TeenAg member Sarah Humphries is heading to Montana later this year. Photos: Supplied
TeenAg member Sarah Humphries is heading to Montana later this year. Photos: Supplied
Tyla Bishop hopes a trip to the United States in July will broaden her understanding of global food production.
Tyla (17), a year 13 pupil at St Kevin's College in Oamaru, is one of six TeenAg members from throughout New Zealand chosen to attend the 4-H Congress in Bozeman, Montana.
She lives on a 700-cow dairy farm in the Waitaki Valley and is working on another dairy farm during the summer holidays to help pay for the trip.
Pupils will stay with host families and explore Yellowstone National Park as part of the three-week exchange.
During the four-day 4-H Congress, the pupils will participate in educational workshops, listen to professional speakers and mingle with 400 other delegates.
"The United States has large ranches and feedlots and I can't wait to learn more about their style of farming," she said.
It was hoped the inaugural exchange would become a biennial event. Sarah and Tyla have both completed the Leadership Pathway Programme, a leadership course run by New Zealand Young Farmers and funded by the Red Meat Profit Partnership.
It had been developed to identify emerging leaders and ensure they were entering career pathways in the primary industries.
