Abby Carlberg

Abby Carlberg, a 10-year member of Chautauqua County 4-H, was one of only ten statewide candidates to be accepted into the New York State 4-H Youth Livestock Ambassador Program.

This program is designed to introduce participants to the many career paths available in livestock, from animal genetics and nutrition to meat processing, marketing, and more. The program consists of four two-day retreats to visit farms, feed mills, fiber mills, and processing facilities across New York State.

Youth Livestock Ambassadors will be exposed to many careers in livestock, including animal production, veterinary science, animal nutrition, meat and fiber processing and retail and marketing skills.

Along the way, Youth Livestock Ambassadors also develop skills in communication, leadership, critical thinking, public speaking and teamwork. Most of the cost of the program is paid for by the NYS 4-H Foundation and Northeast Agricultural Education Foundation.

The 4-H Program is one of many programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE-Chautauqua). 4-H connects youth to hands-on learning opportunities that help them grow into competent, caring, contributing members of society. This may be through a club, where they meet to explore new projects each month, or through an animal project where they learn about and/or raise an animal, or through classroom programs in their school.

CCE-Chautauqua is a subordinate governmental agency with an educational mission that operates under a form of organization and administration approved by Cornell University as agent for the State of New York. It is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The association is part of the national cooperative extension system, an educational partnership between County, State, and Federal governments. As New York’s land grant university Cornell administers the system in this state. Each Cornell Cooperative Extension association is an independent employer that is governed by an elected Board of Directors with general oversight from Cornell. All associations work to meet the needs of the counties in which they are located as well as state and national goals. For more information, call 716-664-9502 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua.