,500 scholarships to owners of supreme champion livestock. In total, the committee awarded $61,500 in scholarships.

Market Lamb Project Guide: Nutrition

Choosing the ideal market lamb is an important step in a successful 4-H livestock project. The next step is developing the best feeding program possible. Your goal is to create a feeding program that can produce a healthy lamb at its ideal weight by show time. A poor nutrition program can cause deficiencies and imbalances, which hurt your lamb’s health and body condition.

Animal Identification Process for Mississippi Junior Livestock Shows

Background

For over a decade, Mississippi Junior Livestock Shows used retinal imaging to document animal identification (ID). In recent years, an alternative animal ID process was requested to save on time and travel necessitated by the retinal image process. In April 2019, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a new process of requiring RFID tags for animals in shows and exhibitions.

Does Vibration Stimulation Offer an Effective Therapeutic Advantage to Performance Horses?

Many people use horses as a means of sport, competition, and recreation. However, like the human athlete, horses face many ailments and injuries due to the strenuous workload put on them to perform. Therefore, horse enthusiasts must be open-minded and aware of remedies for these injuries to reduce the amount of lost days in performance and to maintain proper welfare of the horse in general.

4-H: Where Are They Now? Extension Matters Volume 5 Number 2

Q&A by Nathan Gregory

Miss Rodeo America 2019 Taylor McNair is the official spokesperson for the sport of professional rodeo. A native of Learned, Mississippi, McNair will travel more than 100,000 miles to attend more than 100 rodeos over the course of her term. She shares how the 10 years she spent in Hinds County 4-H prepared her for her career.

 

Q: Why did you first join 4-H?

My father was in 4-H, and he encouraged me at 9 years old to exhibit my first market steer. From then on, I was hooked.

 

Q: Fill in the blanks:

4-H: Where Are They Now? Extension Matters Volume 4 Number 3

Former 4-H’er serves as Miss Hospitality

Story by Keri Collins Lewis • Photos by Kevin Hudson

When Emma Grace McGrew became Mississippi’s 2017 Miss Hospitality, a year of exciting experiences awaited the former Prentiss County 4-H’er and self-proclaimed country girl.

“I had never been in a pageant before, but I knew Miss Booneville got to read stories to kindergartners and cut the ribbon when a new business opened. I love my town and decided to compete,” McGrew explains.

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