June Brings New Series

Here at the Roundup we consistently try to think of better ways to do business, or new things to add to the editorial aspect of the paper to better serve and inform our customers – you, our loyal readers.
    Occasionally when I’m attending events and doing interviews out in the country I receive compliments on the paper and it’s content, and they’re always much appreciated. Sometimes it seems like “no news is good news” when it comes to what we write from week to week, so feedback is always welcome. Of course we prefer to hear the positive, but we also take constructive criticism seriously.
     This week we’d like to introduce a new weekly feature for the month of June – young people in the ag industry.
    I’m sure many of you have heard about the efforts by many programs and organizations to lend support to young and beginning ag producers. As someone who fits in that definition myself, I know it’s a challenge. Even with the training and assistance that is being offered today, it still takes the right opportunity at the right time to actually make a go of getting a brand new ag operation up and running. It can be frustrating that, at a time when many are talking about getting more of the younger generation involved in agriculture, it can still seem like an impossible, unreachable goal. When you’re talking to a banker, experience, work ethic and training don’t matter – all it takes is money.
    For this new series in the paper, we’d like to find those who have found a great opportunity and have been able to take advantage of it. I have struggled to come up with a concise title for the series, like our “Women in Ag” weekly series in November, because I don’t want to limit its scope strictly to livestock “producers.” The idea behind the features is to highlight the innovative things that today’s young people are doing to utilize new technology and information while maintaining the integrity and traditions of the ag industry.
    This week’s feature, as you may have already read on the cover, highlights the King brothers from the Big Hole Valley in Montana, who took it upon themselves to produce a documentary on the wolf reintroduction in the West. Not only did they get the job done, but they’ve also already received many positive reviews and an award for the project. They were able to take their knowledge of film production and give a voice to those who have been so negatively affected by the predators.
    As we move through the month, we will bring you several other stories of young people and their ag industry endeavors. As always, we welcome article leads and ideas – there are so many excellent young people involved in Wyoming’s ag industry, and we only know of a few of them personally. Do you know of a young person who’s been able to get an ag business or operation going, either through more traditional avenues or through creative diversification? Please, call our office or email me at christy@wylr.net to let us know about them.
    Until next time, keep the feedback coming, and we’ll keep doing our best to bring you the best ag industry reporting that we can!
Christy