by Mary Rupert
Wyandotte County’s new 4-H agent is a homegrown product.
Olivia Moore, 22, became the new Extension agent in 4-H and youth development about seven weeks ago.
The former member of the Chaparral 4-H Club, Moore graduated from Washington High School in 2009 and from Kansas State University in 2013.
At K-State, she majored in animal science and industry, with an emphasis on production and management.
She has nine years of experience as a 4-H member in Wyandotte County.
“I showed horses, I raised them, in addition to raising chickens for meat and eggs, and for show, for market,” Moore said. “I did a leadership project, table setting project, wildlife project, quilting, a huge variety of things.”
Through the years, she believes her biggest 4-H accomplishment was to win the senior horse showmanship award at the Wyandotte County Fair.
Moore said she learned much from her 4-H experiences.
“I learned a lot of self-control and responsibility because you have to feed your animals every day, rain or snow, wind or sunshine, because they are counting on you to get them fed,” she said. “In addition, I learned humility and being humble, and really learning what you want to. 4-H is self-led. You do a lot of your 4-H work away from other people.”
Since her days in the 4-H program, she has seen changes in the numbers of large livestock animals in the county fair. Traditionally the fair was a showcase of large livestock animals, but it now seems to be moving to a smaller animal showcase including chickens and rabbits, that can be housed in a backyard, and toward nontraditional programs such as robots and wind technology, she said.
As the new 4-H agent in Wyandotte County, Moore would like to increase the number of youth participating in the program here. In 2013, there were 220 youth involved in community clubs, and 1,500 youth involved with 4-H in general here, including after-school and special interest programs, and others using the 4-H curriculum, she said.
In the future, Moore said she would like to see the 4-H program embrace technology, increase the number of youth participants, increase readiness and the skill set necessary for youth to advance to college, technical training or the military service.
“It’s definitely an exciting time to be in Extension and an amazing time to be in Wyandotte County,” she said.