Meagan Bolen, Fremont, Ohio, and Wyatt Smith, Hamburg, Minn., have been selected as the 2013 recipients of the Fred Stout Experience Awards.
Meagan Bolen is the JMS Internship recipient and will begin her JMS internship in May, working on the crews for three different sales leading up to the 56th National Heifer Sale, June 29 in Amarillo, Texas.
Meagan is an animal sciences major at The Ohio State University, having completed an Associate degree in May, 2012 at the OSU Agriculture Technical Institute. Her early work experience came growing up at her family’s Jersey operation, Highland Dairy Farm, an 86-cow herd enrolled on the AJCA REAP program. She has assisted with every phase of the dairy’s management, including sire selection and breeding.
In the summer of 2011, she was an intern at Select Sires’s calf campus, established to aggressively raise young bulls up to six months of age to enhance their semen production capabilities when mature. She worked closely with the Select Sires veterinary and animal care staff in feeding, animal care, disease awareness, and monitoring medication use.
A member of both 4-H and FFA, Meagan has served as president of the OSU ATI Dairy Club, and as president, vice president and secretary of the Ohio Junior Jersey Breeders Association. She is a committee member for the 2013 Buckeye Classic Sale.
The Farm Experience recipient is Wyatt Smith. A lifelong owner of Registered Jerseys™, Wyatt Smith, Hamburg, Minn., was selected for the on-farm experience this year. He is completing his first year of studies in dairy science at the University of Minnesota.
Wyatt has been deeply involved in the operation of Smith Haven Dairy, his family’s 125-cow Jersey herd enrolled on REAP. Pursuing his particular interest in embryo transfer, Smith has helped flush cows in the herd, including performing the procedure on one of his own cows.
He has also job shadowed two veterinarians, one with a multi-herd practice and the other working for a 6,000-cow dairy. These experiences led to his decision to pursue pre-vet coursework in order to apply for veterinary college. His career goal is to focus on large animals, specifically Jerseys, and specialize in reproduction and nutrition.
Wyatt has been a member of 4-H, FFA and the Minnesota Jersey and Junior Holstein associations. He is now a member of the Gopher Dairy and Block & Bridle clubs at the University of Minnesota, and an active member of Alpha Gamma Rho.
Previous recipients of the Fred Stout Experience Award are Tara Bohnert, Illinois (2003), Allison Waggoner, South Carolina (2004), Dan Bauer, Wisconsin (2005), Aaron Horst, Pennsylvania (2006), Jacob Pieper, Maryland (2007); Katie Albaugh, Maryland (2008); Brady Core, Kentucky (2009); Ivy Roberts, Florida, and Kim Wilson, Missouri (2010); Amy Maxwell, Iowa, and Joseph Fjarlie, Wisconsin (2011); and Robert McGarry, Vermont, and Lyman Rudgers, New York (2012).