AMES High school juniors and seniors interested in cattle and beef production will take home more than $7,500 in scholarships from the Beef Scholarship Extravaganza that will be held Dec. 4 in Ames.

The event is organized and hosted by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation as an educational opportunity for high school students. Teams of two to three students compete at 10 different stations that will test skills and knowledge of specific cattle and beef issues. The teams with the highest combined scores will qualify for scholarship dollars, which will then be matched by several Iowa colleges.

“Simply put, the Beef Scholarship Extravaganza is the best contest any of my students participate in during their high school years,” said Maquoketa FFA Advisor Gary Bruns. Bruns regularly brings teams to the Extravaganza.

“Every part of the contest is related to real life and requires the student to learn and demonstrate skills they will use in high school, in college and most importantly, in life. Students always tell me it was well worth all the work,” he said.

Team registrations are due Nov. 1. Students can organize teams based on high school, FFA, 4-H, county or beef breeds affiliation to compete for the scholarships. Any adult can serve as the team’s advisor.

Station protocols, as well as registration information and contest rules can be found at www.iowacattlemensfoundation.org; then click on the Extravaganza link on the left side of the page. For additional information on the contest, contact Mary Greiman at the Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation at mary@iabeef.org or 515-296-2266.

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation sponsors several scholarship and learning opportunities for young people. Find out more by visiting their website www.iowacattlemensfoundation.org.