GRANTON FFA MEMBER
Hannah Walter 
NAMED STATE FINALIST For Livestock Award

Hanna Walter 2020

Hannah Walter, a recent graduate of Granton High School,
has been named a State finalist for the
Diversified Livestock Proficiency Award for FFA.
Submitted photo.

By Valerie Brecht    

Through her work on the farm, a young woman from Granton has grown as a person. She has even been recognized for her work on the state level.

Hannah, who just graduated from high school, is one of five state finalists for the Diversified Livestock Proficiency Award for FFA.

“I was not honestly expecting it. That’s a really hard group to get into the top five and I was astonished. I was at a loss of words and really excited,” said Hannah.

Being named a finalist is in some ways a culmination of all the work Hannah’s done on her family dairy farm over the last several years. Her family raised dairy cattle and pigs. Currently they have 62 cows, three beef steers, five heifers, about 10 calves and about 80 pigs. Hannah helps with the daily chores, including milking the cows and cleaning out their stalls. She also helps take care of the pigs and keep their pens clean. She makes sure the animals have enough clean water and food, and proper bedding.

“We put a lot of time into our animals, more than for ourselves at times. We really care for them because we know that they are dependent on us,” she said.

Hannah also artificially inseminates the dairy cattle and sows.

“I am really proud to honestly say that because you don’t hear of many females, let alone any high schoolers, artificially inseminating their own animals in any sort of way,” she said.

Hannah took a daylong practice course in Madison to learn about artificial insemination. She learned how to identify when the cow or sow is in heat, and how to properly artificially inseminate the animal so as not to hurt it in any way.

Hannah also raises beef to show at the fair.

To apply for the Diversified Livestock Proficiency Award, Hannah had to record all her time spent taking care of animals.

“My ag teacher, Ms. [Katie] Reider, was talking to me and telling me how I basically had all the areas covered and was doing some really cool things on my farm, and all I had to do was just track it and put it in the application. I actually found it really interesting while I was doing it. I found it fun to see how much I had improved,” said Hannah.

She said that back in eighth grade, she did simpler tasks on the farm like milking a little bit and making sure the calves were fed and watered. Now, she is more involved, completing tasks like using the skid loader to clean the pens, putting down dry bedding and doing artificial insemination.

Hannah has been in FFA since seventh grade and said she’s grown to be a leader through her time in FFA. She had several leadership roles, including treasurer and vice president of her local chapter.

‘I’m so grateful for it. I’ve learned so many things,” she said.

During the virtual State FFA Convention June 15 through 19, Hannah will find out if she advances to national competition.

She said that through working on a farm, she’s learned the importance of hard work and responsibility.

“I am constantly caring for them [the animals], working to make sure they are safe and healthy.

“When you have your own animals, they are also the ones that are helping you bring in income. So, you want to make sure they are comfortable, and it is your responsibility. … When they are all comfortable and healthy – they’ve got the good feed, the good water, the good bedding – we ae able to get our return out of them because we give our respect and our hard work to them.” 

Hannah plans to attend UW-Stevens Point in the fall to study nursing.

 

From the Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

June 3, 2020

Transcribed by Dolores Mohr Kenyon, June 6, 2020

Web page by James W. Sternitzky PhD, June 8, 2020

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