By: MaKalie Farmer
Future Farmers of America, or FFA, recently took on their first animal showing competition in which three seniors showed goats at the West Texas Fair and Rodeo. The show helped the students learn how to prepare the goats for the upcoming contests and shows.
“We have been feeding and training the goats for about a month now,” FFA president Jacob Pate said. “We essentially compete to see who raised the best goat.”
This year, the goats used come from a breeder in Earth, Texas by the name of Mesa View Show Goats. In total, FFA has 11 goats, four lambs, and five pigs. Each of these animals are held at the FFA farm or are kept by the students on their own properties.
FFA will compete on October 27 in San Angelo for their first livestock show.
“We are going to San Angelo for a major livestock show,” Senior Ryan Johnson said. “I almost won last year, so it’s definitely my goal to win this year.”
Although lots of love is given to these farm animals, livestock showings are not the only thing FFA is known for.
“We’re a vocational agricultural program where students can do animal things like learning how to show animals,” Pate said. “But we also have leadership improvement opportunities and public speaking events.”
There are several other events that students participate in such as: Agricultural advocacy, calf scramble, agriculture skills, meat judging, animal judging, creed recitation, public speaking, test taking, and agriculture mechanics.
This year, calf scramble participants were awarded $3000 to use in the upcoming year.
“This is where we get our food and our fiber,” adviser Cindy Easily said. “We teach the kids where our food really comes from and how important it really is.”
FFA also participated in other events such as a greenhand camp on Oct. 13, which is an interactive camp for first year FFA students, and they are preparing to begin their fundraiser for Love and Care Ministries.
“Right now we’re working on a wild game donation drive to help benefit love and care ministries,” Pate said. “It’s about to get cold outside and we want people to have warm meals.”
The efforts of FFA have not gone unnoticed. They were recently asked to be a part of a radio talk show airing every week at 7 a.m. Tuesday and Saturday mornings. They will be featured on station 96.1, KORQ. “I want people to know that there is a place for everybody,” Easley said. “You do not need to have any experience with animals, we can find a spot for you.”
