SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE business believes in the challenge

Cargill, a valued corporate advocate, believes the Kansas 4-H Youth Development Program and the Science of Agriculture Challenge teach the necessary life skills that youth need in the digital world.

“The 4-H program teaches youth employable life skills like accountability,” Jarrod Gillig, Vice President of Cargill Protein Group, said. “4-H provides an environment for them to apply the skills they are learning. For example, they are able to put leadership lessons into practice through working with a team and giving a presentation in front of their peers.”

Cargill is a lead partner with Kansas 4-H for innovative programming and community vitality. They believe their partnership with 4-H is bigger than an agricultural connection. It is a way to evoke positive change.

“I believe that Kansas 4-H is a tool to help Kansas communities thrive by teaching youth how to be leaders and contributing community members,” Gillig said. “By investing in Kansas 4-H, we are able to help fund new 4-H experiences that can be transformational to Kansas communities.”

Science Of Agriculture Challenge

In addition to their financial partnership, Cargill also invested in Kansas 4-H by volunteering. Steve Schlabsz, Assistant Vice President, Capital Projects and Engineering at Cargill Protein Group, served on the panel of judges at the preliminary Science of Agriculture competition at the Kansas State Fair. As a panelist, he was able to listen to each presentation, ask questions and provide feedback for them for the state competition.

“I was most excited to see the 4-H members hone their message about what they were researching and deliver it with enthusiasm and confidence,” Schlabsz said. “They came across convincing and motivated to share their story.”

The Science of Agriculture Challenge, a new 4-H initiative, was created to increase agriculture science literacy through a hands-on experience and directly connect youth with agriculture-related businesses, experts and potential career paths. Teams of three to five Kansas 4-H youth in grades 6-12 work with volunteer coaches and mentors to identify agriculturerelated issues in their communities. Then, they

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“It sets a very good foundation for 4-H members to realize the importance of doing research,” Schlabsz said. “It allows them to learn how to understand the data and recognize good data from bad data. It gives them confidence to speak in front of a group. They will be able to take and apply the skills they learned to different situations in the future.”

This year, five teams with 4-H members from Lyon, Cowley, Stafford, Meade and Wallace counties presented at the state competition in November. As part of the Science of Agriculture challenge, the top three teams are awarded scholarships at the state competition. More than $7,500 was awarded to Kansas 4-H members. These scholarships were provided through lead partnerships with Cargill and the Kansas Department of Agriculture.