Benefits of participation in the Wilson County livestock projects as perceived by selected former exhibitors

The purpose of this study was to determine if the youth of Wilson County have benefitted from their participation in the livestock project areas. The objectives of the study were to; (1) Describe the respondents demographically; Determine if participation in the livestock projects had: (2) Influenced the respondents in the area of education; (3) Helped respondents develop important life skills; (4) Influences the respondents\u27 choices in careers; and (5) determine if there is a relationship between gender and length of participation and the perceived benefits of the respondents to education, development of life skills, and career choices. A mailed questionnaire was developed to meet the objectives of the study. Since this was a population study, appropriate descriptive statistics were used in reporting findings. FINDINGS In the area of education, the respondents indicated the strongest impacts participation had were on knowledge of possible area(s) of study and deciding to continue their education. In the area of life skill development, the respondents indicated the life skills most impacted by their participation were responsibility, confidence, working with people, and leadership. In the area of career choices, the respondents indicated the livestock projects had an effect upon their knowledge of possible careers, but had less of an effect on their career choice. Both males and females perceived the impact of participation to be about the same regarding knowledge of possible fields of study, and knowledge of possible careers, even though a substantially smaller percentage of female respondents studied or chose careers in agriculture. Perceived impact of participation increased as years of participation increased in the areas of education and careers. IMPLICATIONS The livestock project had a pronounced effect upon the respondents knowledge of possible area(s) of study. The respondents developed life skills, particularly responsibility through their participation in this program. The program had an effect upon the respondents knowledge of possible career opportunities. A substantially larger percentage of respondents work in agriculture than in the average population, implying that the program does give respondents knowledge of possible careers in agriculture. Female respondents received an equal amount of knowledge from the projects, even though they applied it differently