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How this fifth generation Kentuckian says the State Fair shaped her future as a veterinarian
The week before classes started, Callie Derossett moved all her belongings into her dorm at the University of Kentucky.
But the Henry County teenager wouldn't experience her first night of college for another seven days.
Before the incoming pre-veterinary student began studying how to care for animals at UK, she and her livestock spent a week competing in the 2025 Kentucky State Fair.
Callie is the fifth generation of her family involved in Kentucky agriculture, and showing animals at the fair is largely a family affair. Sure, it's a sacrifice to miss those first few nights of the dorm experience, but it's a necessary one. Showing livestock isn't a hobby for Callie — it's a lifestyle that's fostered in her an uncanny sense of determination and responsibility.
She has four years to be an undergraduate.
Callie only gets about 10 days a year at the Kentucky State Fair.
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'It's such a dynamic industry,' Callie told The Courier Journal. 'It's about the people. It's about the skills that you learn. If it weren't for showing livestock, I wouldn't have half the amount of work ethic or grit or responsibility that I have now.'
And really, it's all she's ever known.
'Somebody to look up to'
Agriculture runs in Callie's blood. The generations before her operated a large dairy in Kentucky that milked more than 200 cows and grew tobacco.
Her dad, Greg Derossett, and her uncle, Daryl Derossett, showed livestock growing up, and were eager to pass that tradition on to Callie and her cousins.
Greg started thinking about animals for her to show before she was even born. He exposed her to life in the barn as soon as she was old enough to walk. At just 3-years-old, she began learning showmanship with a goat named Snowflake. She watched Daryl's stepdaughter, who was about eight years older than her, intently in the ring, and eagerly followed her example.
Over the years, Callie has excelled in the show ring with goats, sheep and cattle, but her involvement in 4H and FFA went well beyond that.
Anytime she had the opportunity for a leadership role, she took it. Last year, she was chosen as the president of Kentucky 4-H, which was an honor no other Henry County teenager had achieved in more than 25 years. After a lifetime of attending the Kentucky State Fair, she had the opportunity to serve on its board in 2024. With her focus on being a large animal vet in mind, she participates in mentorship program with the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association that's partnered with Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. Last summer she went to the FFA Washington Leadership Conference.
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Her father credits that drive and ambition to some of the early life lessons she learned from working with livestock. Showing animals taught Callie how to win and lose gracefully, but there's also a dynamic level of responsibility that comes from feeding, washing and working with animals daily. It forges an understanding that another life is depending on you.
'It's all her idea,' her dad said. 'I'm just support. If she sees an opportunity for that brass ring, she is jumping.'
That work ethic and desire to succeed also sets a prime example for her younger family members. Her 5- and 9-year-old cousins live out of town, but the Kentucky State Fair brings them all together and unites them under a common interest and the thrill of competition.
'Now it's kind of full circle for me,' her uncle, Daryl, said, 'I'm watching my two little kids watch Callie in the shows. They have somebody to look up to and learn from. It's really neat to watch my two little ones want to get into it.'
Kentucky has a veterinarian shortage
Life in the barn and her involvement in 4-H, FFA and the Kentucky State Fair have set the tone for how Callie wants to spend the rest of her life.
She's wanted to be a veterinarian for as long as she can remember. So many kindergarteners dream of being vets because they want to be around puppies, Callie's dad said, but she's always had her eye on caring for cows, sheep, goats and other large animals. His daughter has a deep understanding and respect for the lifecycle of farm animals and the imperative role they play in the country's food supply.
'I've always just known that I want to continue with this,' Callie told The Courier Journal. 'Kentucky is facing a shortage of large animal vets right now, and it's something that's going to cause a lot of negative downstream effects on our producers and overall, on our food supply.'
The Courier Journal reported in a three-part series in December 2023 that there are 2 million head of cattle, hundreds of thousands of horses, and thousands of household pets that demand the attention of the state's 2,571 active, licensed veterinarians.
But as of May 2024, only 1,250 of these veterinarians were employed and working in Kentucky. For Callie, and other families in agriculture, the shortage hits home much harder than these statistics do. They feel the impact on their farms.
Background: Where did all the veterinarians go? Shortage across Kentucky impacts pet owners, farmers
One of her neighbors up the road in Henry County had to wait days for a veterinarian to see an ill animal, and Callie knows a prolonged wait can hurt any animal's chance of survival. Recently, one of her own steers became sick after a stark shift in the weather, and there wasn't anyone in their veterinarian's office who could help. The Derossettes had to meet the veterinarian out at a stockyard to get medicine for Callie's steer.
'I want to continue to serve our producers that are feeding the world and just be a piece of the solution to the issue that we're facing,' Callie said. 'That would mean the world to me and just to give back to what has been given to me.'
For Callie, that dream started with Snowflake the goat and those early days watching her older cousin at the Kentucky State Fair.
And while she'll have to wait an extra week or so to really settle into dorm life at UK and begin her career, that's a sacrifice she's willing to make.
Her time and involvement in the Kentucky State Fair and being immersed in agriculture have given her so much. Competing with her animals is a significant part of her life today, but it's also positioning her for her future.
'You just kind of have to weigh the pros and cons,' Callie said. 'And I haven't found a con to spending my time in the barn yet. It's made me the person that I am today.'
Reach Courier Journal features columnist Maggie Menderski at mmenderski@
2025 Kentucky State Fair
WHAT: The 121st Kentucky State Fair includes dozens of entertainment acts, including the Texas Roadhouse Free Concert featuring Blue Öyster Cult, Sawyer Brown, Sister Sledge and more. The 11-day event also features the best in Kentucky livestock, crowning the Five-Gaited World's Grand Champion at the World's Championship Horse Show, award winning blue ribbon exhibitions, loads of your favorite fair food, a Beerfest, and dozens of other activities.
WHERE: Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane
WHEN: now through Aug. 24
MORE INFORMATION:
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: University of Kentucky student to compete in 2025 Kentucky State Fair
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