Broken ag equipment can be a nightmare to deal with for even the most experienced farmers, but stalled engines, jammed lawnmowers and busted tractors allow people like Terrance Crayton make a living.
“Anything with a four-stroke engine is what I specialize in,” Crayton said.
When he joined the Wetumpka FFA chapter in Alabama, Crayton was already working on the project that would become his supervised agricultural experience (SAE): agricultural mechanics, repair and maintenance. He said it’s a family business — his father, grandfather, uncles and cousins are all mechanics of some kind. “Initially, I was working with my grandfather,” said Crayton. “I would help him fix equipment and whatnot, and eventually [he] retired, so all of his customers came to me.”
Crayton now runs a small business repairing lawnmowers, tractors and more. As a bonus, he also intentionally purchases broken ag equipment so he can fix it for resale. “I would get it, repair it, and I would turn around and resell it … and make profit, and re-invest into my business,” Crayton said.He especially loves working on push mowers because “there’s really not a lot that goes wrong with them,” so it’s easy to find the problem and fix it, he said.
While his family taught him everything he knows about fixing engines, Crayton said his SAE never would’ve gotten off the ground without his agriculture teachers. Terrance actually plans to become an ag teacher himself someday, and that’s why he’s majoring in agriscience education at Auburn University with plans for a master’s degree.“My SAE has allowed me to essentially pay my way through college,” he said. “I work full time, but I’ve used it to pay for books, new computers and other random stuff.”
Although education is his true passion, he said he has no plans to stop working as a mechanic on the side.“Ag teachers don’t make a lot of money, so we’ve got to have our side gig,” Crayton said. “I think it’s a perfect one.”
Terrance said his best advice for FFA members working on their own SAE is to keep an open mind.“I listened to my ag teacher, and I listened to those that had done it before me,” said Crayton. “It allowed me to get … where I’m at today.”
He shares more with Broadcast Desk Intern, Laura Wuebker.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download