Foster Swift Sponsors Numerous Agricultural Events for Youth this Summer

This summer, Foster Swift was busy sponsoring numerous agriculture events across the state including the 2015 Michigan Livestock Expo Sale-abration, the Ingham County Fair Little International Showmanship Contest, Future Farmers of America and the UP State Fair. We couldn’t be more excited to see what this upcoming generation of farmers will bring to the industry. Below are the details of some of our summer agricultural sponsorships:

Michigan FFA Foundation

Foster Swift kicked off the summer of sponsorships as one of this year’s 16th annual FFA Masters Golf Outing sponsors on June 18. Overall, the Michigan FFA Foundation was able to raise $22,000 from the event. The money raised goes toward the $250,000 commitment the Michigan FFA Foundation made to the Michigan FFA Association and its members. Agri-business attorney Liza Moore also sits on the board of directors for the Michigan FFA Foundation.

Michigan Livestock Expo Sale-Abration

Supporting the Michigan Livestock Expo Sale-abration has become a Foster Swift tradition. This year, Foster Swift purchased   the Reserve Grand Champion Market Hog and also contributed to the group purchase of the Supreme Champion Dairy Heifer at the 2015 Sale-abration auction. Overall, the Michigan Livestock Expo raised nearly $230,000 for Michigan’s Youth Livestock Scholarship Fund. The Sale-abration took place on July 21 at the Michigan State University pavilion.

“This expo attracts the best young livestock exhibitors and the best animals, obviously,” said Ernie Birchmeier, livestock specialist at Michigan Farm Bureau and one of the expo’s strongest advocates.

“These young people work so hard on their livestock and dairy projects” says attorney Liza Moore. “It is our pleasure to help reward their efforts.”

Little International Showmanship Contest

On August 7, Foster Swift sponsored awards for the winners of the Large Animal Little International Competition. This event pits the top two showmen for horse, sheep, swine, beef, dairy and goat against each other by age group (junior, intermediate and senior). Each participant shows all six species and is judged on his or her ability to correctly show the animal according to species specifications. Take a look at the winners from the competition in the photo below. The Ingham County Fair took place August 3 through August 8 at the Ingham County Fairgrounds in Mason, MI. The firm also purchased two hogs at the Ingham County Fair large animal auction, donating the meat to the Greater Lansing Food Bank.

UP State Fair

Also in August, Foster Swift purchased a hog at the UP State Fair. Check out the purchased hog in the photo to the right. The UP State Fair took place from August 17 to August 23.

Every summer Foster Swift attorneys look forward to sponsoring these events and supporting youth in agriculture. For additional information on our community involvement, click here.