TREENA MIELKE/Rimbey Review
A young lady from Bluffton, who captured a Leaders in Agriculture Award for 2010, has netted herself a first place win in an Alberta Beef Producers competition.
Amy Mayner won $1,000 in the Young Guns contest with her essay titled Alberta Beef Producers — Historic and Progressive.
In her essay about what Alberta Beef Producers means to her, Mayner said farming is not a career, but a way of life for her.
“ABP has made positive contributions to this lifestyle since its formation in 1969,” she said in her essay.
“Two words used to describe ABP on their website are historic and progressive. This is what ABP and agriculture means to me. Historic and progressive are words that also describe my relationship to agriculture.”
Mayner said the survival of the Alberta beef industry depends on its ability to adapt and evolve.
“No doubt, Alberta Beef Producers will assist producers throughout this process,” she said.
Mayner said her life has been steeped in the history of agriculture, beginning with her great grandfather who bought a quarter section of bush land at $5 an acre and spent the next 10 years clearing and breaking the land using eight horses and a single 24-inch breaking plough.
“Since I was a child I have been taught to appreciate the history of agriculture an organizations such as ABP that are involved in making the Alberta beef industry one of the most respected and appreciated markets of the world.”
Mayner, the daughter of Rodney and Ann, grew up on a farm where her parents raised cattle.
She is working at the Lacombe Research Station for the summer where she is assisting with pasture management research.
Now the 21-year-old is in her final year of studies at the University of Alberta where she is enrolled in a bachelor of science degree in agriculture, majoring in an animal science program, Mayner plans to one day have her own rural veterinarian practice.
Growing up in rural Alberta has been wonderful, said Mayner.
“It’s really great that I live in a community like Rimbey,” she said. “I have so many people supporting me.”
The Alberta Beef Producers selected the winners of the young gun contest June 8 at its semi-annual meeting held in Edmonton.
Dakota Wilson from Bashaw won $500 for second place and Raymond Gallelli from Crossfield won $250 for third place.