Age: 15
Hometown: Fair Grove, Mo.
Parents: Kevin and Sarah McCarty
How are you involved in agriculture?
“I’ve been on a farm all my life. I’ve worked on farms and been around cattle all my life. Cattle keep you busy and keep you with something to do.”
What do you enjoy about living on a farm?
“I like being around the cattle. You also learn more about life experiences. Being around cattle and on a farm, there are things I have gotten to do and be around that other people don’t get to do or see until they are older.”
What other experience do you have with agriculture?
“During the Ozark Empire Fair, I worked at the petting zoo, the pig races and the camel rides. It’s a lot of fun to work at the fair and show people a side of agriculture they might not see unless they come to the fair. People come to the petting zoo and think they are going to just see a goat, a calf and maybe a horse. We had a lot more than that and I get a lot of questions about the animals. People really enjoyed the pig races too, partly because of the humor in it, but they also like to see the pigs run around the track.”
What are your future plans?
“I would like to be a mechanical engineer and make enough money that I can farm too. I always want to be around a farm because I just enjoy it.”
What is the best advice you’ve received about being around livestock?
“Dad always said, ‘don’t leave the gate open.’ It was a very quick lesson I learned.”
