Fresh faces and new blood were injected into the usual cadre of journalism veterans this week at Canadian Western Agribition.
Students from Iowa’s CAC Media Group ventured to Regina for hands-on agricultural journalism experience.
Hannah Grantz, Jake VanderHeiden and Katlin Truelsen, students from high schools across Clinton County in eastern Iowa, interviewed, photographed and videotaped Canadian livestock producers, Spanish bullfighters and Saskatchewan rodeo queens for their social media channels.
They also plan to take stories home and work with other editors and publishers at digital and print publications across the United States.
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Truelsen was eager for the chance to explore Canadian agriculture. At 16 years old, she has written articles for Humps N Horns Bull Riding Magazine out of Fort Worth, Texas. At Agribition, she jumped at the chance to interview bullfighters from Spain, who were competing in the Bullfighters Only Canadian Grand Prix on Tuesday.
Growing up on a cattle farm, Truelsen said learning about the rodeo world is new for her.
“It was cool to learn about the rodeo experience, hear what the bull riders have to offer. I mean, most of them are the same age as me, or a little older, so it’s cool to see what they do in their everyday lives compared to what I do.”
In addition to the students, three media group alumni also travelled to Regina for the event: Nate Lange, Beth Lamp and Carsen Mangelsen.
Lange was interested to see how different businesses run their operations. He earned a degree in marketing and sales management after participating in the CAC Media Group program when he was in high school. He’s been drawn to how businesses find efficiencies and create solutions to ongoing problems.
“Everyone does it a little differently, so just seeing how they do it and why they do it is really interesting.”
Lange was one of the first members when Jenna Stevens started the ag media program in 2017. Stevens noticed gaps in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) curriculum when it came to agricultural communications, so when the Agriculture in the Classroom consultant had unexpected free time with a group following an early end to a competition, they started a podcast that got picked up by a local radio station.
From there, they created a television show during COVID-19 because there was studio time up for grabs. Since then, the group continually looks for new opportunities to get student members hands-on experience in the agriculture journalism and communication industry.
The group is working on a rebranding and marketing campaign for Humps N Horns, said Stevens, and will help the magazine launch a new apparel line when the crew goes out to Las Vegas later in the year.
“I’m designing some of the new logos that are going to go on their apparel,” said Stevens. “We’ll be updating their website and doing some more marketing with that.”
Stevens works with 56 teachers in classrooms, teaching agricultural education, whether those are fun lessons for younger students or more complex, hands-on concepts.
Stevens and her students were surprised at the lack of agricultural education and hands-on learning provided in the Saskatchewan curriculum. She works to provide experiences to kids in her area, taking agricultural concepts and putting them into practice. She’s had students build things like rice paddies and hydroponic farms from the ground up.
Before coming to Agribition, the CAC team visited the University of Saskatchewan’s Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence and the Bovigen cattle reproduction centre in Moose Jaw.
Comparing educational opportunities in Saskatchewan versus those in Iowa, people want to see more when it comes to ag education in kindergarten to Grade 12 classrooms, said Stevens.
“There are a lot of rural individuals in this particular province and so it seems like people would like to see their children have those opportunities through the school system.”
