Training the Next Generation of Aggies

Jamie JohansenAg Group, Animal Ag Alliance, Audio, Education

aaa-15-107-editedZach Hollingsworth and Kaylynn Million are part of the Dairy Science Club at Oklahoma State University. Their club was honored at the recent Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholders Summit as the 1st place team in their College Aggies Online (CAO) competition.

COA is an initiative of the Alliance that connects college students from across the country who are interested in promoting agriculture. Participants receive training and instructions from industry experts and engage on social media by posting information about current and emerging issues facing farmers and ranchers and telling personal stories.

Kaylynn said, “The College Aggies Online program is there to train us to engage with consumers. Each week we were given assignments like participating in webinars with industry experts. What they taught us we used to actually engage with consumers and we were judged by our involvement. What we learned throughout the competition, we took back and are still using today.”

On campus they shared “Meat Myths” to fellow collegiates, passed out cheese with dairy facts and executed a number of other things throughout the community and online to advocate for the agriculture community.

Zach said he learned a lot about utilizing Twitter to share news about agriculture. When participating in tweet chats they were taught to act, not react. “You are wanting to promote your cause, not degrade what they are doing.”

Listen to my complete interview with the duo to learn more about the competition. Interview with College Aggies Online Winners

Find photos from the event here: 2015 Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholders Summit Photo Album

Coverage of the Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholders Summit is sponsored by
Coverage of the Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholders Summit is sponsored by Elanco Animal Health