WEST DES MOINES, IOWA (November 17, 2020) — Midwest Heritage, a subsidiary of Hy-Vee, Inc., announces the recipients of their award-winning program to help youth get a start in the cattle industry.

Five individuals were selected and will each be awarded three bred heifers. Belle Fagan (Adair), Sayge Polo-Head (Lucas), Blake Reynolds (Madison), Isabell Olsasky (Warren), Thor Mitteness (Wayne.)

Belle is an 8th grader and is heavily involved in her extracurricular activities. She was the treasurer of her 4-H club and has recently been elected as the historian for 2020-21. Bella was also selected to serve on her student council for the second time at ACGC Junior High. She has participated in volleyball, softball, band, choir, and FFA. At the end of the program, Bella hopes to expand her herd and work with her dad to pick out a bull with good weaning weights. She also hopes her herd could help pay for her education down the road.

Sayge is in the 7th grade and already has great experience in agriculture. She has been active in her 4-H club for 3 years and currently holds the photography Office. She also participates in showing sheep, goats, and cow-calf. She serves on the student council at Morman Trail Junior High. She participates in volleyball, basketball, softball, track, and FFA. Her goals for this program are to become a successful cattle farmer, just like her father and grandfather. She also wants to become more experienced in AI’ing, gestation, production, feed rations, general maintenance, and the overall well-being of her cattle.

Blake is an 8th grader and has been a part of his 4-H club for 9 years, where his favorite part was showing cattle and goats. Every year he shows his animals at open shows, the Madison County Fair, and the Iowa State Fair. Blake plays basketball, baseball, and football for his school team in Earlham. He also plays club basketball and baseball outside of school. He is active in his church and plays the saxophone in the band. His goals for the program are to continue to grow his herd of animals. He wants to keep one heifer calf each year and sell the rest as feeder calves. Blake also hopes to broaden his perspective in agriculture to learn more about ag-business and agronomy.

Isabell is an 8th grader and eager to continue her experiences within agriculture. She has participated in Belmont Badger’s 4-H Club for the last five years and has been on Warren County’s Intermediate Leadership team for the last two years. Isabell is an active athlete, playing cross-country, basketball, and soccer. She also is involved in the art club, Southeast Warren’s FFA club and, fine arts. Isabell is excited for the program to teach her real-life skills and lessons while continuing to grow her herd. Isabell has many future goals, including working toward her American FFA degree.

Thor is an 8th grader who has been involved in 4-H for the last 5 years. He is excited to join FFA his freshman year. Loving livestock from a young age, Thor has already started to grow his herd and is ready to use the program to expand. He is not afraid to be out on the farm doing all of the hard work it takes to raise calves and manage a herd. He has already been learning from his grandma how to best keep book work and the importance of staying organized.

The goal of the Midwest Heritage Youth Heifer Program is to help future young farmers gain interest and knowledge of the beef cattle industry. Winners were chosen based on merit, future goals and their ability to care for the heifers. These individuals are 7th or 8th graders from Adair, Lucas, Madison, Wayne, or Warren County, Iowa. The program will span five years. During the program, each participant will maintain and submit accurate records of income and expenditures as well as a brief summary of activities annually. At the conclusion of the five years, recipients are responsible for paying back the market value of the three bred heifers.

“This is the beginning of establishing a foundation herd and gaining financial self-sufficiency for these motivated individuals who were chosen to participate in the Youth Heifer Program,” said Tracy Taylor, Midwest Heritage Market President. “The first five years of this program have been very successful and we are pleased with the interest that the local youth continue to have in agriculture.”

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Midwest Heritage, a Hy-Vee company, is a full-service financial center offering a comprehensive array of products and services. Midwest Heritage is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, with branches in Chariton, Iowa, five Hy-Vee store locations in central Iowa, and one Hy-Vee store location in Overland Park, Kansas. Midwest Heritage has in excess of $310,000,000 in assets. The organization offers the personal service of a community bank with the convenience of a larger bank and is a five-star rated bank by both Bauer Financial Service and Bankrate.com. FDIC Insured, Equal Housing Lender. Visit us at midwestheritage.com.