Farming, Saturday, November 7, 1998
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(Continued from Page D 3)
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gram.
The MC Cook Central FFA
Chapter member also has used his
skills in many ways. During his
junior year of high school Gregg’s
mother was diagnosed with cancer
and was the primary source of in
come for the family. After his mo
ther passed away he has been giv
en many added responsibilities.
Terry Rieckman is Gregg’s advis
er.
“It is my goal to someday teach
and coach in a small school, and
start my own beef herd," Gregg
said. “The knowledge and skills I
have learned from my SAE, agri
culture classes, and die FFA will
help me in offering to students the
best knowledge I can."
Ambrose Secs Potential
In Expanding
Lawn-Care Operation
“There is a great demand for
lawn care services especially with
today’s busy lifestyles,” said Troy
Ambrose, Amherst, Wis. The
20-year-old signed contracts with
neighboring village to maintain all
its parks and ball diamonds.
In addition to already expand
ing lawn care business, Ambrose
hopes to further his business into
landscape design. “I want to pro
vide smaller quantities of decora
tive stone, bark and black dirt to
people who want to do their own
landscaping projects on a smaller
scale than what other companies
deliver it for.
“My operation offers a wide
variety of services to clients in
cluding: mowing, trimming,
spring and fall clean-up, planting
shrubs, fertilizing lawns, sweep
ing driveways and lawn weed con
trol," Ambrose said.
Ambrose is a finalist for the Na
tional FFA Organization’s 1998
American Star in Agribusiness
Award, one of the agricultural
education organization’s highest
honors. He will compete with
other finalists for the award at the
71st National FFA Convention
Nov. 12-14 in Kansas City, Mo.
“I will continue with the part
nership in the lawn care service
with my dad and brother,’’ Am
brose said. “I would like to expand
the business and hire high school
students for the extra hours that
will be needed.”
The Amherst FFA member
learned to set goals for himself.
"The FFA and agricultural educa
tion have taught me responsibility
as well as record keeping and
communication skills that have
helped me become an active com
munity member.” One of Am
brose’s first goals was to apply for
his State FFA Degree. However,
he has exceeded that and has been
selected as a Turf Grass Manage
ment National Proficiency Award
Winner. Ambrose’s adviser is Tim
Pederson.
Barker Accepts Challenge,
Chooses Fanning
“For as long as I can remember.
I’ve been interested in farming ,”
said Shane Becker, Worthington,
Minn. “With my strong will, my
parents’ help, and my love for
farming, I eagerly accepted the
challenge and became actively in
volved.
“I have made progress toward
achieving my goals by increasing
yields without increasing my input
costs,” Becker said. “This year I
planted 40 percent of my com
acres to Bt com to reduce com
borer yield loss.” The 21-year-old
uses innovative management
practices to increase overall prof-
Than 44,000 To Attend
Becker is a finalist for the Na
tional FFA Organization’s 1998
American Star Farmer Award, one
of the agricultural education or
ganization’s highest honors. He
will compete with three other fin
alists for the award at the 71st Na-
tional FFA Convention Nov.
12-14 in Kansas City, Mo.
“An FFA skill which has helped
me is the ability to sit back and
look at the big picture and realize
how evetydiing I do is connected
to evetydiing on and off the farm,”
Becker said.
Becker’s motivation comes
from a strong desire, help from his
parents, and a love for growing
crops and operating machinery.
“Hard work and long hours have
brought my operation to this
point,” Becker said.
As a Sioux Valley-Round Lake-
Brewster FFA Chapter member,
Becker knows that each experi
ence through the FFA and on the
farm will continue to help him be
come a better manager. Becker’s
adviser is Gerald McConkey.
“My FFA experiences have
given me the knowledge, leader
ship skills, experience, and ability
to set goals so dial I may continue
to experience the pride which
comes from working hard, doing a
good job and looking toward im
provement in the future,” Becker
said.
Dobbins Determined
To Keep Fanning, Ranching
Tradition Alive
“I have always had a true love
for animals. This coupled with my
family tradition of production
agriculture, led me to develop a
strong desire to raise cattle, said
Lance Dobbins, Thomas, Okla.
This 22-year-old third generation
rancher now owns 650 head of
cattle, 448 acres of grain land, and
704 acres of hay ground.
After making his initial invest
ment of four head of Stocker
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steers, he reinvested into an ex
panding herd. Dobbins soon
started importing Mexican cattle
at a reduced cost, in turn using a
value-added approach to make a
substantial profit from these cat
tle.
To recognize his accomplish
ments, the National FFA Organi
zation named him a 1998 Ameri
can Star Fanner finalist, one of the
agricultural education organiza
tions highest honors. He will com
pete with three other finalists for
the award at the 71st Natural FFA
Convention Nov. 13-15 Kansas
City, Mo.
Dobbins had several sleepless
nights for a,young teen-age boy.
He took out a loan to purchase
more land. This additional respon
sibility of the loan drive Dobbins
to pay strict attention to the health
and performance of his cattle.
“This served to fuel my fire to
convince me that one day I want to
become self-employed in the field
of production agriculture,” Dob
bins said.
“My future plans include con
tinuing to expand the size and
scope of my operation,” Dobbins
said. “I believe Uiis is a distinct
possibility if I continue to use the
latest technology, careful man
agement, and maintain accurate
records.”
This Thomas-Fay-Custer FFA
member feels that he received
skills that allowed him to keep
vety accurate, detailed, and well
organized set of records. Other
skills he has obtained while in
FFA have been his marketing
abilities. “By keeping a close eye
on the markets and charting price
trends, I have been able to start de
veloping a marketing strategy that
allows me to see the greatest re
turn out of my investments," said
Dobbins.
Dobbins FFA advisers arc Jim
Maddox and Dale Glazier.
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FFA Convention
Boehm Makes Big Money
From Interest In Agriculture
“Agriculture has been the cen
ter of my personal, scholastic and
professional life, having been
bom and raised as a fourth genera
tion agriculturist,” said Dana
Boehm, Taylor, Texas. “I thor
oughly enjoy every aspect of farm
life and derive great satisfaction
from the hard and honest work
ethic instilled within American
agriculture.”
The National FFA Organization
recognized Boehm's success by
naming her a 1998 American Star
Farmer finalist, one of the agricul
tural education organization’s
highest honors. She will compete
with three other finalists for the
award at the 71st National FFA
Convention Nov. 12-14 in Kansas
City, Mo.
“For years I had experienced
what it took to be successful in
production agriculture: dedica
tion, perseverance, financial plan
ning an extremely hard work eth
ic,” Boehm, 21, said. However,
being a girl on a farm run by men
it was hard for her to become more
actively involved. “I was pushed
aside when it came to doing the
'fun stuff because ‘it wasn’t a
girl’s place to be.’
“Goals that I set forth have
ranged from efficiency and pro
duction levels in my yields to state
and national FFA award recogni
tion. The awards and goals that I
set my sights on would reflect su
perior production levels encom
passing 5,000+-pound maize
yields and 140+-bushel com aver
ages,” Boehm said.
Boehm hails from the Hutto
FFA Chapter. She was valedictor
ian in her class and is now attend
ing Texas A&M University study
ing veterinary science. Boehm
also was the state beef proficiency
winner. Her FFA adviser is Don
Kuempel Jr.
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“Increasing competitive food
markets, food processing con
cerns, and shifting consumer de
mands ate only a few of the many
issues that arc altering the en
vironment for U.S. livestock pro
ducers,” she said. “It is imperative
that my generation take an aggres
sive stance in preserving this
country’s greatest asset: agricul
ture."
Pearce Is Living
The American Dream
“Owning your own business
and making a sizable profit is the
American dream it's also
mine," said Charles Pearce, Wal
worth, Wis. “I’m still learning
every day with every new experi
ence.”
Growing up on his family's
farm, Pearce, 21, had a chance to
make a difference in their opera
tion. “Feeling the pride of making
a difference, while working, I
knew this was the field I wanted to
pursue," he said.
Pearce is a finalist for the Na
tional FFA Organization’s 1998
American Star Farmer Award, one
of the agricultural education or
ganization’s highest honors. He
will compete with three other fin
alists for the award at the 71st Na
tional FFA Convention Nov.
12-14 in Kansas City, Mo.
Pearce now manages more than
$2 million worth of assets jointly
with his family. “I now cany out
all meetings with our loan adjust
er, crop consultant, feed consult
ant, accountant and employees,”
Pearce said. “In the next 10 years I
plan to expand my crop enterprise
to more than 3,000 total acres.
“I enjoy taking risks and being
my own boss, having my own de
cision making process, and having
a variety of job roles: planning,
buying inputs, selling commodi
ties, planting, tilling, harvesting,
managing personnel, and trouble
shooting,” Pearce adds.
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