Anna Hafner dreams of farm to fork

Anna Hafner has big dreams of being a successful cattle producer and she’s getting her start through the South Side Sparks 4-H club.

Anna, and her family, moved from Oregon to Plains about a year ago and haven’t looked back since.

The eighth grader says she is passionate about cattle and it’s all thanks to her dad and grandfather.

The teen has been involved in 4-H for around four years now and, since moving to Plains, her dad Alan said she continues to thrive towards her goals.

Anna has two projects that she is currently taking part in within the club. One project is Market Beef and her steer, who is the essentially the project, was affectionately named Donut. Her second project is Beef Breeding Productions and she has a 17-month-olf old heifer named Lady.

With the upcoming Sanders County Fair, Anna will be showcasing both her projects.

“She puts in a lot of hours to care, maintain and train her cattle,” said her father. “Anna is responsible for the animals in all aspects that you can think of, it is like having a full time job. But she has been doing a wonderful job and her commitment is truly inspiring,” he added.

Anna recently showed her animals at the Western Region Simmental Show, though she didn’t win any blue ribbons. Anna did place in the top 10 of both her classes, which saw around 30 entries each.

“The cattleman’s quiz was first and I used that as a bit of a warm up for the sales talk class. I’m really happy with how I finished up overall, it can only get better,”said Anna. “I really love cattle, I have to say their ears and temperament are my favorite traits. I also really love the challenge of working with such large animals, they are so sweet but they’re also really big,” she added.

Anna’s cattle are geared towards the Seminole breed. According to the breeds website, the Simmental utilizes some of the best genetics creating a balanced hereditary proponent that is highly adaptable, heavily muscled, fine lined, and well conformed.

With her daily routine, you can easily see that Anna is putting in all the prep work ahead of her classes during the Sanders County Fair.

“My end goal is to get Grand Champion, I would really love to win that title,”said Anna.

The bubbly 13-year-old old is making the most of her time within 4-H to be better prepared for that life long goal of being a successfully known cattle producer.

“4H is for everyone, you don’t need to have an animal project to be a 4H member. There are so many things you can do. I have amazing friends and we all really enjoy having something awesome to do,” said Anna.

“These kids no matter the ‘section’ of 4H they connect with are learning valuable life skills, becoming more confident, learning to think outside the square and they understand responsibility,” Alan added. “All these kids have put in a huge amount of work and time. They self support their projects, and it is so important for the community to show support by walking through the barns, asking the kids about their projects or even watching at a show ring. Confidence comes from the community acknowledging how these kids are truly contributing to the community.”

There will be plenty of places around the Fairgrounds to support the 4-H community as they all strive for the win at this years Sanders County Fair.

“If I can get a good sale price for Donut and be able to buy my steer for next year and another heifer, it won’t matter if I win a blue ribbon because I’ll already be coming out ahead,” said Anna.