News
Youth dairy program builds future career, life skills
A unique state education program helps high school aged students learn more about possible dairy careers.
Debbie Grusenmeyer is a faculty member at Cornell University. She developed the
New York State Junior Dairy Leader program twenty-seven years ago. “It’s for juniors and seniors in high school and it’s about career awareness, looking at opportunities that are there, educational opportunities, and building personal and professional skills for their futures.”
Grusenmeyer says these students find like-minded young people interested in the dairy industry. “So, they built their network there plus all of the industry people, the dairy producers, and the faculty, all of the different people they interact with, they’ve now made a connection to and as they’re thinking about careers, they’ve made a lot of connections across the industry.”
Grusenmeyer says the New York high school students started their program year at World Dairy Expo and the National 4H Dairy Conference this week. She says hundreds of graduates have gone on to dairy and related ag careers.
Grusenmeyer spoke to Brownfield during World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin.
AUDIO: Debbie Grusenmeyer discusses the 4=H Dairy Conference and New York’s Junior Dairy Leader program with Brownfield’s Larry Lee