For Colin Wegner, family is the big motivator behind his career in agriculture. In high school, his FFA advisor told him to take advantage of the opportunity to be involved on the family farm. And so the native of Wells, Minn., did.

Colin’s placement supervised agricultural experience (SAE) throughout high school and college involved working on his family’s farm, Wegner Farms. The operation involves corn, soy and hay production and seed sales. He started in ninth grade, completing smaller tasks on the farm before moving up to operating equipment as he learned to drive.

Now as a graduate of South Dakota State University, he works full-time with Wegner Farms and is active in making decisions for the business.

“I’m the fifth generation to work on my family’s farm, and I’ve learned so many great tools and skills and life lessons and built character through working with my family members and seeing how they do things and learning from them,” Colin said. “I really just cultivated a passion for agriculture.”

Colin’s FFA and college experiences helped him “see the big picture in agriculture as a whole.” Through FFA, Colin participated in the agribusiness and soil judging CDEs and learned record keeping skills. In college, a summer internship with a private agronomist taught Colin crop scouting.

“I always knew I wanted to be involved in agriculture, and then being able to see all the different opportunities to me really kind of let me know the path—OK, I have a good opportunity to come back to my family’s farm,” he said. “I realized that all these people are in FFA, and not all of them come from farming backgrounds, but they all have a passion for agriculture.”

Looking forward, Colin said a goal for his family’s operation is to average 300 bushels of corn per acre within 10 years.

He is the son of Shannon and Eric Wegner. His FFA advisor is Dan Dylla.

Interview by Corryn La Rue.

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Conner Watts Agribusiness FinalistWhat started as a side hustle to pay for gas turned into a full-fledged landscaping business for Conner Watts of the Slaton FFA Chapter in Slaton, Texas.

Conner started his mowing business at the age of 15, and with lots of rain came more demand for his services, he said. The demand plus his love for being outdoors helped him grow his business and supervised agricultural experience (SAE).

“When I first started, basically I only had a push mower, a weed eater and a blower, and all I did was mowing small yards,” Conner said. “As I got more money I bought more equipment, and I kept on growing from there.”

Now, Conner’s Lawn Care and Landscaping provides more than just lawn mowing services—Conner said his business offers sod installation, concrete patio paving, and pesticide spraying for lawns.

He employs three full-time employees and two part-time employees under the lawn maintenance arm of the company. His business partner, who has 30 percent equity in the company, handles the concrete work.

In his experience as an FFA member, Conner said what helped him the most was the nursery landscaping CDE.

“I did the nursery landscaping CDE and I took the landscape class that went along with that, and that really taught me a lot about the industry—learning a bunch of different plants and their names and how to grow them and how to take care of the soil, too,” he said.

Conner said he takes pride in people reaching out to him as an entrepreneur for advice on starting a business. His advice is to stick with the business through the ups and downs.

He is now a student at Texas Tech University studying agribusiness and plant and soil science, utilizing the academic experience to enhance and grow Conner’s Lawn Care and Landscaping.

“I just love being an entrepreneur,” Conner said. “It’s my whole livelihood now, it’s my income.”

He is the son of Marcy and Derrick Watts. His FFA advisors are Adam Westbrook, Tara Pennartz and Casey Jones.

Listen to his interview with Hannah Borg below.

Hannah Borg is a senior at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln studying Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Communications. An alumna of the Allen FFA Chapter in Nebraska, she is serving as a radio report for the 91st National FFA Convention & Expo Newsroom Crew.

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Coming from a strong high school agricultural education program, Katy Vacula of the Big Foot FFA Chapter in Walworth, Wisconsin, has been involved in an array of research projects. It’s an opportunity that she said gave her a great foundation for her college research projects.

“We were doing some pretty cool labs; we cultured cells, which is something that I don’t think any other high schools get to do,” Katy said. “I talk to people at college now, and they’re like, ‘You did that in high school?’ So it’s kind of cool that we had that opportunity.”

“I thought that I was very blessed to have that kind of foundation and that my advisors had done a really great job of instilling the passion for research into me,” Katy continued.

The first facet of Katy’s agriscience supervised agricultural experience (SAE) came from a research project she pursued for the Wisconsin FFA Agriscience Fair. Using chicken eggs from her family’s hobby farm, Katy researched different egg washing methods. Her first research project garnered a gold ranking at the National FFA science fair.

Katy continued her high school research with a partner the next year, testing how antioxidant levels in foods were changed by microwaves, using blueberries in their study.

Once she became a college student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Katy knew she wanted to stay invested in research.

“I got a [lab] position my sophomore year, and that was in the Department of Animal Sciences as well,” Katy said. “There, I’ve been able to do a couple of different projects, worked my way up the ladder and being really involved in the process.”

In that lab, Katy has worked on some projects including developing a new drug to combat urinary tract infections and finding ways to eliminate byproduct from swine production.

With a rich background in FFA and research, Katy said she wants to become an ag teacher and FFA advisor to help students like herself get involved in research.

“Hopefully, they can go on and pursue research, or whatever field, they’ll be more prepared for because they’ve been involved in research.”

She is the daughter of Margaret and John Vacula. Her FFA advisors are Jeanne Case and Lisa Konkel.

Listen to Katy’s interview with Alex Voichoskie.

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In her youth, Laura Stobb grew up around cattle—her grandparents’ herd, specifically. When she was ten years old, Laura bought her first heifer, and her passion for beef production blossomed into an entrepreneurship supervised agricultural experience (SAE).

Laura—from the Milaca FFA chapter in Milaca, Minnesota—now owns thirty cattle for her beef operation. She also owns 80 acres of land to produce hay and let her livestock out to pasture. Though she raises some steers as feeder cattle, Laura said she wants to improve her herd’s genetics and market her cattle as breeding animals.

“I really love everything about raising cattle,” Laura said. “And that’s something that I’ve always enjoyed and a passion I’ve shared with my family.”

As the head of her beef operation, the FFA experiences that helped Laura with her SAE were livestock judging and farm business management. She also branched out into leadership, serving as her chapter’s president.

Laura said looking back, she was proud to have made a jump and started following one of her dreams early on, starting her beef operation and purchasing her own land. For FFA members wanting to make the jump, she said to talk to as many people in the industry as possible.

“There’s no one person that I’ve ever wanted to model my operation off of,” Laura said. “But rather, I look at all the different ways that people raise cattle, and I see what’s out there and what I like and what would work for me. Also, not being afraid to take risks.”

While Laura is pursuing her passion for working with animals, she attends Saint Cloud State University for a different profession— “I am actually one of the non-traditional Star Farmer candidates because I am currently going to school for nursing,” Laura said.

Her goal is to work as a registered nurse in surgical care while also improving the genetics of her herd and expanding her business’s customer base, staying in touch with the agricultural industry.

She is the daughter of Tammy Gallagher and Jeff Stobb. Her FFA advisors are Douglas Olson and Leann Piertzak.

Interview by Corryn La Rue.

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Like a good bread recipe or a cowboy tall tale, farming is a tradition Austin Stanton’s family has passed through generations. After his ancestors’ emigration from Ireland nearly 200 years ago, Austin sustains his farming operation on the same land.

Austin, from the Centralia FFA Chapter in Centralia, Mo., operates a multifaceted agricultural enterprise with his brother called Stanton Brothers. His hallmark product is eggs—he owns more than 15,000 hens and sells the eggs to neighbors, restaurants, local grocery chains and the University of Missouri dining halls. Austin also raises swine and grows potatoes and radishes to diversify his operation.

In addition to producing food, Austin has a field spraying service called AHS Services. He also maintains a placement SAE experience by working for his family’s farm, Stanton Farms, which produces field crops and beef.

Austin found a niche for his egg business, and he said FFA members wanting to start a production supervised agricultural experience (SAE) should target a niche.

“There was no egg supply in the area that had local grown eggs and had a ready supply of them,” Austin said. “I found that niche and mastered it and I grew the business farm aspect, grew it up to where it is now sustainable for me to be able to come back to the farm whenever I get through college.”

The University of Missouri student said he wants to continue farming after completing his education, aiming to sell his products coast-to-coast. Sustaining his farming operation by adding diversity is an aspect he has implemented and aims to maintain.

“I do want to come back to the farm, I want to raise a family on the farm, and that’s the reason that my brother and I kind of went to the eggs adventure. … If you have all your eggs in one basket you’re bound to trip and fall one time. So you diversify into potatoes or different kinds of sprouts because diversification is the way to be sustainable.”

He is the son of Judy and Andrew Stanton. His FFA advisors are Lori Lewis and Scott Stone.

Listen to Bronson Teichert’s conversation with Austin.

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Communication has been a key element of Jarret Moser’s success in his placement supervised agricultural experience (SAE). Jarret took many lessons to heart from his time in the Jefferson County FFA chapter in Jefferson City, Tenn., but building his business and communications skills have impacted his career.

“As I have gotten older, I realize now that if it wasn’t for FFA I probably would not be in the position, as far as the business aspect, as I am now,” Jarret said. “Just because I wouldn’t have had that exposure on how to communicate with people.”

His SAE consists of working on his family’s farm, Tennessee Valley Resources. Jarret got involved at an early age, driving tractors before he could drive cars. Now, he assists with planting and harvesting the farm’s principal crops, corn and soybeans. Tennessee Valley Resources also has a mining operation, for which Jarret acts as a salesman.

The farm mines gypsum, which is then sold to farmers. Jarret said after government regulations had factories clean their smokestacks, less sulfur has been emitted into the region’s air.

“Sulfur is a huge factor in plant growth,” Jarret said, “especially for those of us with soybean and cotton and even peanuts. Sulfur is a key nutrient and we lack that now because we don’t get any sulfur rain. So this gypsum is a sulfur sub. I’m going around trying to educate farmers on the importance of sulfur.”

A benefit from his FFA experience, Jarret said, was the communications skills he learned along the way. Now that he meets potential clients who have different educational backgrounds, he knows how to relay information to a person in a way that is accessible to them.

Jarret wants to continue farming in the future and sharing knowledge with other crop producers.

“We’ve been successful for years,” Jarret said, referencing the family farm. “Our corn yields are out of this world for our area. I would like to educate people and show them what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”

He is the son of Roxanne and Jake Moser. His FFA advisors are Jackson Moser, Adam Martin and Mike Maples.

Listen to Bronson Teichert’s conversation with Jarret.

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Not many teenagers have an ethanol producing facility in their basement, but for Eric Koehlmoos, a student from the South O’Brien FFA Chapter in Paullina, Iowa, it was all part of his supervised agricultural experience (SAE).

Eric’s idea for his high school SAE sprung out of a science fair project for biology class. He looked at the ethanol industry and was curious if ethanol could be made from switchgrass and prairie cordgrass. He began his research, utilizing knowledge from his animal science class.

“A cellulosic ethanol plant and a cow’s rumen are two very, very similar things,” Eric said.

Creating ethanol from prairie grasses, Eric said, is important because it can “better the tool box” for potential energy sources that will eventually replace oil.

“It can help use less of the high-quality ground that we can grow corn on and other types of crops, and then on poor quality ground we can grow switchgrass and prairie cordgrass and produce ethanol,” Eric said.

With his at-home, ATF-approved ethanol facility, Eric had to get creative to match the processes used in a commercial ethanol plant. In high school, his research competed nationally and internationally against the work of college researchers with more funding and better facilities, and Eric said he was proud of and took value in his research experience.

Now as an agricultural education student at Kansas State University, Eric has participated in research with the Kansas FFA Agriscience Fair, evaluating how the fair can grow and how to deal with barriers that Kansas ag teachers may deal with regarding the fair.

Eric said his goal is to be a high school ag teacher and FFA advisor, utilizing the skills he strengthened through his FFA and research experiences to help “spark some ideas in the next generation of agriculturists.”

He is the son of Lisa and Douglas Koehlmoos. His advisor is Eric Kumm.

Listen to his interview with Hannah Borg below.

Hannah Borg is a senior at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln studying Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Communications. An alumna of the Allen FFA Chapter in Nebraska, she is serving as a radio report for the 91st National FFA Convention & Expo Newsroom Crew.

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When you are extremely happy with your job, it is hard to think about doing anything else. That was what Landon Herring of the Lowndes County FFA Chapter in Georgia said he feels about his FFA supervised agricultural experience (SAE).

Landon’s placement SAE involves working on his family’s farm, Herring Farms, Inc., situated near Lake Park, Georgia. There, he assists in the production of eggplants, corn, cucumbers, tobacco, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, soybeans, peanuts, and squash.

Landon’s role on the farm began in middle school, when his agricultural education teacher said he should have an SAE. Since then, that role has expanded from doing small tasks and assisting his father to overseeing the entire farm operation.

“I also know how to operate nearly every piece of equipment that we operate,” Landon said. “And I’ve helped with all the bedding of dirt, planting crops, laying plastic for our plastic culture crops … the list goes on with a diversified farm like we have down here in south Georgia.”

What inspires Landon to pursue a lifestyle and career in production agriculture is his family. He said his father and uncle started their operation from nothing, and Herring Farms, Inc. provides for his whole family, plus more consumers.

“My dad always told me if I’m not happy working on the farm, I need to go find something else to do because there can be a lot of tough times, and there can be a lot of good times, but if I don’t like what I’m doing, then the tough times are going make me miserable,” Landon said.

Landon hopes to continue working on the family farm and, one day, own a share of the farm with his brother and cousin. He loves farming, knowing it makes a difference to every non-farmer.

“I’m happy farming,” Landon said. “It’s hard to get into, and it’s hard to make it. But whenever you find something that you’re good at that you enjoy doing, you don’t need to do anything else.”

He is the son of Lisa and Joey Herring and his advisors are Quinton Hadsock, Anglia Crosby and James Corbett.

Interview by Corryn La Rue.

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When Dylan Finken set out to start his FFA supervised agricultural experience (SAE), he started working with what he had available: haying equipment on his father’s farm. Originally purchased to help feed livestock that Dylan’s family used to own, the small tractor and mower with a rake were repurposed for harvesting hay, which kickstarted Dylan’s SAE.

Over time, Dylan—who is from the Max FFA chapter in Max, N.D.,—expanded his farming operation. Now he grows soybeans and canola, utilizing bigger farm equipment than before.

“[It’s] just something I always grew up around,” Dylan said. “Then growing up in my years through the FFA and my college education years, it’s just something that grew on me, in that I knew I wanted to have a chance doing the production of small grains and oil crops, and hay production as well.”

What makes Dylan proud of his operation, he said, is all of the effort he has put into his work, from spending time in the tractor planting and harvesting crops to making repairs on his equipment.

Dylan’s FFA advisor encouraged him to always do his best and give everything a try, and when he found something he liked, keep pursuing it.

“That’s one thing that’s always stuck with me over the years,” Dylan said. “Once I got more knowledge and that I knew that  … this was the career path I wanted to go down, then, it just kind of propelled me down that way. I knew I wanted to do it, so got to work even harder.”

At the heart of his farming operation is family tradition. As a graduate of Lake Region State College, Dylan started buying into the family farm this year, intending on farming as a career.

“Eventually I will have kids one day and pass it down to that generation; right now, I’m the fourth generation,” Dylan said. “My goal is to keep on farming and just keep the generations going down.”

His parents are DeAnn and Bob Finken and His FFA advisor is Amanda Huettl.

Listen to Dylan’s interview with Alex Voichoskie.

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When Katherine Fazzino’s father and grandfather, both farmers, needed an organic fertilizer that increased crop yields but would not damage the soil, Katherine not only found a product, but she also researched its effects for four years.

“When I came across Hydra-Hume, I really wanted to test it because it was the one [that] said it could do everything, and I wanted to prove that it would—and it actually does, which is really exciting,” Katherine said.

For her agriscience supervised agricultural experience (SAE), Katherine—from the Rudder FFA chapter in Bryan, Texas—studied the effects of Hydra-Hume on corn. In her first year of the project, she tested corn yield rates on plants in separated cups, using four different doses of Hydra-Hume. She found that the corn that received an amount of Hydra-Hume slightly under the recommended amount proved the best yields.

Then, she took her research into the field, using Hydra-Hume in corn test plots without additional water, simulating a real-life farming operation. After garnering similar results to her first controlled experiment, Katherine wanted to see if adding nitrogen and charcoal to the Hydra-Hume application would result in less water runoff; this experiment started in a controlled setting, with the corn plants in cups, and moved into a large test plot. The results proved positive.

“Surprisingly it didn’t really let any of the water out,” Katherine said. “It held 85 percent of the water and the nitrogen in the soil. So I put the nitrogen on it with the charcoal additive to make sure that it was all binding together with the ions.”

Through her research and FFA experience, Katherine said she learned a lot about dedication, responsibility and commitment.

Now a student at Texas A&M University studying agricultural economics, Katherine’s advice for FFA members interested in research is to find a field of study they are passionate about.

“You actually get involved … and the light that lights up in your eyes when you’re talking about something you love is priceless compared to anything else,” she said.

Her parents are Sally and Lee Fazzino. Her advisors are Larry White, Kaitlin Shirley, James Conner, Riley Webb, Michelle Knox and Robert Myatt.

Listen to Katherine’s interview with Alex Voichoskie.

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