For seven months, Jace Antonio spent much of his time feeding, washing and walking his lamb, Grogu.

Jace, 9, had always planned to enter Grogu in the 2025 Navajo Nation Junior Livestock Show and Sale. On the day of the auction, he reluctantly handed over Grogu to the highest bidder, knowing his days of caring for the lamb were over.  

That highest bidder just happened to be someone very familiar with Jace's journey over those seven months.

“I was once in their shoes and I know all the work that goes into getting these animals ready to be shown and sold,” said Wrytt Begay, 23, a former 4-H'er from the Navajo Nation and owner of Rez Bro’s Refreshers in Chinle, Arizona. “To have someone purchase my animal was a really good feeling and helped build my confidence.”

Begay admits that it was his first auction as a bidder and wasn’t exactly sure how to navigate things. But he knew that this was the year he wanted to invest in his community.

“He’s just this kind-hearted and big-hearted individual, and the program helped him in a way that made him want to give back,” said Audre Etsitty, Jace’s mom and 4-H leader. “I think he was really grateful because his first year, his steer sold for a high amount.”

That amount was $20,000, and according to Begay, it was an emotional culmination of all the work that went into raising the steer with the help from the Navajo Nation 4-H community.

Growing up fast

As a teenager, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and that experience forced him to grow up a lot earlier than expected, he said.  
Begay left Chinle High School his sophomore year and began attending online courses so he could care for his mom and drive her to her many appointments.

As the money became tight with his mom not working during treatments, Begay stepped in to help. One of the first places he found support was with his 4-H family.  

“They would always come together to help each other, and I enjoyed being part of that. Even though we were competitors at times, other 4-H members and their parents were always helping me care for my animals so that they would look their best and show their best. I was always able to count on everyone,” Begay said.

He was an unlikely 4-H participant. He didn’t have much experience in agriculture growing up, even though his family was involved in rodeo. When he was presented with the opportunity to join 4-H at age 15, his response was, “What’s that?”

Now, he credits a lot of his business acumen and life lessons to his time in 4-H and going through the same process as Jace.   

“Time management, money management, responsibility – those are all the things that I learned going through the process of taking care of my animal and then selling it during the auction,” Begay said. “I was able to see the value in growing animals which go back into our food chain and sustain us.”

Begay used most of the meat he received from the auction to prepare meals for some events and to give as Christmas gifts to family and friends. He had no idea how much meat he would collect and was embarrassed when he went to pick it up in a sedan - the full yield required a truck.

Getting young people involved

Begay’s story is an example of how 4-H can get younger people involved in agriculture, said Benita Litson, director of Diné College Land Grant Office on the Navajo Nation and Begay’s former 4-H leader.  

Litson stresses the role of Extension and the land grant mission in teaching young tribal members what agriculture is on the Navajo Nation and how it impacts everyone’s daily lives. 

“Extension creates the support system for farmers and ranchers in different stages, but how do you sustain that way of life with the challenging dynamics that we have here?” Litson said.

Access to land, access to water, access to permits – all those issues, but how do you help one navigate that system to become a better steward of not just their lives, but the land also?

“That's what our land grant mission was trying to enhance," Litson said. "Programs that allow our farmers, ranchers and youth to grow and develop into the next stage of whatever operation they might be developing, or career path."

FRTEP bridges a gap

The University of Arizona's Federally-Recognized Tribes Extension Program exists to bridge that gap — placing Extension agents in tribal communities to deliver programming built around local needs, local knowledge, and local people. Wrytt Begay is one example of what that looks like when it works. Now Begay is committed to helping whenever he can. He has parlayed his 4-H lessons and successes into a thriving business on the Navajo Nation.

“It started as a Facebook group and people would say, ‘Hey, I’m going to Dutch Bros in Flagstaff.  Put your orders in,’” he said.  “So, it was word-of-mouth, but then I thought that I can actually make these drinks.”

Thus, Rez Bro’s Refreshers was born with Begay making five-hour roundtrips to Farmington, New Mexico for supplies.  The business started small but grew much faster than he ever imagined it would.

It got so popular, Dutch Bros reached out to set up a meeting with their legal team.

“In the end, they were fine with the name, but they just asked that I change the colors of my brand because it was too close to theirs,” he said. “But just to be sure, I changed the name from ‘Rez Bros’ to ‘Rez Bro’s Refreshers’ and made the colors different.”

With his business flourishing and his mom now in remission, Begay plans to expand Rez Bro’s Refreshers with a second location in November.
For the grand opening, he plans to purchase a steer at this year’s Navajo Nation Junior Livestock Show & Sale and use that meat to feed attendees at his grand opening. 

He's excited to see the look on the face of a young 4-H member when he makes his bid.  

“I’ve seen how our animals can have a positive impact on our communities, and I would like the younger ones to experience that same feeling,” he said. “Maybe the next 4-H member will start their own business on the nation.”

Food system importance

As she continues engaging youth on the Navajo Nation, Etsitty remembers what she’s been taught in her community.

“Our elders will say, ‘take care of your animals, and your animals will take care of you,’” she said. “I hope that not just my children, but all of the 4-H members from Central Navajo understand how important their food system is. If it wasn't emphasized enough during COVID, when there were less groceries on the shelf — we really relied on local producers because there was no meat in the grocery stores here in this food desert. I hope it gives them an appreciation for the conditions we live in, and the drive to find solutions to the challenges we face here."

Etsitty plans to continue involving her son, Jace, in 4-H and structuring programs around food access on the Navajo Nation.

"How do you build a food-sovereign community? nThat's what I want them to think about,” she said.

In his roughest times, Wrytt remembers the lessons he learned from his time taking care of his animals. Now those animals take care of him. If you doubt Begay’s commitment to supporting his community, his motto is all over his business Instagram: “Rez Bros is blessed to serve our people — whether it’s drinks, meals or showing up where we’re needed. Community helping community … that’s the heart of the Navajo Nation.”