‘Tis the season, and the National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA) is continuing to celebrate the festivities as the cold weather hits.

With the holiday season fast approaching, make sure to purchase your NJHA and Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA) apparel before Christmas. All NJHA and HYFA sales support the Foundation 1 program and the pillars of leadership and education.

Do you know a college student in the agriculture industry who is interested in working for a beef breed organization in the areas of junior national show and leadership events programming? Encourage them to apply for the 2026 AHA Youth Activities & Foundation Internship or the Junior National Hereford Expo (JNHE) Ambassador Program. Applications are due Jan. 15^th to be considered for one of these amazing summer opportunities. Apply Today.

Additionally, the annual Hereford Season of Giving, national shows, applications for internships, the BOLD leadership conference, state leadership and education grants and many others events and applications are all at the forefront of these winter months. Read further into the December NJHA News Now for all of the details.

HYFA SEASON OF GIVING TO MAKE ANNUAL IMPACT

The Hereford Season of Giving, hosted by the Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA), is back this December 18-20. The 2024 goal is to make an event bigger impact with the focus on securing 500 donors throughout the three-day event and any gift level is welcome.

Thanks to an outpouring of support from Hereford breeders, donors and friends, HYFA generated an amazing $284,000, during the 2023 Hereford Season of Giving. These funds went right to work building all of HYFA’s pillars of scholarship, leadership, education and research.

At the end of the 2024 Hereford Season of Giving HYFA is hopeful to beat the 2023 numbers, and continue the growth of the foundation for the future. Donors may specify which pillar they would like to give to at the time of giving, and any amount, big or small, makes an impact during this annual campaign where we all come together to support HYFA’s programs. Learn more about the season, and see those who donated last year, at the link below. Stay up to date by following HYFA on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/herefordyouthfoundation.

INTERN WITH HEREFORD

Ready to learn, lead and achieve with the Hereford family? Apply now for either the full summer internship with the AHA Youth Activities Dept. or the mini-internship through the JNHE Ambassador Program, to provide the AHA with assistance in event planning and management, junior show coverage and leading the National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA) Board of Directors and membership.

If you have a mind for marketing and communications the AHA and Hereford Publications Inc. (HPI), a subsidiary of the AHA, are offering a dynamic communications internship for college sophomores, juniors or seniors to assist the AHA communications team and the Hereford World staff in the production of communication pieces for the Association, Hereford World and Baldy Advantage magazine.

A new internship coming to the AHA focuses on research and herd improvement from the field. The Hereford Research Foundation internship will be hosted at Olsen Ranches in Colorado working with the National Reference Sire Program through the summer of 2026. More information about this internship is coming soon.

Applications due Jan. 15, 2026.

STATE ADVISORS APPLY TODAY

HYFA is excited to continue offering state leadership and education grants to state associations and thanks to generous supports has earmarked $15,000 to give back in 2025. These grassroot grants are available to all state junior associations based on application and will help us work together as we build the pipeline of leaders at the NJHA. 

HYFA and NJHA appreciate all of the state associations that help make the NJHA one of the best beef youth organizations in the world. Grant funding is to be used for any leadership or educational goals of the state’s junior members to participate on the national level. Funding can be used for, but is not limited to; travel expenses for BOLD or Faces of Leadership, travel for the JNHE, travel or transport for the NJHA Fed Steer Shootout contest, etc. Grant applications are available through the Submittable platform and due Feb. 1, 2025.

WHO IS READY TO BE BOLD?

NJHA members between the ages of 18-21, it is time to start thinking about building on your leadership development. Applications for the 2025 BOLD Leadership Conference are open now and NJHA hopes you will take advantage of this elite leadership opportunity held in Desdemona, Texas, at GKB’s Hi Point Ranch, April 3-6, 2025.

Applications are due Feb. 1, 2025, and those who are chosen to attend will be notified shortly after. Travel to and from the conference is the responsibility of the attendee, however, thanks to the GKB Cattle Youth Endowment, the conference, lodging and food are covered by acceptance into the program. Continue to grow as a leader within your state and national organizations, and well as prepare yourself for professional development and career opportunities for the future.

DATES & DEADLINES

Western States Hereford Show 
Dec. 4-7, 2024
Learn More

Hereford Season of Giving 
Dec. 18-20, 2024
Learn More

AHA Youth Activities & Foundation Intern/Ambassador Program Application 
Jan. 15, 2025
Apply Today

State Leadership & Education Grant Application 
Jan. 15, 2025
Apply Today

BOLD Leadership Conference Application 
Feb. 1, 2025
Apply Today