Voices of the Next Generation: Emma Hamlin's Story

This week, Venessa interviews Emma Hamlin, an Ag Women Connect intern and recent University of Wyoming graduate from Tyler, Texas, about her journey into agriculture and policy. Emma describes growing up “micro-ranching,” switching her college major from psychology to agriculture after a transformative summer as a horse wrangler at Sky Ranch, and gaining industry perspective through a year of meat judging that included visits to major packing plants and learning quality and yield grading. They discuss DOJ scrutiny of the four major meat packers, Emma’s R-CALF scholarship trip where she learned about issues like direct-to-consumer sales, MCOOL, and beef checkoff reform, and the importance of looking beyond headlines. Emma also shares her Wyoming Liberty Group report on nuclear development near public lands, emphasizing safeguards like monitoring and protections for ranchers, and her goal to be a voice for smaller producers.