Chambers County Bulls & Barrels Rodeo ropes youth into agriculture
BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
CHAMBERS COUNTY — The Chambers County ALFA Young Farmers is hosting a Chambers County Bulls & Barrels Rodeo, which will be held on Nov. 21 and 22 at 7 p.m. at the Chambers County Agricultural Park. The event is cash-only and tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children and free for children three and younger — there is no option to pre-pay.
The Chambers County ALFA Young Farmers is a way for those 18 to 35 working in agriculture to meet to network with others in the same field. Through the Chambers County Bulls & Barrels Rodeo Chairman for the Chambers County ALFA Young Farmers, Caleb Gregory, said he plans to use some of the money raised to contribute to a scholarship to help encourage other young people to pursue agriculture.
“So Young Farmers is a branch of the Farmers Federation of Chambers County, which already does a scholarship for young people going into agricultural-related fields — so as chairman of the Young Farmers, I feel like it’s a good thing to help other young people to go into ag-related fields,” he said. “So I want to take the proceeds from the rodeo — and if not, take over the scholarship money, maybe be able to add to the scholarship money and help. It’s just young people helping other young people continue their education in agriculture.”
Gregory said he hopes the Bulls & Barrels Rodeo will be a yearly event that the community can look forward to attending every year.
“This will be the first year that we have taken on any kind of event like this, and this is the first year of the rodeo,” he said. “I hope to build it in the years to come and that [becomes] a staple within the county and the surrounding counties. As far as the rodeo itself goes, it is going to be bulls and barrels events only. I’m hoping this is going to be a family-oriented event, catered to the young people. We are going to have food trucks and vendors — we will not be selling concessions.”
As the Young Farmers continue to prepare for the Bulls & Barrels Rodeo, Gregory said the community support has been overwhelming.
“We’ve had several donations and several sponsors — and I can’t say it enough, without our sponsors, this absolutely would not have been made possible,” he said. “When you start talking about trying to send young people to agricultural-related fields and help them [to pursue their education] — people really enjoy that. Agriculture as a whole is really going downhill, so any chance that we get to promote agriculture and promote young people continuing in the agricultural field — [people get] excited. So we’ve had a really good response within the community.”
Along with contributing to scholarships that encourage and enable youth to pursue agricultural education and careers, Gregory said the excitement the Rodeo can incite in the children who attend can make a lasting impact.
“I really expect this to be very family-oriented — bring your kids out, come hang out and come eat,” he said. “There’ll be several vendors out there for everybody, and I guarantee there will probably be somebody that you know out there. So it might be a chance to reconnect with somebody, it’s a great way to network and an opportunity to promote the agricultural field — especially the agricultural field within the younger community.”
For more information on the Bulls & Barrels Rodeo or to learn how to join Young Farmers, visit Chambers County ALFA Young Farmers on Facebook.
