Pioneer Skin
Login  ::  Register
Thursday, August 07, 2008
 
 

Youth
Pork 4 Kids
Pork Industry Scholarships

Pork Industry Scholarships

To meet the goal of recruiting young leaders into the pork industry, the Pork Checkoff is looking for cosponsors for its Pork Industry Scholarships.  Scholarships will be offered to sophomores, juniors and seniors considering graduate degrees in animal sciences or a related field with an emphasis in swine production and/or a career in the pork industry.

Scholarships will be offered via the Pork Checkoff's Web site http://www.pork.org/porkscience/scholarship/.

The deadline is September 15, 2008.  The Pork Checkoff has allocated $50,000 to this program and will award the top candidate a $10,000 scholarship; the runner-up will receive $5,000 and 14 others will receive $2,500.   Sponsor funds will be allocated to additional scholarships.

For more information, contact Mark Boggess, MBoggess@pork.org, 515-223-2606.
Summer Writing Contest

The Nebraska Pork Producers Association is calling all 3-6 grade students during the 2007-2008 school year to write an essay for the Summer Writing Contest.

There are two divisions: 3-4th grade and 5-6th grade. Prizes are awarded to the top two entries in each grade division. The first place prize winner will receive a Pork cinch bag, a Fun Pork t-shirt and a $50 pork gift check. The second place prize winner will receive a Fun Pork t-shirt and a $25 pork gift check. Each applicant will receive a Pork Kid's cookbook and additional prizes.

To be eligible, the student who enters the writing contest must have been in grades 3-6 during 2007-2008 school year. The student must also be a resident of Nebraska.

Information for the essay:

-All essays must begin with the following sentence: “Today is the perfect day to watch my favorite sports team, the Oinkland Hogs play….”
-The essay must be 600 words or less and must include a final word count.
-The essay must be written in English.
-The essay must be typewritten or computer printed (handwritten essays will not be judged).
-The essay must be submitted on white paper, stapled, with pages in order.
-The essay must reflect the contestant’s own writing and original thought.
-Only one essay may be submitted by each contestant.
-The essay must include a title.

 

Judging is based on:

 

-Creativity:  Was the writer imaginative in developing a subject or story? Does it hold the reader's interest?
-Content:    Is the content of the essay relative to the subject? Is the content consistent with the apparent 
                 theme?
-Grammar:  Are the sentence structure and paragraphs correct? Are there misspelled words? Is the
                 punctuation correct?

 

 

 How to enter:

Send in essay and registration form to:
Nebraska Pork Producers Association
Attn: Summer Writing Contest
PO Box 830909
Lincoln, NE 68583-0909
 
-All essays must be postmarked by August 15 and become the property of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association and may be used in promotional efforts. All entries must be accompanied by a signed registration form.

 

 

Click here for a registration form for the Summer Writing Contest

 
Current Mentoring Class

The NPPA is proud to announce the members of the 2008 Pork Industry Mentoring Program.

The Pork Industry Mentoring Program is an educational program that provides opportunities for agriculture youth leaders to explore areas of the pork industry by shadowing industry professionals and helps youth identify future careers, while developing their skills to be strong agricultural advocates.

Mentoring students will shadow four industry professionals to learn about the industry hands on, plus each mentoring student will complete four promotion activities, teach two lesson plans to two Lincoln classrooms, as well as attend quarterly meetings that focus on leadership development, agriculture issues and more.

Members of the 2008 class include: Emily Arkfeld, Dunbar; Amareese Bettin, Leon, IA; Spencer Bolte, McCool Junction; Dana Christensen, Hardy, Mathew Habrock, Wayne; Meredith Jordan, Chelsmforth, MA; Danielle O’Neel, Friend; Kayla Rubenthaler, Gothenburg; Emily Tschida, Omaha; and Laura Witte, Scribner.

Click here to view the Current Class and Graduates page
Mentoring Program

Choosing a career path can be difficult. In a world full of occupational options, it is helpful to receive a little guidance along the way. For that reason, the NPPA is extending a helping hand to young adults who are participating in NPPA's Pork Industry Mentoring program, "Preparing Tomorrow's Leader's Today."

The Pork Industry Mentoring Program is a career development program that provides a variety of hands-on experiences that promote leadership and communication skills, ultimately fostering career development.

Click here for a detailed summary of responsibilities for a member in the program.

Who should apply: College age men and women who have an interest in agriculture and the pork industry. You don't have to be a pork producer.

How to apply: Applications will be available online when the NPPA is looking for another mentoring class. This will be around November of 2009. Also for an application, call Kyla at 472-2528 to request an application.

What you'll do: Job shadow pork industry professionals, promote agriculture and the pork industry, improve your leadership, team building, and communication skills. You'll also travel to the World Pork Expo, and other exciting industry tours and group events.

Click here to view the Mentoring Program page
Educational Resources

Each year, the Nebraska Pork Producers Association spends Pork Checkoff dollars to educate Nebraska youth about the pork industry through the distribution of various educational materials. 

 

These materials are provided free of charge to school teachers across the state, so they can teach their students about all aspects of the pork industry—everything from where a pig comes from to the by-products

of a hog.

 

Depending on the age of your child, or children in your area, you can choose which worksheet or activity book is right for them.  Click here for a listing of the materials available and the appropriate school grade.

 

If you know your child’s daycare or school would be interested in some of these materials, or if you would like copies to use while teaching your child, please call Kyla at the Nebraska Pork Producers Association, (888) 627-7675 or (402) 472-2528, or send an e-mail to kyla@nepork.org

Click here to view the Educational Resources page
So Far in 2008...
The Nebraska Pork Producers Association has been busy promoting the pork industry to youth across the state. Staff, board members, and mentoring students have spent many hours educating consumers about the benefits of incorporating lean pork into a healthy diet, have taught urban and rural students about the differences and similarities between kids and pigs at county Ag Fests, have tested high school FFA members knowledge about the industry at State Convention, and they are looking forward to continuing their promotion and education efforts for the rest of 2008!
 
Take a look at the activities so far!
 

                                                                  

Mentoring students Mat and Dana discuss how pork has become healthier over the past 50 years at the Bryan LGH Diabetes Center. Over 400 folks attended in hopes to learn more about diabetes prevention, treatment and control.

 

                                            

    The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Eating Disorder Education and Prevention (EDEP) organization strives to increase awareness about eating disorders on campus. Mentoring student Emily distributed healthy and easy to make recipes to students, staff, and faculty during the Body Bazaar hosted by EDEP.

 

   Board member and officer for NPPA, Dave Harrington provided man power for the seventh annual Life on the Farm in Kearney, hosted by the Buffalo County Extension. Dave taught over 400 3rd grade students from Kearney Public Schools about the differences and similarities between kids and pigs. One teacher said, “Each of the stations really teaches the children about the various aspects of agriculture. The hands on experiences of petting the animals, seeing the products, and listening to the presenters share information first hand makes the entire program wonderful.”

 

 

 

 

 

                 

 

      Similarly, Custer and Dawson County Extension hosts Ag Fest in Broken Bow and Lexington to create awareness of the importance of agriculture in people’s lives. This year nearly 750 4th and 5th grade students experienced hands on learning at Ag Fest. Mat, a mentoring student helped teach students about the pork industry in a fun and interactive way by using a spinning prize wheel. Students learned about pork basics, pork byproducts, the health benefits of eating pork, and general fun pork trivia.

 

 

 

             

                                                            
 
       State FFA is an exciting time of year for 3,500 FFA members, parents, and guests. NPPA provided a promotional booth during convention. Members of the mentoring class and staff manned the booth during the 3 day event. FFA students stopped to spin the prize wheel and answered questions corresponding to where the spinner landed. Each student was encouraged to apply to be a part of NPPA Pork Mentoring Program.
 
 
This summer holds many more opportunities for promoting pork and education folks about the value of our industry. Be looking for updates this summer:
  • Mentoring students will travel to World Pork Expo
  • NPPA will host the Pork Chop Scramble at the York Golf Course
  • NPPA will provide a “Salute to Pork Producers” as Trailer B makes its way Haymarket Park for a Saltdogs Baseball game
  • NPPA and the Nebraska Soybean Association will co-sponsor the Capital City Ribfest

NPPA will have a booth at the Nebraska State Fair, plus will host a “Salute to Youth” Appreciation BBQ for 4-H and FFA students and their families.
Home | Producers | Consumers | Youth | SIP | Newsroom | Calendar of Events | About Us | Classifieds
Copyright 2008 Nebraska Pork Producers Association