The Ag Achiever of the Month is presented by the Nebraska Soybean Board.
A Sutton teen who built her future around livestock, leadership, and service gives back by encouraging kids to find their passion in the livestock ring.
Laurel Moore just graduated from Sutton High School, but her roots in agriculture go back much further. Raised in a family that values both hard work and community, Laurel has learned from her parents.
“My dad is a farmer and he’s on the volunteer fire department. My mom is an optometrist and owns the eye clinic here in Sutton. I’ve grown up showing cows at the 4-H level since I was eight years old. My brother also goes with me to these shows,” she said.
That early start led to real success in the show ring. Laurel competes with cattle and hogs, from county fair projects to major regional and national events. This year alone, she has been preparing breeding heifers, a market steer, a breeding gilt, and a market hog for summer competition.
“I have a Junior Nationals coming up here second week of June in Grand Island and then in January of this year, we were in Denver for the National Western Stock Show,” she said. “We had champion division and then reserve champion division in the Shorthorn Plus.”
But the awards are only part of the story. 4-H leaders like Lynn Jasnoch say what sets Laurel apart is the way she helps younger exhibitors learn the same skills she has worked so hard to develop.
“Usually I’m just helping kids that are still figuring it out, helping them halter break calves and getting them to walk, and then watching them be able to succeed the way I succeed… it’s very heartwarming,” Laurel said.
Laurel has also stood out in livestock judging. She has qualified for state multiple times and finished in the top tenth percentile in Nebraska’s state livestock judging event this year. On top of that, she stays active in FFA, 4-H including county 4-H council, church youth group, and even girls golf at Sutton.
“And when I get to college, I’m planning to be on their livestock judging team out at Curtis,” she said.
Next stop is the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, where Laurel plans to study animal science with an emphasis on livestock management and animal reproduction. Her long-term goal is to become a large animal veterinarian and, someday, maybe bring those skills back home to rural Nebraska.
“At Curtis, I’ll be in the animal science realm under livestock management and animal reproduction. And then I hope to transfer on to go to vet school to become a large animal veterinarian,” she said.
From Sutton to Curtis, Laurel Moore is proving that leadership in agriculture is not just about winning banners, it is about showing up, working hard, and helping others do the same.
That is why Laurel Moore is our Ag Achiever of the Month, presented by the Nebraska Soybean Board.