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Small-Town, Big-Time Rewards

Small but mighty. These three words can be used to describe the state’s Top Chapter, named at the 91st Missouri FFA Convention held earlier this year. Lead by 12chapterofficers and advisor Paige Brock, the Braymer FFA Chapter planned and hosted countless activities and events to grow leaders, build communities and strengthen agriculture.

“Our chapter is one of the smaller chapters,” said Dustin Davies, 2018-2019 chapter president. “We don’t have a lot of members, but every one of our members works very hard at everything they do through the FFA.”

The smaller nature of their chapter allows each member to participate and remain on the same page.

“It’s a small chapter,” said Keaton O’Dell, 2018-2019 chapter vice president. “We have 45 members in our chapter, and we all know each other. We all know each other’s names. We talk to each other on a daily basis, and we get along great. We’re very cohesive, and we work well together.”

This hard work and cohesion paid off when Braymer was named Top Chapter in the state, a surprise to many of the chapter’s members.

“The student that was on stage accepting the award, he actually thought that there was a mistake and that he wasn’t actually supposed to be standing up there since they hadn’t called our name yet,” Davies said, laughing. “We were very shocked and very excited to win that award.”

This recognition is backed by a year of hard work, starting with the chapter’s Program of Activities (POA).

“At the beginning of the year, we decide what will be in the POA and what activities we are going to do,” Davies said. “A lot of the activities are annual, so we like to keep them the same, but we are also always looking for new things and activities to do.”

From there, the finer details are ironed out to ensure that the POA is organized and well-rounded. While all sections are addressed, members of the Braymer FFA Chapter like to focus a lot of their attention on building communities.

“I think we like to focus primarily on the building communities section,” Davies said. “In everything we do, even if it is in growing leaders or strengthening agriculture, we are still bringing it back to our community and using the events to build our community.”

O’Dell agreed and added, “We’re very involved in our community. I’d say we are a big-hearted chapter.”

From picking up trash to the Teal Pumpkin Project, members of the Braymer FFA Chapter are no strangers to serving others.

“During harvesting season, we will pack lunches and take them to our local co-op for farmers as they are unloading their grain,” Davies said, “so, they can have food without having to worry about stopping and getting something.”

O’Dell’s favorite event is also community-focused.

“We help with Smoke in the Valley,” he said. “It’s our tractor pull here in Braymer. It gets the FFA name out there and shows we are supporting the community.”

In addition to their full calendar and focus on service, the Braymer FFA Chapter’s family atmosphere makes it unique.

“We are like a family,” O’Dell said. “We’re everything a family should be. We work together, and we work hard together.”

Davies agreed and added that their chapter’s members are especially close.

“Everybody always says that FFA is a family,” he said. “But I feel like our chapter is a really, really close-knit family. If anyone needs any help with their SAE or a contest team, they just need to ask another member, and they are more than willing to help.”

—By Brandelyn Martin

Homeward Bound

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Memphis FFA member Brock Aylward has his sights set on the future, yet he won’t be far from home.

A national finalist in the grain production placement proficiency award area, Brock says working on the family’s farm alongside his father and grandfathers has had the most impact on his future plans to return home and continue a legacy in production agriculture.

“This has enabled me to learn and appreciate the love of the land and the impact I can have by being a good steward of the soil, embracing technology and the value of every bushel produced,” Brock explains.

Four national finalists are selected in each of 45 proficiency award areas to compete for a national proficiency award. Proficiency award winners are announced on stage during the National FFA Convention & Expo, which will be held Oct. 30-Nov. 2 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Proficiency awards are based on a member’s Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE). They recognize individual skills and career-based competencies developed through multiple years of participation in Immersion type SAE projects.

Brock considers himself privileged to learn from two generations that have built a business from shear heard work and smart management decisions. “I’ve witnessed from my family that this job doesn’t mean managing from an office, but from putting in the physical labor and understanding all functions alongside all employees to be profitable,” he explains.

Through his placement experience on Aylward Farms, Brock operates tractors in addition to tillage equipment, planters and grain carts. Guidance systems assist with operating field cultivators, harrow, sprayer and planter — which he says is critical in helping the farm be as efficient as possible and reduce overlapping.

“The investment in planter monitors was a huge financial investment,” Brock says.

The monitors record the population, plant date, speed and hybrid/variety of the crop planted. Understanding how and what the monitors can do and then overlay that data with precipitation data from The Climate platform is then used to make additional informed management decisions, he says.

“With my employment on this row crop operation, I have witnessed the differences between owning land and cash renting ground,” Brock explains. “These differences include increased financial profitability and the ease of providing maintenance and improvements to the land.”

By investing his salary earnings and a previous purchased ground cash rental payment, Brock was able to purchase, with additional financial assistance, a 90-acre bottomland farm that he cash-rents to his family’s operation. Currently pursuing a precision agriculture certificate at the University of Missouri, he hopes to farm the land himself following college graduation.

While Brock’s role at Aylward Farms began in maintaining machinery and equipment, the young farmer now assists with machinery purchases as well.

“Working beside my dad engages me in all management decisions such as fuel purchases, seed, fertilizer and chemical pricing, commodity marketing, crop insurance and employee management,” Brock explains. “I have learned that fertilizer decisions are based off of yield results and soil testing.”

He’s also learned how to read soil tests and implement the best management practices to employ based off of the results.

Perhaps the greatest challenge Brock has been faced with in his role on the farm is understanding the different components that make up the farm. Juggling employees as well as machinery and other factors such as the weather that are out of ones’ control can prove difficult even for a well-seasoned farmer.

Still, through hands-on hard work and his involvement in soils and farm management FFA career development events have helped the aspiring farmer succeed.

“The knowledge, information and experiences that I received from being on these teams has given me immense comprehension into critical components of grain production,” Brock says. “The farm management team was the most challenging, but I think the most rewarding because the information I gained is very practical and critical to becoming a successful grain producer.”

— BY JOANN PIPKIN

For Students, By Students

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What started as a search for firsthand experiences with livestock for students of the Mount Vernon agricultural education program ended in a 10-month building project, now known as the animal science lab. Built for students by students, the lab is designed to help members of the Mount Vernon FFA Chapter become more familiar with animal agriculture.

Agricultural educators and FFA advisors Jay Shepherd and Steven Prewitt started crafting in December 2017 their idea of a hands-on space where students could learn about livestock.

“We had posts driven by a local fence builder who is an alumnus,” Shepherd said. “My students built the rest of it.”

Using a mobile welding trailer made the year before, students Ryan Raucher, Lane Hale and Corby Allen used their welding skills to build the lab.

Between working during their agricultural education classes and coming in on their own time, these students completed the project in 10 months.

“We worked on the lab pretty much every day,” Rauchersaid. “Sometimes after school, sometimes on weekends. Just whenever we had time. We even came in during the summer.”

The students said they gained just as much as they gave while volunteering their time.

“We learned a lot from it,” Allen said. “We just saw what needed to be done, and we knew how to do it, so we just kind of took action and made it our priority during school.”

Now, their hard work is paying off as they enjoy the finished project and students start using the lab for hands-on learning experiences.

“My favorite part is finally seeing it done and knowing that it was basically three kids that put it together,” Raucher said.

Allen agreed and added that it is rewarding to know he played a part in building the structure.

The animal science lab is made up of sorting pens made for many different species. Rather than being a place to house student Supervised Agricultural Experiences, the space is dedicated to labs for learning more about livestock and animal agriculture. It will be used primarily by Animal Science and Ag Science 1 classes during livestock units.

“The main purpose is to get students’ hands on live animals,” Shepherd said. “To help them learn how to deal with live animals, whether it’s injections, deworming or castration. We’ve even had someone come in to teach artificial insemination in cattle.”

The point is to have a consistent place to bring livestock to the students instead of having to make trips to various farms.

“When our advisors get on a certain unit, they’ll bring in someanimals, like cattle,” Raucher said. “We’ve castrated cattle, vaccinated and ear tagged them. We checked a couple cows to see if they were pregnant. We’ve even brought in show cattle, clipped them and showed them in the lab.”

Raucher said the lab isn’t just for cattle, though. They have brought in other animals, like horses, as well.

“We’ve worked some cattle in the lab,” Shepherd added. “We had a lab for horses where students saddled a horse. We’ve had some dairy cattle in to judge and had judging practice in the lab with goats and other animals.”

This hands-on education is equally important for both students who come from a livestock background and those who do not.

“We have a lot of kids in our program that are close to the farm, but many times if they are doing something, like working cattle, they’re the ones in the back pushing the cattle up,” Shepherd said. “So, we’re trying to get them some more direct experience.”

In addition to those students familiar with the farm, Mount Vernon also has students who have never been around livestock. The lab serves as their opportunity to experience firsthand what they are learning about in class.

“The students really enjoy any sort of hands-on stuff in class,” Shepherd said. “Because of the lab, they’ve gottento see a lot of things they otherwise wouldn’t.”

Shepherd acknowledged the fact that the lab was made possible only by the gracious support of the surrounding community.

“We sent out some letters to some key people we thought might be interested in supporting the project,” Shepherd said. “We sent out about 16 letters, and we got enough responses to start building. We decided we would try to get the money as we went along.”

Seeing the benefit of having a space dedicated to hands-on learning for their students, the surrounding community was supportive throughout the entire process. Between monetary contributions and building materials, nearly $12,000 in donations were made, Shepherd said.

“The support of the community was awesome,” Raucher said. “We had organizations like Missouri Cattlemen’s donate. We also had a lot of individuals that donated. Many individuals came together to make it happen, and I really think it’s going to pay off in the long run.”

Looking toward the future, the Mount Vernon agricultural education program plans to continue its use of the animal science lab while continually growing its potential for student contact with livestock.

“The plan is to get a roof over it and have it powered by solar power,” Raucher said. “I think members of the community plan to help with that, too.”

— Brandelyn Martin

Back to School

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Back-to-school season can be an overwhelming time for parents and students alike. Between picking out classes, trying new sports and deciding on organizations to join, high school freshmen have an especially busy season on their hands. The Cass Career Center FFA Chapter officers noticed the effect this was having on their first-year members’ level of participation and took action by creating a Greenhand Information Night and Ice Cream Social to be held the second or third week of school to boost involvement.

“The main goal is for Greenhands and their parents to see the opportunities in FFA and get excited for those opportunities,” said Jason Dieckhoff, a Cass Career Center FFA Chapter advisor. “We started hosting our Greenhand Information Night and Ice Cream Social in 2016. Our chapter officers started the event because the year prior, it took about half the year before Greenhand members felt very comfortable coming to chapter activities. We wanted to increase the participation level of Greenhands earlier in the year.” To build participation, the chapter began by increasing awareness of opportunities and events.

“We invite all new Greenhands, as well as their parents,” Dieckhoff said. “Chapter FFA officers start the evening with opening ceremonies and a president’s welcome. Our treasurer goes over the dues for the year and what dues pay for. The rest of the evening, Greenhands and their parents enjoy ice cream and toppings while going around to different stations to listen to chapter officers talk about opportunities in FFA and the ag program.”

These stations typically cover opportunities like chapter field trips, trapshooting, Supervised Agricultural Experiences, chapter fundraising, Career Development Events, Leadership Development Events and more.

Additionally, the event is meant to connect chapter officers with the Greenhand members. Coming from a larger school, the officers might not already know incoming freshmen. Building this relationship early in the year makes it easier for the officers to interact with Greenhands in the halls of the high school, during lunch or even at other school activities. Dieckhoff said the first-year students also enjoy hearing about events directly from the chapter officers themselves.

“Greenhands react better to their peers than to hearing opportunities from advisors or their parents,” he explained. “By letting Greenhands interact one-on-one with chapter officers, they feed off the enthusiasm of the officers and get excited about what they can do in FFA.”

Kara Vergouven, a second-year member of the Cass Career Center FFA Chapter, agreed and said the most memorable part of the evening was hearing from the officers. She attended the event last year.

“My favorite part about the Greenhand Night was talking to the previous FFA members and learning about all the different things that the organization had to offer. Listening to them had me even more excited about being a part of FFA and cleared up all the questions I had,” Vergouven said.

Dieckhoff said the event has accomplished its main purpose, and there has been an increase in Greenhand participation at events throughout the year. He also cited benefits such as increased parent communication and an established professional tone for their organization.

Vergouven said the Greenhand Information Night and Ice Cream Social increased her involvement because she was excited about pursuing the opportunities discussed.

“Before the event, I didn’t realize all the different activities they had,” she said. “Once I went and found out what they did, I went to most of the activities. Now, I encourage everyone to try FFA because I think they will like it very much.”

— By Brandelyn Martin

Jul 26 2019

Missouri Corn and Missouri FFA Helping Build Future Leaders

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(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.)–

Missouri’s top 30 FFA high school seniors completed the fifth annual Helping Youth Prepare for Excellence (HYPE) FFA Academy June 25-27, in Columbia, Mo. The three-day intensive program is designed to inform and empower students to effectively engage on pressing agriculture topics. Since 2015, the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council has sponsored and facilitated the academy in conjunction with Missouri FFA. This year’s academy was hosted at the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

“It is very important we get out and tell our story,” noted Missouri Corn Merchandising Council Chairman Mike Moreland during a HYPE panel. “Whether it’s inviting folks to the farm, visiting legislators in the capitol or sharing online, it is more important than ever that farmers – and the next generation – have a place at the table. This program is very beneficial in preparing students to be that voice.”

Over the three-day conference, students participated in sessions promoting advocacy training, social media, communication, and stakeholder collaboration. In addition, topics included overcoming adversity, developing a personal brand, and engaging those with opposing viewpoints. Students learned from farmers, industry representatives, social media experts, and others on how to effectively advocate about issues facing the industry. The group explored the Missouri Soybean Bay Farm and its innovations in crop production, research, and soybean biotechnology.

In culmination, participants testified on key issues during mock hearings with legislators at the Missouri State Capitol. This year’s topics included tariffs and trade, eminent domain, lab-produced meat labeling, river management, and the federal Renewable Fuel Standard. Missouri Sen. Mike Bernskoetter (R-Jefferson City) and State Reps. Rusty Black (R-Chillicothe), Barbara Washington (D-Kansas City), Don Rone (R-Portageville), Jeff Porter (R-Montgomery City), Kent Haden (R-Mexico), Louis Riggs (R-Hannibal), and Tracy McCreery (D-St. Louis) interacted with and challenged the students. Missouri Corn CEO Gary Marshall provided the closing keynote, empowering participants to use their newfound skills as they continue to represent Missouri’s number one industry.

The Missouri Corn Merchandising Council is an organization of corn growers dedicated to developing and expanding corn markets, educating growers and customers, and exploring new research opportunities. The National FFA Organization makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. Contact Missouri Corn Associate Director of Communications Hilary Black at (800) 827-4181 or hblack@mocorn.org for more information about HYPE Academy.

Jul 26 2019

MO FFA Needs You!

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Our friends at Missouri Farmers Care have been diligent in their efforts to ensure the success of the 2019 Missouri FFA Food Insecurity Day and the Drive to Feed Kids at the Missouri State Fair.

Growing up in a rural community, I would have never imagined food insecurity would be a challenge faced by those around me. Yet, the numbers are staggering. One in five children in Missouri are food insecure and in rural areas that number rises to one in three. Mother Teresa once said, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” As Missouri FFA members we have the opportunity to help diminish an issue that is faced by many within our state.

On Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the Missouri State Fairgrounds over 750 Missouri FFA members will work to pack more than 100,000 meals to combat food insecurity across our state. We will work together to ensure that children across the state spend their time focusing on being a kid rather than worrying about when their next meal will be. From now until then, we are tasked with raising funds in support of Feeding Missouri, the coalition of six regional food banks in our state.

Now we need your help! As a leader in your community, you have the opportunity to help Missouri Farmers Care by magnifying awareness of childhood food insecurity in our state. If we all help feed just one, the possibilities of impact are endless. By working together, we can minimize the number of hungry children in our own communities!

How can you help:

Ask your neighbors, friends and local businesses to donate to the cause.Donations can be made online at:http://mofarmerscare.com/drive/or by texting “Drive2” to 44321.
Spread the word about the Drive to Feed Kids through social media.You can do this by sharing posts from Missouri Farmers Care or utilizing the attached social media assets on your chapter’s page. On July 30, add the Drive to Feed Kids Facebook profile filter to your profile picture.
Pre-Event Press Release: Chapters participating at the State FFA Food Insecurity Service Day can complete the attached template press release and share it with their local newspapers prior to Aug. 8.Show your community the great projects your chapter is helping with.

If we all do our part together we can bridge the gap of food insecurity. Thanks for all of your help! We couldn’t do this without you.

— ByJessica Janorschke, Missouri FFA State Vice President

Jul 26 2019

Everyday Advocates

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Telling agriculture’s story is no easy task, but thanks to their time in the blue jacket, a number of Farm Journal’s staff are better equipped to get the job done.

Sara Schafer, editor of Top Producer, was a member of the Jamestown FFA chapter and served as Area 6 state vice president from 2003 to 2004. Her supervised agricultural experience project included raising, butchering, and selling broiler chickens, as well as straw production.

In the end, she says everything she does helps bring information to farmers, which is why she enjoys what she does so much.

“Why my role is really interesting is I have a really defined audience,” Schafer says. “So, the information I put out is to help farmers be successful today and in the future. They need to gain a competitive edge and learn the business side of farm management so they can grow into the future and be sustainable. Helping them to do this is what creates an industry that will continue to be successful.”

Susan Rhode, director of marketing at Farm Journal, echoes this desire. Rhode was a member of the Stet FFA chapter, served as Missouri State FFA Secretary from 1989 to 1990, and was on a state winning soils-judging team.

“I love knowing that what we do benefits the farmer every day,” Rhode says. “I remember growing up in a farm family, you had stacks of magazines everywhere. Farm Journal was always on our coffee table. It was in the stack of magazines next to my dad’s recliner. He made it a point to make it a part of his day to help his career. I think that speaks for itself.”

Farm Journal not only encompasses the 141-year-old flagship magazine Farm Journal, but also includes a multitude of other outlets, including print, broadcast, events, market research, custom content, and mobile and digital platforms.

All three professionals acknowledged that part of what brought them to agricultural journalism were their experiences in FFA.

“Truthfully, I didn’t know ag journalism existed until I went to my first state FFA convention and stumbled onto the ag journalism booth from Mizzou,” Schafer says. “Then, it hit me. It was a perfect combination of my love for farming and my love for writing. FFA gave me exposure to the field that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. I became familiar with the publications and met people in the industry.”

Through FFA, one of these connections was Joann Pipkin, editor for Missouri FFA Today.

“I met Joann at Missouri Agribusiness Academy and reached out. Before long, she was assigning me stories,” Schafer says. “I wrote for Missouri FFA Today for several years, and that gave me a great opportunity to write for a state publication in upper high school and throughout college.”

Along with learning how to network and building her confidence in writing, Schafer says FFA prepared her for her career through Career Development Events and Leadership Development Events.

“I learned a lot of agronomic and business skills in my ag classes that I can lean back on,” Schafer says. “Being on the agronomy team helps me now when writing about plant health. Communication skills go so far beyond public speaking. Learning how to communicate your points can help anyone, but really helps if you pick journalism.”

Sonja Begemann, Farm Journal’s seeds and production editor, says looking back, her early involvement in FFA foreshadowed where her career would end up, and offered a bit of irony.

“My least favorite contest team was the agronomy team, and today everything I do is agronomy related,” Begemann says. “On top of that, my first office was reporter, and even throughout school I continued to write for our newspaper. So, there was some foreshadowing. I remember calling my advisor after my first job selling seed out of college. I said, ‘Hey, do you remember how much I hated agronomy? Well that’s what I do now.’”

Begemann was a member of the Fair Play FFA chapter, served as area 10 state vice president from 2010 to 2011 and won first place individual at the national level in the Dairy Foods Career Development Event.

This love of competition is one thing that has carried her through her career, and after coming in second in districts, she said it taught her that she would only be as successful as she set herself up to be.

“I’m not competitive with coworkers, but with others in the industry,” Begemann says. “I want to cover things better, more in depth and be someone farmers can trust. It’s up to you what you want to do with anything in your life, whether it’s a silly contest or your career.”

Just as Begemann strives to be someone farmers can trust, Rhode has had opportunities within and outside of Farm Journal to be a trustworthy source for consumers.

When her first son Isaac was born, Rhode took a 14-year-hiatus from her career in the agricultural industry. During this time, she took on a new position at an engineering firm in Kansas City, Missouri.

“The biggest thing I learned was working with people who didn’t grow up on a farm and weren’t just like me,” Rhode says. “I became the advocate in the building. So, when anything happened in ag, people came to me. It totally changed my perspective. When we work in ag, we talk about being an advocate, but when I jumped out of ag for my career, I had never been in that position before. I was a trusted source of information in people’s eyes about agriculture.”

According to Rhode, you can tell agriculture’s story no matter where you are if you gain the skills and knowledge to do so, and FFA is a great place to start.

—By Alexa Nordwald Hunziker

Jul 26 2019

133 Meals Per Minute

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Two years ago, the Missouri FFA Association began co-hosting an annual statewide food insecurity day at the Missouri State Fair to package meals for six food banks across the state. Mexico FFA members have participated in this event, as well as a similar one during the Washington Leadership Conference (WLC), which sparked an interest in making a difference within their home county.

Mexico FFA members and other students in the Mexico School District spent President’s Day this year packaging 20,000 meals for the Laura Miller George Help Center to distribute to families in need within Audrain County.

The food insecurity rate in Audrain County is a staggering 23%, and the Mexico School District has numerous students receiving free breakfast and lunch. Kendra Allen, Mexico FFA advisor, explained the need to the FFA members, which inspired them to help make sure other students and their families have food in the evenings and on weekends.

“The school is on a grant so all the elementary [students] up to eighth grade get a free breakfast and lunch,” Allen said. “For a lot of our kids, that’s what they eat in the day. Our chapter didn’t think that was right, so we wanted to help provide the Help Center with additional food so they could give it out a little more freely.”

The Mexico FFA officer team began seeking sponsors for the events in the summer of 2018. Funds donated by numerous local sponsors purchased the materials for the meals through the Meals of Hope program.

“The officer team got all the sponsors, and then we incorporated the middle school ag program and other organizations in the Mexico High School to help us,” Allen said. “The officer team raised enough money to package 20,000 meals!”

Twenty-five Mexico FFA members and nearly 50 other students and volunteers packaged the macaroni and cheese meals. Each included a soy protein packet, fortified noodles, and a cheese packet. The meals contained six servings, making it a large enough portion to feed a family.

All of the local sponsors were printed on t-shirts to recognize their contribution, but the sponsors contributing larger amounts were invited to the event to package meals with the students.

“The ones who came in thought it was a surreal deal,” Allen said. “They didn’t really understand what we were doing when we went and asked for the money at first. But, once they got their hands in there and were packaging meals, they thought it was really cool that we did it, and the kids really wanted to give back to the community.”

Allen described the event as an opportunity for the students to see a different side of each other as they worked in teams throughout the day. To package such a large number of meals in one day, the students had to reach outside their comfort zone. That allowed them to see the impact their hard work was making on their community in need.

“When we loaded all those meals onto the trailer and the trucks to be taken to the Help Center, I think it was a moment of ‘wow, I just helped these people for a couple of days,’” Allen said.

Allen believes the experience opened the eyes of her students, encouraging them to be more supportive of their community members and peers.

While it might have taken only a few hours out of the students’ day off of school, their hard work and inspired hearts made a huge difference within Audrain County. With the support of the Mexico community and the driven mindset of FFA members, the chapter has intentions of making this an annual event.

—by Julie Choate

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