By David Fleet
Editor
As a Oakland County 4H member for many years—Hadley Township resident Savannah Katulski’s fondness of animals earned her many awards over more than a decade of raising pigs and cattle on a small farm.
The commitment along with her academic success has now landed the 2011 Goodrich High School graduate in a tropical paradise.

Katulski, 23, was recently hired by the University of Hawaii as a livestock extension agent for Kauai County on the island of Kauai.
“Everyone wants to come visit me now,” laughed Katulski, who starts work on Jan. 9. “’Jurassic Park’ and the opening scenes of the Indiana Jones film ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ were filmed on the island. I’m nervous and have some reservations, but, I know I can make a difference and be a resource for people. I have lots of new ideas and there’s opportunity for me as part of the fatality of the University of Hawaii.”
After high school Katulski attended Michigan State University where she studied as a production animal scholar, with a concentration on dairy, beef, sheep and swine.
“I was going in preparation for veterinarian school,” she said. “Then I took an animal nutrition class and I realized I could do a lot more for my profession in another direction.”
So after graduation from MSU in 2015, Katulski was accepted at Kansas State University where she recently earned a masters of science degree with a focus on ruminant nutrition. The study includes animals that chew the cud regurgitated from their rumen or the first compartment of their stomach. The ruminants include cows, sheep, antelopes, deer, and giraffes, among other animals.
“Nutrition is such a big player in animal health,” said Katulski, “It’s the very first thing the animal is exposed to after they are born. Food will make a happy and healthy animal. Especially today when people want to know where their food is coming from.”
Katulski, will use her background on Kauai also known as the “Garden Isle” where tropical rainforest covers much of the 500 square mile island.
“It’s populated,” she said. “There’s Starbucks and Macy’s along with many highways. But no interstates, it’s very outdoors oriented and a popular tourist destination.”
With a population of about 65,000, Kawai is a very costly for residents, she said.
“There’s not as much land area to grow feed like corn for cattle,” she said. “They have to ship products such as corn in to the island. It’s very expensive. Farmers often opt to grow other products such as coffee or pineapples taking advantage of the warmer climate. It’s really hard to be sustainable in Hawaii. The cattle raised on Kauai are often shipped to the mainland to sell. There are however, many smaller abattoirs for hog, cattle and chicken producers on the island.”
Katulski has found a small studio apartment in the city of Kapaa with a population of about 10,000. She will also ship her 2004 Chevy Silverado to the island.
“Your passions as a youth can give you directions,” she said. “It’s what I always wanted to do. One percent of the population feeds the world. Today’s farmers just don’t get enough credit.”