2025 Scholarship Winning Essays
Taylee Stroup
Ft. Pierre, SD
“How can you use your higher education to promote the beef industry?”
I will be a junior at South Dakota State University this fall, majoring in agricultural communications with minors in marketing, public relations, and digital/social media. Raised on a ranch in Fort Pierre, where we manage a cow/calf operation, I have been involved with the ranch for as long as I can remember and have implemented strategies learned at school to improve our practices.
My passion for writing has led me to contribute articles to the SDSU newspaper, and I plan to continue writing throughout college. My goal is to pursue a career where I can write and advocate for farmers and ranchers. Having firsthand experience with the challenges that ranchers face, including the dedication and sacrifices required, I am deeply committed to supporting the agricultural community.
The internships I have completed have provided me with valuable knowledge and skills for promoting the beef industry. As an intern for the Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo, I assisted with livestock shows and educated young people about agriculture. Currently, as an intern with the South Dakota Department of Health, I am gaining experience in communications and marketing, while also collaborating with the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources on various projects and campaigns.
My educational and personal experiences have provided me with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a career in agriculture. I am dedicated to using this expertise to advocate for ranchers and promote the beef industry throughout South Dakota.
Oral, SD
How can you use your higher education to help promote the beef industry?
Receiving a higher education will allow me to promote the beef industry through consumer relations while gaining greater industry knowledge. A recent college course I was a student in was Global Foods. Through this class, an emphasis was placed on consumer perceptions and gaining an understanding of what “red flags” were for consumers within the beef industry.
While some were due to the lack of knowledge of consumers, above all, consumer’s main concern was having trust that the meat from the animal they were consuming was raised humanely and is a safe product to eat. As individuals working on the production side of the beef industry, we true heartedly know the hard work put in to ensure our cattle live a comfortable and stress-free life and that our product is safe to eat. There is no better person to inform consumers than producers who can share their first-hand experiences.
When interacting with consumers, it is important to remember to give them factual information but also make sure it is information that they want to hear. In my Introduction to Animal Science course, discussions were held on how to explain an industry practice to an uninformed consumer. An overlooked example is the way that slaughtering an animal is discussed. While talking to consumers, instead of using the word “slaughter,” it should be referred to as “harvesting.” Advancing my education allows me to promote the beef industry through consumer relations and to share my knowledge within the beef industry with consumers.