Cattle Breeds: Nebraska Angus Youth Named A National Beef Ambassador
11/03/2009 02:00PM
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Ellen Hoffschneider of Arlington, Neb., has earned a spot on the 2010 National Beef Ambassador Team by winning two of four contest areas at the national competition Oct. 9-11 in Fort Smith, Ark.
Contestants participating in the National Beef Ambassador Competition were judged in the areas of consumer promotion, classroom presentation, media interview and issues response. Ellen won both the consumer promotion and issues response segments of the contest. For her performance in the contest, Ellen took home $1,000 cash and a $750 scholarship. She will now travel the country with the five-member team promoting the healthy benefits of beef.
Ellen is the daughter of Scott and Jennifer Hoffschneider of rural Arlington and is an active Angus junior on state, regional and national levels. She has served the Nebraska Junior Angus Association as a director, secretary/treasurer and Miss Nebraska Angus. She regularly competes in Angus shows and has participated in the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) graphic design, writing, public speaking, team sales, livestock judging and quiz bowl contests. She has entered bulls on test and has consigned cattle to the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Classic. She was also selected as one of five young women receiving a 2009 American Angus Auxiliary scholarship, and she serves as Nebraska’s junior chairperson on the 2010 NJAS planning committee.
Ellen is a freshman at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln studying ag journalism. She has also been active in FFA, 4-H, speech and drama, Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA,) National Honor Society, and Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church.
Seventeen contestants from throughout the country vied for a place on the elite National Beef Ambassador team of agriculture advocates and $5,000 in cash prizes sponsored exclusively by Groseta Ranches LLC. The American National Cattlewomen’s Foundation Inc. donated five educational scholarships, valued at $3,750 to team members.
While preparing for this national spokesperson competition, youth learn about the importance of the beef industry and beef as an agricultural product. The program highlights the positive effects the cattle industry has on our economy and families. Trained youth ambassadors address industry issues and misconceptions, while helping to educate peers, consumers and producers about food safety, nutrition and the beef checkoff program. Some of the events the team will attend to promote beef include the New York State Fair and the Boston Marathon, as well as a trip to Washington, D.C.