There is an art to getting goats ready for a 4-H livestock show. It starts with proper nutrition and exercise. Then there is breaking them to lead, trimming hooves and clipping legs.
For young members just beginning a goat project, it can be overwhelming. However, Warren County, Mo., 4-H member Dana Sherman takes some of the stress out of the show ring by serving as a mentor to young exhibitors. Missouri 4-H recognized Sherman’s leadership by presenting her with the 4-H Key Award.
GIVING BACK: Dana Sherman, a member of the Elkhorn 4-H Club, serves as a junior project leader for goats in Warren County. She shares her knowledge of raising and showing goats with younger 4-H members. (Photo courtesy of Dana Sherman)
Goat girl
Sherman gained affection for goats working alongside her aunt, Diane Miederhoff. “She had goats for many years,” she says of her aunt. “They were something new and different, and it intrigued me.” The more the duo worked together, the more interested Sherman became.
Sherman started raising goats as a 4-H project at the age of 10. “Goats have their own personalities, which make them all very different and fun to work with,” she says.
The Warren County Fair Livestock Show has always been a highlight of her 4-H years. But Sherman knows that stepping into the show ring for the first time can be scary. For years, she relied on her aunt to help calm her fears of walking in the ring. As she grew older, though, she wanted to be that person for younger members. So, Sherman signed on as junior leader in the 4-H goat project.
“Most kids are afraid of the goat’s horns, but if you learn how to handle them correctly, your chance of getting hurt by the horns decreases,” she says. “By teaching the kids how to handle their goat correctly and helping them build relationships with their goats, they become less afraid of their goats. They become more confident. You can see that in the show ring.”
The junior leader experience allowed Sherman to mentor younger members in buying, feeding, trimming, showing and finally selling a goat. She even helped each member make halters to practice showing before the county fair. “The goat industry is very small, and I wanted to build it up by mentoring youth about the industry and get more kids into showing goats,” she says.
Beyond the show ring
“Dana loves teaching kids, ” says Carey Benne, 4-H youth program assistant for Warren County. “It is a huge part of who she is.”
Benne says Sherman’s mentoring goes beyond the goat project in Warren County. She has been a part of the county’s Teen Leader group, serving as president last year. “She has held every office you can imagine in her club, whether it was Big Creek, or more recently, Elkhorn,” Benne adds.
As an individual who works with 4-H youth, Benne views Sherman as a role model. “She volunteered to help with personal development at the countywide judging and achievement day,” Benne says. “She is just always around talking to the kids. She is someone the little guys can look up to.”
And for Benne, that is what 4-H is all about. In a time when many older youth decide to limit their involvement with 4-H to pursue options like FFA or other school extracurricular opportunities, some, like Sherman, choose to stay involved. “We need these older members to stick around and come alongside our younger members, to build them up,” Benne adds. “Dana does a great job at that. That is why she is so deserving of this award.”
Final bow
The Missouri 4-H Key Award recognizes 4-H members for their hard work and accomplishments, as well as the contributions they made to the overall 4-H program. It encourages Missouri youth to excel in areas of leadership, community service and projects.
This year, 11 Missouri 4-H youth earned the 4-H Key Award. They include Hannah Carlton, Cheyenne Davis, Jennifer Hassler, Madison Keffer, Matthew Morgan, Scott Parmalee, Renee Peters, Abby Schmidt, Noah Shaw, Sherman, and Jackson Wood.
It has been a long 13 years in the 4-H program for Sherman. She started her 4-H journey as a Clover Kid. “My mom was involved in 4-H; so were my aunt, uncle and grandparents,” she says. “It was a family tradition.”
Today, she continues to take what she learned in 4-H and apply it to her college and career aspirations. This fall, she started her freshman year at the University of Missouri, Columbia, majoring in agricultural education.
“There is no better way for kids to finish off their 4-H career than to give back,” Benne says. “Dana does that.”
For Sherman, it is all about the kids. “I just enjoy being around them,” she says. “We have a good time learning about goats and 4-H.”
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