Agriculture has always been in Jordan Paine’s roots. Before she was born, both her mom and dad owned land. Her dad wanted to continue the family tradition of farming. However, as Paine grew a bit older, she convinced her parents to think about raising cattle…soon, she was in love with the industry.
Her interest in the cattle industry then led to her interest in agriscience as she saw room for yields to increase, so she decided to try to find ways to achieve that. Throughout high school, her agriscience experiments focused on increasing yields and finding additional sources of feed.
During her time in FFA, Paine focused on agriscience, beef production and agricultural education. The Oxford, Neb., resident credits FFA for changing the trajectory of her career path. While attending the World Food Prize conference, her eyes were opened to the issues agriculture faces across the globe. Her view was expanded even further when she was named a White House Champion of Change and was able to discuss others’ views on agriculture. The Purdue junior is currently studying agricultural education and political science.
While in FFA, Paine incorporated a few different projects into her agriscience supervised agricultural experience. When her local community began to experience a drought, she wanted to discover new food sources. She began working on developing a food product from honey locust beans. Using her knowledge, she researched which variety of wheat produces a higher yield, tissue culture and numerous horticultural experiences. The results of many of her plant and animal projects were then used in her beef proficiency.
Paine says that all good research begins with using past research and building upon that. She says her true research passion resides in agricultural policy, and she believes that the skills she has gained through research will help her in her future career in agricultural law. Paine is the daughter of Anne and Michael Paine. She is a member of the Southern Valley FFA Chapter, led by advisor Jon Lechtenberg.
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