Claire Murnin is an upcoming high school senior who is taking her passion for agriculture to new heights. Growing up in Pompeys Pillar, MT, Claire has deep roots in the agriculture industry. Her dad, Jared Murnin, served as a regional manager for the American Angus Association, which inspired Claire to start showing Angus cattle at a very young age.
“From there, it’s grown into me having my own registered Angus cow herd and being involved in different organizations like 4-H and FFA that have really allowed me to learn more about agriculture and gain leadership skills that are very valuable in so many different areas of my life,” Claire told WLJ.
Claire recently returned from the National Junior Angus Show in Madison, WI, where she showcased her skills in the show ring and the contest room, exhibiting several head of cattle and competing in multiple national contests—11, to be exact.
“All of these different contests were really great because they allowed me to gain all sorts of different skills that can be very useful in many different areas of my life,” Claire shared. In addition, she said, the opportunity to show her four head of cattle and help her younger brother with his two head gives them the chance to show off their hard work and showcase the genetics they are implementing in their cow herd.
“And, on top of all of that, I got to see so many of my great friends and get involved in many different activities and have a lot of fun,” she added.
Claire’s hard work paid off as she took home top prizes in the career development, graphic design and creative writing contests. She also earnedsecond place in both prepared public speaking and extemporaneous public speaking, and even tried her hand in the auctioneering contest, placing third.
In the show ring, Claire’s efforts were further rewarded with wins in two of her classes, and second and sixth place in the remaining two classes.
“There were over 1,600 entries,” she said, “So to win a class is an extreme honor. These classes are 15 head of cattle each and there’s high quality throughout.”
To juniors looking to get involved, Claire wholeheartedly recommends attending junior nationals. Having attended every year since she was 8 years old, Claire credits much of her skill development to the event.
“There’s so many great opportunities, even outside of just showing your cattle,” she said. “I believe that junior nationals has really helped me to become a lot of the person that I am today.”
Voice for agriculture
In addition to participating in contests on the national level, Claire launched a digital social media campaign in 2023focused on agriculture advocacy. Her Instagram account, coined @365daysofagriculture, has quickly gained traction, amassing nearly 1,000 followers. True to the account name, Claire posts a photo or video every day, offering a glimpse into the agriculture lifestyle.
“At the end of the day, there is going to be a need for someone to speak up for the agriculture industry,” she said. “And I would like to try and be that voice that is needed.”
Posting every day has not only given Claire the opportunity to be a voice for agriculture but also deepen her own understanding of the industry, as she covers a wide range of topics under the agriculture umbrella. In the first year of the campaign, Claire’s posts were more fact-oriented; this year, she has shifted the focus to sharing snippets of daily life in agriculture.
“I’ve focused more on cattle and my daily life because it’s fun for me to film things like that and let people understand what I’m doing,” she said.
Claire has noticed that her efforts have begun reaching people from all different backgrounds, from rural to urban.
“While I have grown up in a very agriculture-oriented community, some of my friends don’t understand sometimes what that means,” she said. “They don’t get what it takes every single day. So, it’s been fun to watch them watch and learn through my content because they’re able to really understand what I am doing a little bit better.”
The campaign is strictly on Instagram for now, but Claire said she may try different platforms, such as Tik Tok, in the future.
Involvement and support
Claire has also found successes in additional organizations, such as FFA. She has competed twice at the National FFA Convention, placing fourth in the nation in the employment skills contest this past year. This year, Claire will be competing with a team in the agricultural communications contest.
She is also the president of her local FFA and 4-H chapters, and an active member on the speech and debate team. “I’m going to try to also be a leader in that, as well as being involved in the National Honor Society and student council,” she said.
On top of her local extracurricular activities, Claire was also set to compete in the Miss Montana Volunteer Program just ahead of WLJ press time. If crowned the winner of the contest, Claire planned to implement an agriculture education project around the state. The program consists of several segments: talent, interview, evening gown, and fitness and wellness. For her talent portion, Claire performed a monologue of “So God Made a Farmer.”
Claire credits her family as her biggest support system. “My two parents are willing to do just about anything for me, whether that’s drive down the road a few miles so I can attend National Junior Angus shows, or even just supporting me when I say I want to run for Miss Montana Teen Volunteer—they support me no matter what,” she said.
“I also have a great brother, Cooper, who has been there and supported me and helped me to work hard,” she continued. “That way we can both have success at the end of the day. It might be just one of our names, but we’re both putting in all the effort at home so that way we can have success in the show ring or even in the contest room.”
Claire plans to graduate high school next year and attend college on an agriculture business or pre-law track to learn the skills required to be an agricultural lobbyist, continuing to be the voice for agriculture.
“I would like to continue to raise an Angus herd,” she said. “But I feel like there also needs to be someone to fight for production agriculture at the end of the day.” — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
