The Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Mentorship Program provides a networking and mentorship opportunity for young people in the beef industry
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association announced the 16 finalists in its Cattleman’s Young Leaders Mentorship Program this year.
Finalists reside in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Price Edward Island. They will receive $2,000 for travel and be paired with a mentor for nine months to learn about their area of interest.
Iva Harberg is a finalist from Hay Lakes, Alta. She runs a cow-calf operation with her husband Jason and dad Brian Grams. Iva and Jason have a two-and-a-half-year-old son Kase and another baby on the way.
Harberg also works as a small business advisor with TD Bank.
Harberg and her husband are taking over the cattle side of the farming operation from her dad. In 2018, when the couple became more involved in the decision-making on the farm, they wanted to change a few things.
“One of the biggest changes we made is because we're only looking at doing the cattle, we're not going to do the crop side. So, we looked at different grazing practices and different ways to feed the animals,” said Harberg.
She hopes the program will help her learn more about this topic.
I want to “meet some more industry leaders and develop relationships with them that could help our operation succeed. I'm really interested in connecting with somebody who could teach me more about regenerative grazing practices because they are new to our operation,” she told Farms.com.
Harberg appreciates the opportunity to network through the program.
“I think, in this day and age, having relationships with other people in the industry is really important. It gives you more knowledge for what you can do with your operation and people who you can reach out to if you have questions. I think it's really good to see different perspectives from different areas and different levels of the industry,” said Harberg.
She also wants to learn more about promoting the beef industry.
We want to “market the positive that the livestock industry has for the environment to counter some of the negative publicity that we see a little too often,” said Harberg.
She will soon be paired with her mentor for the program. Although this year may look a little different due to COVID-19, Harberg looks forward to her experience.
Photo credit: Harberh family photo