The 2015 NJSA Boot Camp Leadership Conference held on February 14 at Lake Land College was a great success! With 35 youth and 14 adults present in Mattoon, Illinois, it’s safe to say we were ready for the festivities to begin. NJSA youth ages 8-12 from all over the Midwest, as well the NJSA Junior Board, NSR Staff, and numerous speakers were all in attendance. We even had a handful of Lake Land students there to help us out! The morning began with a Welcome speech given by Kaley Bontrager and Jon Althaus and from there, the fun never stopped!
Following the opening act, parents and kids were split into 2 smaller groups to kick off the morning. Bryn Jensson with the National Pork Board gave everyone an update on PEDv. Within her lesson, Bryn explained to everyone the importance of biosecurity and cleanliness among their swine projects and had each youth participant explain what they can do at home to ensure the safety of their animals. Also within the morning session, Thomas Titus, a Farmer at Tri Pork, Inc., gave a very informative spiel on Advocating for the Swine Industry. He explained very key parts of raising and showing pigs that many people may not understand, and then taught the youngsters how they can become better advocates. He encouraged each to use the popular #RealPigFarming. After an intense round of ice breakers with the NJSA Junior Board, it was time to regroup and listen in on Randy Bowman with the Maschhoff’s give everyone an introduction to swine production. He discussed how the Maschhoff’s operations are run and what they do every day to make sure their herds are healthy, happy pigs!
By this point everyone’s tummies were growling, so we took a quick lunch break, played some Simon Says, and headed off to an exciting afternoon! The adults and youth split up for the afternoon so that each could learn something new and exciting!
The adult sessions kicked off with Maria Boerngen with some helpful hints and tips on Starting the Preparation for College Now. They then heard from Dave Phipps about Financial Planning for College, pressing that you can never start saving too soon. Brian Arnold from the NSR then gave some General NJSA Information followed my Bryn Jensson with a more Advanced PEDv Update.
While the adults had their fun, the kids were busy bees going through helpful training sessions. Jon Althaus and the freshman judging team from Lake Land College spent time explaining Swine Evaluation and Selection to each of the kids. We even got to hear a set of reasons! Also, Brandon Ogle conversed with the kids about Preparing their Show Pig for the show. He had some great advice, and even learned some things from the kids! Last but not least, we heard from David Ammann on Showmanship Tips.
The youth and adults the reconvened for the final activity of the day: A Judges/Breeders Panel with Brandon Ogle and Brett Beyers. They explained how they got their starts in the swine industry and took questions from the audience. Very important advice was given through stories of back when and examples through their own children and family. A huge thank you goes out to the panel, each and every speaker, and Lake Land College for hosting such a wonderful and fun event!
The next leadership conference with be the infamous National Youth Leadership Conference for kids ages 14-21 in Fort Collins, Colorado at Colorado State University. Registration is available now at
http://nationalswine.com/shows/jr_shows/national_leadership_conf/national_leadership_conf_info.php.