With experience in showing livestock at the annual Monroe County Fair, one local woman recently received a nomination after attending an even bigger cattle showcase.

Cassie Allscheid closed out her junior showmanship career participating in the Junior National Hereford Expo which took place in July.

At the event, Cassie was nominated for the 2023 National Junior Hereford Association Herdsman of the Year award, and though the title ultimately went to one of the other five nominees, it’s still a praiseworthy achievement for a long and dedicated junior career.

Cassie, along with her twin sister Krista, has had a deep love for the Hereford breed all her life, inheriting the passion from her father.

“My dad got a Hereford heifer when he was little, and he showed it at county,” Cassie said. “And I think that was pretty much it until my sister and I were born and got into it, but always super into it and loved it every second. And then once my sister and I got to more contributing ages where we could actually walk, talk and breed cows, then we got more active in all those roles and got to be able to help. Definitely took a love to it pretty early on. I’m pretty sure mom said our first word was ‘cow.’”

Like the many young farmers, Cassie eagerly participated in 4-H as a kid, joining when she was 8 and continuing until she was 18.

She recalled, among the many activities and projects she was involved in, contributing to a fundraiser in the form of a petting zoo outside the Waterloo Rural King.

“We hosted a petting zoo at Rural King,” Cassie said. “We would always bring calves and kinda be able to showcase to the public what we had.”

Cassie later joined the Waterloo FFA as she started high school, and while active in the organization her freshman and sophomore years, she really found a passion for the leadership and competition side her junior and senior years.

She recalled her big interests being parliamentary procedure and livestock judging, also mentioning the record book she kept on beef production as well as her attendance of state and national conventions.

Cassie’s interest in Herefords and cattle didn’t dwindle after high school, as she recently graduated from Missouri State University with a major in animal science and a minor in agricultural business.

As she described, a great deal of time and effort went into her most recent showcase at the Junior National Hereford Expo, with Cassie and the rest of the family making competition-impacting decisions several years ago.

“It was five years ago when we were making breeding decisions to even get her,” Cassie said. “It’s not just a ‘come to the show.’ There’s so many factors and so many decisions to be made way before you get to nationals. There’s so much time that needs to go into it and all those decisions to be able to get the genetics and get the animals that you would like to be able to show.”

Cassie credited a substantial chunk of those decisions to her family, though she was certainly still involved as the heifer was bred and raised.

She specifically noted the work put into washing and rinsing her heifer throughout the week, similarly changing its feeding to make sure it put on weight in the right places.

Cassie seems to have put in an exceptional amount of hands-on effort into her heifer, as both she and her mother Cindie suggested that display of effort played a big role in her award nomination.

“When we get to the show and actually show cattle, it’s pretty well myself doing everything, and I think maybe just the judges or the panel… seeing the kids, myself, doing things and not the hired hands,” Cassie said. “It’s a junior show, and I’m the junior doing it, not the hired hands or the parents or the professionals coming in. And that’s how it is not just at the show, that’s how it is at home as well.”

Cassie also noted her own success has been helped by seeing and adopting the ideas of other successful Hereford breeders she’s seen.

She also said she couldn’t thank her family enough for all that they’ve done, adding that her nomination wouldn’t have been possible without them.

As previously mentioned, Cassie was among five other nominees for Herdsman of the Year, with Dylan Kottkamp of Clayton, Ind., ultimately claiming the title.

Cassie said she’s still pleased to close her junior career with the nomination, regardless of who got the award.

“I wouldn’t consider it a disappointment,” Cassie said. “There were so many other juniors that are very deserving, but to be one of the five to be nominated is just… I mean, it’s two weeks later, and I’m still at a loss for words to describe what a true honor it is just being able to be recognized, to be one of those five.”

Cindie was also proud of Cassie’s nomination as well as all the work that she and Krista have put into Hereford breeding over the years.

“It’s truly hard to put into words. We are just beyond proud of them,” Cindie said. “The amount of work that the girls do here on the farm and to the preparation – we always joke that the show time, the week that we’re there, that’s the easiest time. All the work is really done before that. We’re just beyond proud.”

With the Hereford Expo passed, Cassie said she’ll be participating in another competition in Springfield, Mo.

Now having graduated from MSU, Cassie is set to start working at ShowMe Genetic Services in Strafford, Mo., where she’ll be handling a range of breeder responsibilities while also helping to manage the company’s social media.

She still plans on maintaining her local roots, however, regularly swinging back home to help her family and offer advice to other junior breeders and competitors.

“It’ll be a little bit of change, but definitely I still want to be involved in our family farm and our family operation,” Cassie said.