Commitment, communication, caring - these are among valuable traits for young people.
As reported in a story in Monday's News Tribune, 4-H is a program where these and other characters virtues are being developed by young people.
Cole County hosts 16 active 4-H Clubs, according to the website for University of Missouri Extension, which sponsors the program.
4-H membership, open to youngsters ages 5-18, is about a lot more than exhibiting at county and state fairs. Among life skills learned in 4-H are:
• Commitment. More than 40 students brought calves for a weigh-in Saturday at Lincoln University's Busby Farm. Between then and the August fair circuit, students will feed, care for and train their livestock for presentation in the show ring.
"You learn responsibility and you learn how to follow the rules you have to go through," said 19-year-old Ashley Temmen, who at age 8 began showing animals in 4-H competitions.
• Communication: Students also must network with community members and interest them in attending shows and purchasing products. "I've met important people in the community, and business leaders in the community that I now have a relationship with," Ashley said.
• Caring: Students learn that although they may bond with an animal, the goal is providing food for the nation's tables. "Even though they might care and nurture those animals, they (4-H members) still know that's the reality, that they're in production to help feed the world," said veteran 4-H adviser Diane Temmen, who also is Ashley's mom.
Members of 4-H clubs develop positive character traits as an integral part of learning farming practices and techniques.
And the arc of their experience extends from nurturing an animal to reaching out into the community to advancing global goals.