Steer-A-Year Program

Steer-A-Year Program

Oregon State University’s Steer-A-Year program provides valuable hands-on experience for OSU students to learn more about the beef industry.
OSU animal scientist and coordinator for the program, Matt Kennedy says there are two types of students who participate. The first are those who were raised in the cattle business: they enjoy the opportunity to spend time in the barn and deepen their knowledge of the industry. He continues by describing the second.
Kennedy: “The second type of student is the student that has no experience at all with cattle. These students generally come from maybe downtown area of Portland. Those type of students we’ve seen a lot of growth lately. They want to get hands on experience. They want to know what cattle are like. They grew up with out it and now they can actually go, ‘Now that is how you give a shot.’”
Regardless of the participating students’ background — each gain knowledge about the industry overall. He adds
Kennedy: “I call it the sorting gate to the dinner plate program so they get to help with all aspects including after we harvest the cattle — they help with cutting up of the meat and selling the beef. They really enjoy it as they get to see the program full circle.”
Kennedy says that the steers are donated from ranchers mostly in Oregon but from surrounding states as well.

 

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