Congress hears from 4-H leader from Ceres

Dominique Germann, a young member of a dairy family near Ceres, spoke to a congressional panel this week about the value of 4-H.

Germann was a longtime member of the youth development program, which has about 6 million members ages 5 to 19. She now attends California State University, Fresno, and served as a “collegiate facilitator” at the National 4-H Conference.

Part of the six-day gathering was a briefing Tuesday for the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research. It oversees the federal role in 4-H, which also has state and county partners and teaches many skills beyond farming.

“It was a really unique and interesting experience,” said Germann, who prepared 16 4-H members from around the nation for their own presentations to the lawmakers.

The briefing came a year after her younger sister, Gabriella Germann, took part in a hearing on 4-H before the same panel.

“Leadership and passion for agriculture obviously run strong in the Germann family,” Chairman Rodney Davis, R-Ill., said at the start of Tuesday’s event.

Gabriella Germann is now a senior at Central Valley High School. Dominique Germann is a junior at Fresno State, majoring in agricultural communications with an emphasis in public relations. She plans to do an internship at Hilmar Cheese Co. this summer.

The subcommittee includes the Germanns’ congressman, Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock.

This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Congress hears from 4-H leader from Ceres."