Anderson balances life as student-cowgirl

Many teenagers take on summer jobs to earn a little spending money or save for a car. Hunter Anderson, on the other hand, went to work over the summer with another purchase in mind: a cow.

Anderson is a sophomore at Mountain Brook High School who balances the responsibilities of being a full-time student and part-time cowgirl. When she’s not hitting the books, she can be found tending to cows at her family’s cattle farm in Perry County.

“It’s a little more than a hobby because it’s another source of income,” Anderson said. “I would say more of a passion is what I would call it.”

According to her mom, Janet, the Andersons bought their farm about 15 years ago. It features 60 acres of pasture and has become the family’s place to unplug.

“We love where we live, and we’re so blessed with the lifestyle we have in Mountain Brook and the school system, and we wouldn’t trade that for anything,” Janet Anderson said. “But we also wouldn’t trade the time that we have together as a family when we go to the farm.”

The Andersons began raising livestock on their farm four or five years ago. From the beginning, Hunter has been hands-on. She spends weekends and summers there, ensuring the cows have access to water, feeding them and taking care of the land.

“She’s taken a real interest in it, and she’s good at it,” her dad, Brian Anderson, said. “She helps me when we’re out there working the cattle. She’ll help me get them in the catch pen. She’ll help me vaccinate them. She helps me de-worm them. And basically just helps me look after them.”

The Andersons started with seven cows. Now, they have 40.

“Our whole goal is for all of these cows to have a baby,” Janet Anderson said. “We’re trying to grow our herd.”

Hunter said the farming experience has taught her many life lessons and left a permanent impression about the importance of agriculture.

She even took a deep look at the topic during this year’s TEDxYouth event at Mountain Brook Junior High.

“I spoke on the importance of educating the youth about agriculture,” Hunter said, “because I’ve really seen a shift from a youth that dreams about this lifestyle I’ve experienced. But as we get older, that slowly dies off.”

Hunter said agriculture as an industry is heading down a dangerous path. If it continues in that direction, she fears society will not fare well because of the environmental and economic issues associated with how food is produced.

Hunter said family farms like hers are dwindling, and corporate farms are taking their place. Instead of considering animal welfare and environmental impact, she said corporate farms operate with the primary objective of turning a profit.

“If the youth learn about this and see this as an option, it could revive this industry,” she said.

While Hunter isn’t certain if she will ever pursue farming full time, she does know it will always be a part of her life. It means too much to her to have it any other way.

“She loves what she’s doing,” Janet Anderson said.