From Texas to Missouri...

Margo's on the Right Path to a Successful Future!

One Show Enthusiast's Odyssey For the past few years, we've brought you stories about amazing kids (just like you) who've experienced success in and around the show circuit. Winning Grand or Reserve Champion is truly a rewarding feeling, and we are proud of all of our customers who've achieved their dreams! You already know that determination, dedication, and hard work are the cornerstones of meeting your goals in the show ring. But have you ever considered how the steps you are taking now can help sculpt your future? One ambitious college student, Margo Kahla, used her experiences of raising winning cattle to snag an admirable position as a Feed Marketing Intern at Purina Mills in St. Louis this summer. Margo, who comes from Alto, Texas and attends Texas A&M, strives to graduate with a degree in Ag Communications and Journalism. Margo's show animal background and driven attitude helped her obtain the internship - even though she was much younger than most applicants! Keep reading to discover how Margo's love for showing animals has influenced her life…and possibly her future career! Better Animals: Margo, you’ve been showing animals for 15 years. What keeps you motivated? Margo Kahla: When it comes to showing cattle, I want to be successful; therefore, I don’t mind the hard work each project requires. Dedication and devotion come hand in hand with anything that a person truly enjoys, and I truly enjoy showing cattle. For me, the future is my motivation. The cattle industry and agriculture as a whole are family oriented areas – that alone is motivating. Better Animals: What are some major shows you've been to? What were the results? Margo Kahla: This was my tenth year showing cattle at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. I've been blessed to receive Grand Champion Brahman Female in the Junior Heifer Show two years in a row. I've also competed for ten years at the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas. I had Calf Champion Brahman Female in the Junior Heifer Show, as well as Grand Champion Braham Female. For seven years I've shown at the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo, and I won Reserve Champion Brahman Female in 2006. I've also competed at the State Fair of Texas, the State Fair of Louisiana, the Texas Junior Braham Association State Show, the American Junior Brahman Association’s 'All American, ' the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo, Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo, and many other breed shows throughout the southwest United States. BA: Wow, that is impressive! Raising project animals for all these years has certainly taught you about animal health, nutrition, showmanship skills, and more. How has showing animals influenced other areas of your life, such as choosing a career path to follow? MK: Ever since showing my first calf as a Pee-Wee in 4-H, I've known I wanted to pursue a career somewhere within the field of agriculture. Although I initially had interest in become a veterinarian, I eventually decided Ag Communications and Journalism is the field for me! As a member of various cattle associations, I've become comfortable with public speaking, so this major is perfect. Showing cattle has taught me a lot about communications and marketing, and I feel I can apply the skills I've picked up to pursue a career in this field. As for other areas of my life, raising animals has taught me a great deal about teamwork, dedication to projects, time management, marketing and sales. In some ways, raising and showing cattle has influenced every aspect of my life! From family life to funding my college education and providing career opportunities, my background with showing animals has come into play. BA: You're currently in college and have a busy schedule. How do you balance your school activities and continue to show animals? MK: Luckily my amazing parents help with my animals when I'm not there to take care of them. My parents and I own and operate our own cattle fitting service, so showing cattle is our job. I try to go home when there is time, and quite often I meet my parents at shows. It helps that Texas A&M is a very agricultural school, so we all understand that during the show season things can get pretty hectic with our schedules. BA: As an intern for Purina Mills, you're living at LongView Nutrition Farm. What has this summer been like? MK: I've never lived on a large working farm so close to dairy cattle, so this summer has been a learning experience. I live with Mary (an intern for the Horse Research Unit) in a house next to the calf starter units for the dairy, so there’s always something going on! Denise, who works in the Calf Starter Unit, has definitely been a friend to Mary and me. She lets us know when we may help out with bottle feeding the new dairy calves, filling water buckets, or just when we can come over and help out. I got to see an autopsy of a bull calf, watch a horse run on a treadmill, and observe all the VIP events and visitors from across the country that this farm hosts. In the evenings, the farm is a great, safe place that I'm able to run. BA: What are some things you've learned from your internship this summer? MK: I've learned a lot about field research, new product marketing, trade show marketing, customer relations, survey research, teamwork, retail development, competitive pricing for the consumer market, and how to work effectively within a given amount of time. Everything I've learned is going back to school with me. I'll apply this knowledge to my education, and it will travel on with me in future endeavors. BA: What do you see yourself doing in the future? MK: Through showing animals, I've learned a lot about agriculture, and I do hope to own my own cattle operation with my family. I would like to work in either ag public relations or marketing, maybe even sales. Right now though, I try to gain something from every opportunity that arises, and I hope to be successful wherever the agriculture field may take me. BA: It sounds like you really have your goals planned out, and it's easy to see you're on the right path! Any advice for kids out there who want to follow in your footsteps? MK: The rewards from every challenge aren't always visible. Quite often, the reward is the learning involved in the process of meeting your goals. With each challenge, you have to learn how to deal with what’s going on, how to fix it, and then what to do in the future to prevent it. At the end of the day, it's nice knowing that you have overcome some obstacle or challenge that was put in your path. As Frank Lloyd Wright said, 'I know the price of success: hard work, dedication, and an unremitting devotion to the things that you want to see happen. ' BA: That is valuable advice! Margo, we'd like to thank you for the interview, and we must add, Purina Mills was fortunate to have you as an intern this summer! Good luck with your remaining semesters at school…and we wish you much future success in the show ring too!