Liz McCue | University Communication and Marketing

Kristen Herrick greets a 4-H pig. As a 4-H'er herself, she showed pigs, and started a business selling show pigs.

Kristen Herrick can’t remember a time during her childhood when she wasn’t involved in 4-H.

As the daughter of a Nebraska Extension educator, Herrick was learning through 4-H long before she was old enough to be a full-fledged member.

“Because my mom, Rhonda Herrick, was an educator in Franklin and Kearney counties, I was going to contests, workshops, county fairs — everything to do with 4-H — since I was little,” Herrick said. “I feel like I got a really full picture of what it takes to help young people find success and have a successful 4-H program.”

Eventually, Herrick did get to forge her own 4-H path, which she credits with developing her leadership and communication skills. Herrick is carrying those skills and everything she’s soaked up from her mom into her career. She is the newest 4-H assistant for Nebraska Extension in Otoe County and is excited to help guide the program. Herrick began the role in May, shortly after graduating from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural and environmental sciences communication.

Video: Kristen Herrick reflects on her own 4-H journey while helping with her first fair as an Extension professional (Aaron Nix/University Communication and Marketing)

Starting a job as a 4-H assistant in May means jumping in head-first and learning the ropes quickly. Many 4-H contests, activities and fairs happen during the summer months. Herrick quickly got to work leading preparations for livestock entries in the Otoe County Fair in Syracuse, Nebraska, Aug. 1-3. In four hours on entry day July 31, Herrick oversaw the weigh-ins of 952 animal science entries from 316 exhibitors. In total, Otoe County Fair officials handled 4,093 entries from 4-H’ers.

“I’ll be doing a little bit of everything in this role, but I was really excited to focus on livestock for the fair,” she said.

The day went by in a bit of a blur, but Herrick was enjoying the work and the opportunity to meet so many young competitors who are following a similar path to hers. It was 4-H that instilled in Herrick a love for raising livestock. Growing up on a farm near Franklin, Herrick wanted to show as many kinds of animals as she could.

“I showed cattle, sheep and pigs when I was younger,” Herrick said. “I wanted to do it all, but it is really a family affair, and I realized it was too much. I really enjoyed showing pigs, so I focused on that, and found a passion for it.”

Kristen Herrick, 4-H extension assistant, enters data during livestock entry at the Otoe County Fair on Thursday, July 31. — Kristen Herrick, 4-H extension assistant, enters data during livestock entry at the Otoe County Fair on July 31.

In high school, she parlayed all her know-how into starting and growing a business that sold show-quality pigs. As a freshman in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program, she shifted her focus from show pigs to a farm-to-table pork company, KK Pork.

Herrick aged out of 4-H in college, but she found a way to stay involved. She became an intern for the state 4-H office, which provided a new perspective on the organization. Through the internship, she facilitated after-school and youth programming that differed from the 4-H programs she was a part of in Franklin County.

“It was a really nice way to keep going in some way with 4-H,” Herrick said. “Working for the state 4-H office as an intern, I got to see the other side of it — the breadth of it.”

Building on that experience, Herrick is now among the Extension professionals across the state who make Nebraska 4-H possible, impacting one in three youths each year through a wide variety of programs, from career readiness and summer camp to Lego robotics and county and state fairs. Herrick is looking forward to helping with all of it.

“The foundation of 4-H — wanting to help kids grow into leaders — hasn’t changed, but there are so many opportunities, and new things are being created,” Herrick said.

Herrick pointed to 4-H as being “her thing” growing up, and she was disheartened that she might have to leave it behind.

“Then, a couple of weeks before I graduated, this opportunity opened up, and I’m once again back with 4-H,” she said. “It was such an important part of my life growing up, so being able to work within the organization again is really special to me — to be a part of something that helped shape me.”

A friends and family affair

The Otoe County Fair welcomed 952 animal science entries from 316 exhibitors. Including static exhibits, 4-H'ers submitted a total of 4,093 entries. (Top left) Addy Bates, 17, listens to 8-year-old Sloane Murdoch in the cattle barn at the Otoe County Fair in Syracuse on July 31. Murdoch is a 4-H Clover Kid and isn't able to show livestock yet. She wanted to know more about Bates' cows. (Top right) Trent Stubbendick, 12, from Avoca, poses with his friends Elliot Johnson, 12, from Unadilla (left), and Liam Wander, 10, from Syracuse (right), in the livestock barn at the Otoe County Fair. (Bottom left) Aliyah Beach, 11, gives a marshmallow to one of her pigs, Poppy, during livestock entry day. Beach shows both pigs and shorthorn cattle with her sisters, Annalynn, 15, and Aizley, 9. (Bottom right) A group of 4-H competitors chat at the edge of the cattle barn just before livestock entry.