Aubree Paplow is passionate about the beef industry and agriculture as a whole, “and I want to further my love and share my passion with other youth or even adults,” she says.

The Springfield (Minn.) High School sophomore shares that passion through her involvement in 4-H and currently serves on the beef ambassador team through the Minnesota CattleWomen organization. She also works with the Cottonwood County Cattlemen’s Association and the Cottonwood County 4-H youth ambassador program.

Telling the agriculture story — and more specifically, that of the beef industry — earned her the state FFA Ag Communications Proficiency Award during the recent state FFA Convention.

“My message is trying to convey to the public what the agricultural community is doing,” she says. “Most of my work is beef-focused just because of the state ambassador work, but I do for all of agriculture.”

Paplow’s family runs two beef finishing feedlots and an 80-head cow-calf herd. Her interest leans more to the cow-calf operation, and she shows cattle in 4-H.

Even with the beef focus, Paplow adapts her presentations to match current events as well as to meet the interest of her audience — with the example of focusing on issues surrounding the wildfires that burned through the Texas Panhandle.

“The Minnesota Beef Council is trying to get their message to the ‘millennial moms’ who buy food for their kids, so we go along with what their trends are,” she says, in an effort to promote the beef message.

All ages targeted

There is no specific target audience for Paplow and her message: from youth to adult, urban to rural. “Beef Ambassadors just held a calving camp where it’s focused on how to pull a calf, nutrition, how to tag and implant, information more based for youth.” Calving Camp is geared to ages 14-19.

Paplow and her fellow Beef Ambassadors also attended the Minnesota State Cattlemen’s winter convention and meeting, as well as the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention held this winter in Orlando.

“We also do a lot of social media outreach,” she says, “because what’s out there is on your phone. Who is on their phones? Everyone.”

As state Beef Ambassadors, Paplow says, they are trained to share the truth with the public. “Share what you know, don’t try to hide anything … most of our stuff targets the younger people, just because they’re the minds we can change. A lot of the older generations — they’ve already made up their mind. They’ve made their choices; they’re not changing them.”

Madeleine Klevay from the Highland Park, (St. Paul) FFA Chapter took runner-up honors. The Farmer magazine sponsors the Ag Communications Proficiency Award.