CALS grad to pursue passion for livestock health

Ady Perkes spent a weekend helping deliver calves at the University of Idaho’s Nancy M. Cummings Research, Extension and Education Center near Salmon. The experience affirmed that she’d made a good choice regarding her path toward a career in beef production.

Fascinated by the hands-on experience she had working with livestock during that weekend as part of her beef calving management course, she’s now poised to start a job in the beef industry after graduation. Perkes, of Richfield, will be among 40 College of Agricultural and Life Sciences undergraduates honored in U of I’s Dec. 13 winter commencement ceremony. She will receive a bachelor’s degree in animal and veterinary science, with a pre-veterinary option.

“I think that’s been the best part of being in CALS: we got to do everything super hands-on,” Perkes said. “We go on dairy tours, we go on feed lot tours, we get to dissect things and really see it versus just learning in the classroom.”

The next stop in her journey

In January 2026, Perkes will start a job with Five Rivers Cattle Feeders in Malta. With 13 feedyards in Idaho, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona, Five Rivers is the world’s largest cattle feeding company.

Perkes will begin a one-year cycle, spending three months learning the intricacies of each of the Malta feedyard’s four departments — the mill, feed, cattle and maintenance. Her goal will be to join a department full-time.

“If they have a position open that they think you would be a good fit, then they can just push you right into that position,” Perkes said. “Or you can stay working as a trainee for as long as they want you there.”

Where it all began

Her first exposure to agriculture came during childhood visits to her grandfather’s house, where she learned to ride horses and helped him tend to his calves.

“My parents weren’t super involved in agriculture, but my grandpa was,” Perkes said.

Nonetheless, she appreciates that her parents helped her explore her interests in agriculture. Growing up, she showed cattle and horses through University of Idaho Extension 4-H Youth Development and FFA. Perkes also worked for local ranchers, who let her borrow their horses to compete in rodeo.

“Because it was something I loved, I was out at those ranchers' houses most hours that I wasn’t at school, which helped me to learn about the industry from their points of view,” she said.

A passion to pursue

She chose to attend college at U of I based on its reputation for having top agricultural programs.

While in college, Perkes completed a job shadow with a veterinary clinic, participated in the Sigma Alpha sorority and worked for a dude ranch. Although all her experiences played a key role in her future, the beef calving management field trip stands out as a pinnacle experience.

Perkes’ courses at U of I gave her a more detailed understanding of the industry she is entering.

“One of the big things I noticed while I was interviewing for jobs was, before coming to U of I, I would have gone in there and not understood any of the terminology that anybody was using,” she said. “Because I’ve been in the classroom for four years, I know what all those words mean.”