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Kylee Sigmon
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By Eddie Keever Carroll County News
BERRYVILLE -- Junior Miss Carroll County,
Kylee Sigmon, is also Arkansas' Junior Beef Ambassador, and this 14-year-old
Berryville Bobcat is busily preparing for a summer of Simmental competitions
and will be representing her state in the National Beef Ambassador contest in
Sacramento in October.
Busy appears to be something Kylee is used
to. The daughter of Mike and Lisa Sigmon has been a part of her family's cattle
operation in some form or another her whole life, and she seems to have been
paying attention as mom and dad showed her the ropes. The young Miss Sigmon has
a wealth of knowledge of beef and the beef industry.
"Growing up in the business, I didn't
realize until just recently how much was unknown about it by people who don't
live it every day." said Sigmon. "As a beef ambassador, I get to
share so many things I have learned to clear up the misconceptions out
there."
"There is so much talk about eating
healthy, and beef gets left out of the conversation so often." she
continued. "Most people don't realize there are 29 lean cuts of beef that
have a fat content level that falls in the range between skinless chicken
breasts and skinless chicken thighs, and that as versatile as it is, there are
countless recipes out there for families to enjoy without guilt"
Kylee added, "People may not realize
that when you raise and care for an animal you get attached, and although there
are always going to be cases where someone does bad things, most of the people
I know care about their cattle like family.
Kylee has been to the Simmental Junior
Nationals competition for three years now, where she has been up against the
best in America to showcase her beef industry and Simmental knowledge, beef
judging abilities, knowledge of feeds and diseases, as well as showmanship and
public speaking abilities.
In her first year, she took the top spot in
the first time competitor division, then has taken second place nationally the
past two years with a tie-breaker loss in year two and a one point loss in year
three. Kylee is determined to take the top prize this year with regionals
coming up in June and her fourth crack at the nationals coming in Lima, Ohio in
July.
In April, Kylee visited area second graders
and read to them from a book called, Levi's Lost Calf, a book about a young
cowboy who comes up one short at head count and heads out on his horse with his
dog to find Little Red.
The book was written by South Dakota
cattle-woman, Amanda Radke, who in her early twenties has a growing cattle
operation of her own and served as the National Beef Ambassador in 2006. Kylee
is gearing up to compete for that title in October.
Kylee says that she owes so much to her
parents, Mike and Lisa. "They have taught me so much, and have always been
very involved in my activities. I have seen so many new places and have
traveled so much."
"Last year I had six cows of my own and
my dad put everything aside to go with me to 22 different shows all over the
region." said Kylee. "I ended up winning the Jason Bertschy Memorial
Showmanship award. I couldn't have done it without him."
Mom Lisa said, "We have been so lucky,
Lisa and her brother Logan study so hard for these competitions and events.
Kylee is organized, a self-starter, and a hard worker. She is a great young
lady. She is so mature, it is hard to remember she is only 14 at times."
Kylee said she hasn't made up her mind yet on
a college or her plans for the future, "Three years until graduation seems
like a long time," she said. "but it will be here before I know it,
and I am thinking about it a lot."
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County News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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