FFA

Adam Sanders Brings Hog-Wild Energy on Stage in CBS Series “The Road”

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 14:09:39 GMT

What does pig farming have to do with the new CBS series featuring Keith Urban and Blake Shelton? More than you might think.

The Road is an exciting new show that features 12 emerging artists who are competing for a $250,000 prize package and recording opportunities. Each participant also earns the opportunity to open for Urban during his national tour.

Six artists remain, and one of the featured artists is Adam Sanders, a Nashville singer and songwriter originally from Florida. He’s also a good friend of Missouri pig farmer Jesse Heimer. Not only has he performed at Heimer’s farm multiple times, but the pair has also written two songs together, including “Do What We Do.”

The tour bus rolls into Tulsa for a concert at the iconic Cain’s Ballroom. In place of Blake Shelton, award-winning country artist Dustin Lynch sits in with Keith Urban. For the first time, the seven musicians are divided up to perform two group covers before performing their originals, on THE ROAD, Sunday, Nov. 23 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT). Pictured: Adam Sanders. Photo: ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Highest quality screengrab.

(CBS/CBS )

“I think what folks see on the screen is someone who’s had just enough experience on stage in front of a crowd, and the feelings of all of it, to know that he really wants it,” Heimer says. “This isn’t Adam’s first time to town – he opened for Carrie Underwood at a sold-out Iowa State Fair. He understands the stage, the audience, and the emotions people have as they listen to an entertainer.”

It’s been an incredible experience to watch Sanders shine on The Road, Heimer adds.

“He really took this opportunity to heart – to be on screen in front of millions to tell his story and put his talent on display,” Heimer says. “Adam is a high energy guy all the time and that’s what you see on stage. But he’s also one of the most genuine, down-to-earth friends I’ve ever had. The Adam you see on screen is the Adam you’ll see on the street.”

That’s Why We Do What We Do

Heimer first met Sanders in 2019. They were introduced by a mutual friend after Heimer created a series of videos to highlight the benefits of showing livestock. His goal was to help people outside of agriculture see that showing livestock was about more than just the animal and the ribbon. Their mutual friend encouraged Heimer to produce a music video which eventually led him to meet Sanders, a talented songwriter.

Adam Sanders (l) and Jesse Heimer (r) on the farm in Taylor, Mo.

(Legacy Livestock Images/Heidi Anderson)

“I had to learn more about his industry, so I could have enough knowledge about his side of the fence,” Sanders says. “I think we spent months really talking about the idea of this. One day, it really just registered with me and it clicked. I remember writing down in my phone: ‘that’s why we do what we do.’”

Sanders called on his friend Brice Long, a fellow songwriter to help write “Do What We Do.”

“I wanted the song to be broad enough that it could appeal across facets of agriculture,” Heimer says. “I knew if we made it just about the show ring, we were only going to attract those that already believe the same things as me.”

The project started as an anthem for stock show kids and although that goal never changed, the video went down a different path than Heimer first expected. He wanted to create a music video that everybody in agriculture could see themselves in. Regardless of what your role in agriculture is, Heimer believes this song speaks to the feelings of many about why they do what they do.

“I couldn’t be prouder of how the song turned out, and how it all came together,” Sanders says. “It was just a natural fit. It took some time to make it happen, but God had a plan in all of this and how it shaped out.”

Sanders adds that the stats show the song resonates with people. Through organic promotion only, the song has now been streamed nearly 600,000 times and appears on 39 playlists. It’s received 873,000 views on TikTok, too. Beyond traditional streams, the song has been very popular with TikTok users who are increasingly using it in their content.

But You’d Get It If You Did It

Three years after Sanders released this song, Heimer had an “epiphany” at the 2024 Missouri State Fair.

“I realized I was watching my kids doing, saying and loving all of the same things I did at the state fair when I was a kid,” Heimer says. “It felt like déjà vu. I talked to Adam during the fair and told him we should write a song about it – to piggyback off ‘Do What We Do.’”

Not long after, the song ‘ Get It If You Did It ’ was born.

“From the outside looking in, it’s hard to understand why we raise pigs, why we go to shows, why we commit so many resources for our kids to find success in the show ring,” Heimer

But you’d get it if you did it
I bet you wouldn’t knock it
If you dug your boots down in it
You’d know why we can’t stop it
You can’t replace the dreams we chase
Naw ain’t no way we can quit it
Might not love it like we love it
Or live it like we live it
But you’d get it if you did it.

- Get It If You Did It

points out. “This song is a continuation of the original story. The writing is broad enough, though, that it fits anyone’s hobby or passion from hunting to sports to rodeo. I hope it gets a spot on The Road.”

The chorus is easy for people in agriculture to relate to, Heimer says.

“The show pig community has been incredibly supportive of me as an artist for several years, going back to the introduction of ‘Do What We Do’ – and even before,” Sanders says. “It seems like no matter where I’m playing, people from this industry are in the crowd.”

Live from Oklahoma Ranch

Show pig industry leader Blake Kennedy, owner of Kennedy Ventures, was fortunate to be in the audience during the taping of The Road in Oklahoma City.

“It was a really cool experience to be selected as a cast member,” Kennedy says. “When we got there, they checked us in and took our phones and belongings. Because no one had the distraction of a phone, everyone was very present and engaged.”

The atmosphere inside Oklahoma Ranch was very exciting, he adds. Sanders performed his original, “Burning Roses” and Jo Dee Messina’s hit song “Heads Carolina, Tails California.”

Although the contestants only get a few minutes of time in the TV show, Kennedy says their live performances were about 10 minutes and allowed the audience the opportunity to get to know each performer a little more.

“It was awesome to see someone like Adam be successful in his world who also enjoys seeing us achieve success in our world, too,” Kennedy says.

Tune in Sunday

Don’t miss the next episode performed at The Hall in Little Rock, Ark., airing on CBS on Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. CT. https://www.cbs.com/shows/the-road/

Read the ‘Do What We Do’ story here:
Nashville Singer and Pig Farmer Release Anthem for Ag

Tragic Turn: Trailer of Show Pigs Bursts Into Flames on I-80

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 18:23:41 GMT

With the windows rolled down and the sun on his face, Chad Rieck admits he was having a pretty good day driving down Interstate 80. He was pulling a trailer with four gilts, and one of those gilts was bringing home the title of Third Overall Purebred Breeding Gilt from the Aksarben Stock Show.

For Chad and his wife, Amy, spending precious time with their 17-year-old daughter Hollynn at a stock show is something they don’t take for granted. Their busy daughter, now a senior, was juggling the show weekend with homecoming, volleyball and dance team. Because of this, she drove separately to the show with her mom to squeeze in more of her school activities.

Separated by a couple minutes on the interstate, they were chatting on the phone keeping each other awake on the drive from Grand Island, Neb., back to their farm in Creston, Iowa. Suddenly, the traffic slowed down and their day took a tragic turn.

A car burning alongside I-80 held up traffic for miles.

(NDOT)

Igniting the Fire

“I remember my wife saying, ‘Traffic is starting to get bad,’” Rieck recalls. “I told her there was an accident up ahead and we’d get through it eventually.”

When he came upon the scene, he discovered a car burning alongside the road. By this time, he had rolled up his windows and slowly drove by the car. No emergency vehicles were on the scene, so Chad estimates the fire had probably started within three to five minutes of when he passed it.

“The front of the car was fully engulfed in flames,” Rieck describes. “The driver’s portion to the back of the car was starting to get hot – hot, hot flames. My fear of driving by was, ‘What if there’s a gas tank there, and that gas tank blows? That’s going to be bad.’”

When he drove by, something burst.

“It wasn’t the gas tank that blew, but something, whether it was a fuel line, a tire or whatever, blew a ‘poof’ of flames,” he says.

About a mile after he passed the car on fire – maybe one or two minutes at most – Rieck noticed smoke rolling out of the trailer. At first, he thought maybe some smoke from the fire got in through the open trailer windows. Then, he wondered if he blew a tire.

“I’m looking in the mirrors checking for that and continually rolling,” he says. “I see a semi behind me begin to flash his lights at me. That’s when I thought, ‘Okay, I’ve got problems.’”

Fortunately, he was coming upon an exit ramp. He jumped off the interstate and threw the truck in park as soon as he could.

“My wife’s still on the phone with me at this point,” he says. “I jump out of the truck and see the trucker running up with a couple of fire extinguishers. Because of him, I was able to get the back doors opened on the trailer. We got most of the flames down but didn’t have enough to get the fire completely out.”

When he opened the door, he saw that their banner-winning Poland China gilt was already dead, but the three other pigs were hanging on to life.

“The Poland gilt was on the back of the trailer and had somehow broken out of her pen trying to get away,” he says.

The burning trailer was caught on camera by the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT).

(NDOT)

Roadside Rescue

The fire picked up again as he tried to figure out how to get the pigs off the trailer.

“When I parked the trailer at the show, we left some tack in the trailer. So, I locked the ramp and the driver side walk-through door,” he explains. “I ran to get the key that I thought was in the truck, but there was no key there. Now, I’m just frantic.”

With no way to get to the three pigs still on the trailer, he grabbed for the big cart they hauled tack with that was standing upright in the back pen.

“Not a smart deal,” Rieck recalls. “I grabbed it with my hand, and now I’ve got some nice blisters. But even if I could have moved that cart, it wouldn’t have mattered. I had to get the pigs out the side ramp.”

The trucker ran back with a crowbar and Rieck broke the latches off the ramp door to get the ramp down. Flames greeted him. He was running out of options. He ran around to the other side’s ramp, broke that latch off and ended up getting two pigs out.

“The third pig was scared and wouldn’t come out, so I had to reach in through one of the sides to push her out,” he says. “I ended up with some burns on my arm from that, but I finally got her out.”

At this point, the trailer is still on fire. The trucker told Rieck to unhook his truck and pull it away from the trailer now that the pigs were out.

“I would have never thought of doing that,” he adds. “We had a gas can and small generator in the tack room of the trailer, so I went to work to get that out of there before we had an even bigger problem. Fortunately, the tack room was in decent shape, likely because there was a door between it and the main part of the trailer.”

Once the fire truck arrived, they focused on the trailer first. Megan Hobbs says she was able to gather buckets from the tack room to start filling to get to water all three pigs who were alive at the time. Unfortunately, they lost the Duroc, so they had to turn their focus to the remaining two.

(Megan Hobbs)

Meanwhile, people began showing up and helping with the pigs that were now scattered.

“I had one pig walking down the exit ramp,” Rieck says. “Meanwhile, one gilt was hunkered down under a tree in the ditch and the third was dying alongside the exit ramp. I’m in shock at this point – walking around and asking myself why.”

Stock show people he had never met before like Joe and Megan Hobbs of Newton, Kan., turned around and came back to help.

“As soon as we arrived at the scene, there was another young lady who worked for Legacy Livestock Imaging that had also stopped to help,” explains Megan Hobbs. “We immediately just jumped into action getting any and all water available to help cool the pigs down. At the beginning all we had was cooler water and water bottles. In those situations you don’t ask for permission, you just go with what your gut tells you to do.”

(Chad Rieck)

A Little Bit Ironic

When the York Fire Department showed up, they quickly went to work extinguishing the fire in the trailer. Hobbs says she kept running water back and forth from the firetruck to the people caring for the gilts alongside the road.

“God put us in the right place at the right time,” Hobbs says. “We trusted our gut turning around to go help as we just knew it was probably one of our own from the livestock industry that needed help.”

The firefighters on the scene also reached out to a firefighter in a nearby department, David May, who had show pigs.

“I received a call from dispatch when I was about 5 miles from my farm heading home with pigs from the show,” May says. “They said there was a vehicle fire involving a trailer with larger pigs and asked if I could help wrangle and haul the surviving pigs. Of course, I didn’t hesitate and was already on the move.”

May devised a plan to get his pigs off his trailer quickly and navigate through the piled-up interstate traffic.

“I had my 16-year-old daughter Braxtyn with me, so we began talking through things on the drive there,” May says. “I even joked with her, ‘It’s probably someone who kicked our butt today.’ But that didn’t cause either of us to hesitate to help however possible.”

When May got to the scene, he immediately recognized the pickup. It had been parked directly beside his truck during loadout about 45 minutes ago.

“I recognized the people and confirmed I didn’t know them,” May says. “I parked and walked up to assess and gather information. Within a minute, another Iowa trailer showed up to get the live hogs. We discussed what to do with the now two deceased pigs. I offered to put them on my trailer and dispose.”

After all the pigs were on trailers and the firefighters had inspected Rieck’s trailer to confirm it was safe to haul home, Rieck went over to talk to Braxtyn and thank her for coming to help.

Hollynn Rieck’s Champion Poland and Third Overall Purebred Breeding Gilt at Aksarben.

(Legacy Livestock Imaging)

“For some reason, I wanted to try to cheer this kid up who had just seen this devastation,” Rieck says. “I tried to distract her by asking if she showed a pig that day, and she said, ‘Yes, I was third place with my Poland gilt.’”

It was definitely a little ironic, both dads admit. Their kids had been competing against each other just a few hours earlier. They loaded their pigs up beside each other and took off about the same time. As they got back into their trucks and trailers for the second time that day, they both spent some time reflecting on their drive home.

A Case of Bad Luck

Hollynn drove her dad back in the truck and trailer because he was still in shock. All Rieck could think about was what he could have done differently.

“I saw a number of trailers roll right on by as we stood there with the trailer smoldering,” Rieck says. “I know the next time I see a car fire, I’m going to feel like Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights. I’m going to be like, ‘Don’t drive through it.’ Maybe I could have gotten in the ditch more, but that’s not safe either.”

It was the kind of incident that you could never predict, May says. Typically, a trailer fire starts with a bad wheel bearing, then the wheel gets hot or locks up. Eventually, the tire catches on fire and results in heavy black smoke that’s easily visible.

(Chad Rieck)

“Most livestock trailer fires start on the outside of the trailer,” May says. “But this fire started inside the trailer. This was a completely freak accident.”

The odds of something hot coming off the car at the precise moment Rieck drove by while also entering the trailer is one in trillions, he adds.

“It’s a bad-luck lottery. It could never have been predicted,” May says. “But, just like so many instances in life, you just have to react and adapt as plans change.”

Still, Rieck says he learned some valuable lessons going through this experience. He will make sure his next trailer has fire extinguishers. He won’t travel with his doors locked on his trailer. He’s also going to invest in some wireless cameras to put into his trailer.

Stock Show Support

When they returned home, a veterinarian confirmed the gilts who survived the trailer fire needed to be euthanized, as their injuries were too severe. Rieck says it was hard on Hollynn to walk through an empty pig barn the next day. Although it’s not an uncommon thing, as every show season comes to an end, this was not the ending she expected. She had high hopes of taking the Poland gilt to the American Royal in a few weeks.

Hollynn won Champion Poland China Gilt and Third Overall Purebred Breeding Gilt at Aksarben.

(Amy Rieck)

For Rieck, the hardest part was calling the breeders who leased them the gilts and telling them what happened.

“The personal financial portion of this isn’t much compared to having to contact those breeders and let them know about the fire,” Rieck says. “We work with Hunter Langholff to get some of our pigs. I can only imagine what the conversation was like with me screaming and yelling about the pigs right after it happened. I’ll never forget Hunter calmly saying, ‘Do not worry about that. These breeders will only care that you, Hollynn and Amy are fine. Pigs can be replaced.’”

With a few tears in his eyes, Rieck says he never wants to take his stock show friends for granted.

“Stock show people are pretty special,” he adds. “Because guess what? We all wanted to win that day. We raise our kids in the show ring and in the show barn for a reason. It’s so we can be around these people. My daughter is going to be a much stronger person because of the experiences that she’s had winning and losing in the show ring and yes, even going through this trailer fire.”

Hollynn says she’s already learned a lot from the fire.

“I am so thankful for all of the people who stopped to help us during our emergency,” she says. “This is living proof that the stock show industry is the best thing to be a part of. The amount of love, thoughts and prayers I have received from people has been astronomical. At the end of the day, I am just grateful my family is ok and that I will forever be a part of such an amazing industry.”

As May reflects on what happened, he says he’s not surprised by the overwhelming support people provided to the Rieck family.

“It’s what we do for each other in all aspects of agriculture, not just livestock,” May says. “I’m glad I was able to assist as needed here and glad my daughter was able to see value in helping others even when it’s not always pretty fairy dust and rainbows.”

The Truth About Stock Show Moms

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 21:12:46 GMT

Stock show moms can’t be put in a box. From the mom who can feed barrows better than anyone in the barn to the mom who always has the best snacks for the kids, and from the mom who takes all the pictures to the mom who listens to everyone’s problems, it takes all kinds to make the show go on.

Emily Spray, a stock show mom of three from Indiana, says there is no shortage of lessons learned at stock shows. One of the most valuable she has learned from being a stock show mom is humility. If it’s not the animals, it’s the kids who humble you, she laughs.

The Spray family and friends at the 2024 Indiana State Fair.

(Lindsay Hanewich)

“The other day I saw a picture of a house with a long row of hydrangea bushes,” Spray says. “The owner was discouraged because there was only one bloom on that whole row of bushes. The owner said, ‘I’ve been fertilizing them the same way. I’ve been watering them the same way. They’ve all been tended to the same way. But I’m only getting one bloom on that bush.’”

Spray relates this to showing livestock and raising kids.

“We’re not just going to dig out all the bushes and plant something else,” Spray says. “We’re going to keep at it. We’re going to keep going. Sometimes when we’ve got these kids who have big goals, there’s a lot of stress, competitiveness and goals being made. You’re doing the right things. You’re walking them all the same, feeding them all the same, but you’re not getting those blooms.”

Motherhood is about teaching kids to keep doing the next right thing. And someday, Spray adds, they might have more blooms on all those bushes.

“Keeping things in perspective is a valuable lesson,” she says. “Being able to change, adapt and edit as you go is important because there’s not always one right answer.”

“Her flexibility with an ever changing and always busy schedule is probably her super power,” Makayla Spray (r) says about her mom Emily (l).

(Jennifer Shike)

Sometimes It’s Not Your Turn
Disappointments inevitably come when goals aren’t reached or hard things happen. Spray recalls a story about one of their best Hampshire gilts before the state fair.

“I’ll never forget when my husband Craig and daughter Makayla walked in from the barn,” she says. “I could tell there was something wrong.”

The gilt had shucked her hair. Because she had a thin belt to begin with, they knew the gilt would likely not be eligible to show as a Hampshire according to breed requirements.

“That led to some hard conversations about the right thing to do. Ultimately, we’re in this industry to teach our kids the right things to do. We had to sit down and say, ‘Okay, if this happens, this is how we’re going to handle it.’”

Emily Spray

During breed checks, the gilt didn’t pass. As she and Makayla walked out of the ring, Spray says she had to initiate another conversation to shift both of their perspectives.

“That week there was a family who had some teenagers coming to the state fair when they were in an awful wreck on the interstate,” Spray says. “There we were complaining we weren’t passing a breed check, but there was another family just down the road fighting for their life in the hospital. As hard as it was to say, ‘Okay, this is what we really wanted,’ we had to think about keeping the big things the big things.”

Sometimes it’s your turn, and sometimes it’s not, Spray says.

“In that moment it wasn’t Makayla’s turn,” she says. “Instead, she had a front row seat to the Hampshire show. It wasn’t from the middle of the ring like she wanted, but she sat in the front row and watched the entire show. Those are the moments that put that drive and desire in your heart – being so close to getting that goal – to come back and try again.”

Stop Comparing
New York Times bestselling author Shauna Niequist says, “You can compare and you can connect, but you cannot do both.”

Spray believes one of the biggest challenges parents face right now are social media highlight reels.

“So many of our kids are seeing all the wins, all the kids who are having success at all the shows across the nation,” she says. “That wasn’t a thing when we were kids. We saw who won the open show when we were there that day in living color. These kids are constantly seeing everyone’s highlight reel, so it’s easy for them in that moment to stop and compare themselves.”

Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other families at shows.

(Craig Spray)

Spray wants to challenge people – kids and parents alike – to reframe that moment to connection instead.

“The best way to stop comparing is to find ways to connect,” she says. “I think there’s a lot of disconnect when it comes to being friends on social media. Have you ever had a conversation with that person? Do you know anything more than what you’re seeing on a screen about that person? How can you really get to know them?”

A few years ago, she had a t-shirt made for state fair that said, “You can’t compete with me.”

“When you read that first line, you think, ‘Oh, well, that’s kind of proud.’ But the second line said, ‘I want you to win, too.’ When I wore that shirt, it confused a lot of people,” Spray says.

She remembers one dad who was particularly bothered by her shirt. He finally came up at the end of the day and asked her about it.

(Emily Spray)

“He said, ‘What do you mean? You don’t want your kid to win?’ I said, ‘Absolutely, I want my kid to win. But if you look at any other kid in this barn, it’s not like they just threw their pig on the trailer and decided to come to a show,” she says. “All of these kids have put in so many hours of work. And you know what? If your kid gets to win today, I’m going to clap for them, and I’m going to be happy for them.”

Keep the Big Things Big
The show barn is filled with people who share many common interests. It’s where true friendships are forged. For Spray, it’s worth remembering that as she strives to keep the big things big and the little things little.

“What are your big things? What is most important for you as a family?” she asks. “Is it winning a banner? Is it developing character? Is it enjoying what you’re doing? I think it looks different for every family, but taking that time to decide what means the most for your family is key to not letting all the other stuff get in the way.”

Episode 24 with Emily Spray is one you can’t miss.

(Jennifer Shike)

Even though it’s easy to judge others by what you see on the outside, Spray says the truth is that no mom has it all figured out.

“Look for that mom who’s in the season ahead of you,” she says. “Invite her to coffee and talk with her about the things she’s going through. That has been valuable for me, because when you’re in the thick of it – when you’re in the weeds and you can’t see beyond one day to the next – it’s helpful to have somebody who’s already paved that path ahead of you.”

Listen to The PORK Podcast to find out how Spray’s social media persona, The Funny Fair Mom, came to be, why she chooses to redirect when life gets stressful, and helpful hacks every show family needs to know before state fair season. Watch this episode on YouTube or listen anywhere podcasts are found.

Young Author Tackles Show Pig Journey in First Book: 'Bye-Bye Buddy'

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 17:59:35 GMT

It’s the time of the year that many stock show parents dread and struggle to talk about with their kids – the end of the show season.

That’s one of the reasons why 20-year-old Isabelle Doherty decided to write Bye-Bye Buddy, a book about the sensitive subject of saying goodbye to your show animals.

During a literacy class last year at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, she learned what it takes to make a good children’s book. An early childhood and special education major, she says she has always wanted to write a book about this topic because she thinks it could help kids.

“I’m not a writer, and I’m not an illustrator,” Doherty says. “But I knew this was a topic that needed to be talked about and that kids needed something to look at when they’re having to say goodbye to their best friends.”

Bye-Bye Buddy is written and illustrated by Isabelle Doherty.

(Jennifer Shike)

For Alex Bobell, a 10-year-old show pig exhibitor from Illinois, that’s one of the things she appreciates about the book.

“I love this book!” Bobell says. “It showed me that I am not the only one who gets sad when I have to say good-bye to my pigs at the end of the year. The pictures were also so good.”

Wravenna Bloomberg, a mother of four youth livestock exhibitors from Illinois, was one of the first to read Doherty’s book.

“What a sweet story depicting the bond between show pig and showman,” Bloomberg says. “The amount of time young exhibitors spend with their show animals creates a special relationship with memories far beyond that animal’s show career. I love how this story highlights this, while making it an easy read for young children.”

The Show Pig Journey
Doherty has been showing pigs since she was 3 years old. Her book explores the journey of the show pig project, including all of her own illustrations.

Isabelle Doherty reads her book, “Bye-Bye Buddy,” at a special event during the Team Purebred National Junior Show in Springfield, Ill.

(Showpig.com)

“The process of writing this book was difficult because I had to teach myself everything,” she says. “I couldn’t have done it without my parents and my family. I did not show them the book until it was finished, though. I wanted it to be something special and get the reaction when it was done and when it was printed.”

Her parents have served as her inspiration throughout her show career and the development of this book, Doherty points out.

“The show pig industry has been my life,” she says. “Now, it’s not every piece of my life, because there’s a bigger world out there. But what we take from this industry can help us impact that bigger world.”

Although she isn’t pursuing an agriculture-related degree, she believes the foundation she’s developed in agriculture will impact all of the children she meets in her future classrooms.

“I can’t wait to spread the love from this industry and what it has taught me to my future students,” Doherty says.

Of all the lessons she’s learned in the show ring, she hopes the industry will remember that the youth show industry is not about the breeders, feeders or fitters.

“This is about the kids,” she says. “We need to stay on track to that by placing value on showmanship and the contests, too. It is not about the place you get in class. That’s what’s so important about this industry and what it has taught me.”

Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Livestock-Lovin’ Mama

Fri, 09 May 2025 15:43:12 GMT

When you find yourself in a jam, she’s the first one you call. She’s the glue of your family, the wiper of tears and the one who keeps everyone going. Her love is a love that fiercely protects, wisely counsels and lasts forever. From fixing your boo-boos to reminding you of your worth, there’s nothing like the love of a mother.

But enter in the ‘livestock’ mom and you get just a little more. She’s not afraid to make you work because she knows the hard work and extra responsibility will make you more prepared for life. Her sensitivity and perspective extend beyond others because she knows the heartaches that only livestock production can provide. She knows just when to celebrate the wins and when to push you just a little more.

Here’s a look at six moms through the eyes of their sons and daughters. They share how their moms helped inspire a life-changing love for agriculture and livestock.

Jodi Sterle is mother to two and undergraduate teaching coordinator and professor of animal science at Iowa State University.

(Sterle Family)

Jodi Sterle
By Jake Sterle, her son
Growing up on a family farm, my passion for animal agriculture developed naturally at a young age. But the official beginning came when my parents decided to get a few pigs for my brother Jackson and me to show at the 2005 National Junior Swine Association (NJSA) Summer Type Conference in Louisville, Ky. At the time, Mom was serving on the NJSA Youth Advisory Board, and one of her responsibilities was to attend the Summer Type Conference. Since she was going anyway, she figured why not bring the family and a few pigs? This was the foundation for my passion for the swine industry. Fast forward 20 years. Both Jackson and I are still actively involved in the industry. Jackson is beginning a master’s program at Iowa State University in swine production data management, and I continue to remain active in my role at NPPC. Our mom has supported and encouraged us every step of the way and I truly believe there’s no better industry my parents could have raised us in.

For as long as I can remember, she has gone above and beyond. She continues to serve and give back her time on advisory boards, county fair boards, and even serving as the 4-H swine show superintendent at the Iowa State Fair. She comes from a rich pedigree of servant leaders, and that mindset has been instilled into me. Service can be demanding and often thankless, but, at the end of the day, service is all about one life positively impacting another, and this, my mother is no stranger to.

Jake Sterle serves as director of industry resource development for the National Pork Producers Council.

Kim Caldwell is mother to three, wife to Todd, and owner of The LulaBarn.

(Caldwell Family)

Kim Caldwell
By Maddison Caldwell, her daughter
My mom grew up on a row crop operation and showed Angus cattle, so agriculture was part of her DNA. But she never forced it on us. Instead, she gave us the tools and space to figure out what we loved, and it just so happened that agriculture kept showing up in the most meaningful ways. I don’t think that was by accident. My parents’ love story was rooted in agriculture—they met through the livestock industry and built a life around it. They never had to tell us to pursue this industry; they showed us what it meant to live and love in it. Watching them pour their hearts into something bigger than themselves, something that brought people together — that’s what made us fall in love with agriculture.

My mom has truly done it all — not in terms of careers, but in the number of lives she’s touched. She started as a NICU nurse, taking care of babies every day — some of whom she held as they took their final breaths, all while quietly walking through her own journey with infertility. Today, she does something completely different. She runs The LulaBarn, selling clothing out of a machine shed in our backyard — and she’s one of the top five sellers in her company nationwide. That might sound like a huge shift, but the heart of it is the same: she continues to serve, to care, to bring joy to others in her own unique way. No matter what chapter she’s in, my mom shows up for people, and that’s what makes her unforgettable.

Maddie Caldwell is the Inside Sales Team lead for Compeer Financial.

Dorthy Jean Stateler was mother to two and wife to Merrill.

(Stateler Family)

Dorthy Jean Stateler
By Duane Stateler, her son
When I was about 5 years old, we had an International 300 utility tractor that I could drive. Mom could not find me one day and when she came looking, she found me behind the barn. I had hooked up an old three-bottom plow with a rope trip behind the tractor to help dad plow. But I couldn’t figure out how to trip the rope because it was too short for me to reach. She went and got a blanket, put it on the toolbox behind the seat and told me, ‘Let’s go find your dad in the field.’ When we got back to the lane, we pulled over to where dad was and he got off the tractor and exclaimed “What are you two doing? That hasn’t been used in years. Mom replied ‘Now Merrill, I will pull the rope at the end of the field if you help set the plow.’ Dad’s irritation turned into a smile and mom rode back there for two hours as we helped Dad finish the field. Need I say any more?

My mom touched so many individuals and families in our community through her music. She was an organist at church since high school. I have no idea how many weddings and funerals she played for over her 70 years of playing. I am frequently reminded by community members thanking me for mom’s contribution to their memories.

Duane Stateler is an Ohio pig farmer and president of the National Pork Producers Council.

Mary Bloomberg is mother to three and an ICU nurse.

(Bloomberg Family)

Mary Bloomberg
By Blake Bloomberg, her son
Mom instilled in her children the values of responsibility, attention to detail and resilience – traits essential in both medicine and livestock work. But beyond that, she encouraged our early curiosity by bringing us to the barn before or after shifts, supporting 4-H or FFA involvement, and simply treating our passion like it mattered. She never said no!

She is extremely resilient and does not know a stranger. She is wonderful with people and leaves a lasting impact on all those that come in contact with her. She has dealt with a lot over the last three years since dad’s tragic accident, but I am proud of her resiliency and of being her son.

Blake Bloomberg is a professor at Black Hawk College – East Campus.

Hannah Miller is a senior at Prairie Central High School in Illinois.

(Miller Family)

Tammy Miller
By Hannah Miller, her daughter
From the second I was born, my mom has surrounded me with the agricultural world. As a sixth- generation purebred swine producer, my mom helped me grow my love for the industry. I remember some of the first times I started helping her in the farrowing house. That’s where I truly started growing a love for production agriculture. She is always the first person I know to advocate and use her voice to positively promote agriculture. She utilizes every opportunity to educate others about agriculture and I aspire to do the same.

I wish people knew how hard she works and how much time she puts into things while still having a servant’s heart and being there for others. In my life, I truly hope I can be half the woman that my mom is. She is constantly working and getting things done for her jobs as well as our family while still helping me with anything I ask for and having time to help others.

Hannah Miller is a senior at Prairie Central High School in Illinois.

Jeantee Keppy is mother to two, wife to Loren, friend to many and most importantly MiMi to her grandkids.

(Keppy Family)

Jeantee Keppy
By Kaylee Keppy-McDonnell, her daughter
For someone that moved to a farm in eastern Iowa after getting married and grew up a city girl, I can only imagine the adjustment. I’m thankful my mom is a strong woman who has encouraged us all to embrace the farm. She has always allowed my dad to dig deep into his farm roots and has stood right by his side in every new ag adventure they get into. From pork producers’ meetings to running meals to the field, she has certainly embraced the lifestyle that ag brings. I love how she has always supported our love showing and judging livestock in the ways she knew she could help, like collecting ribbons, taking pictures, ironing clothes, having food prepped and cheering us on from the sidelines. You know, the things behind the scene you don’t really take time to appreciate until you’re a parent yourself!

She’s seriously the best cook around, you think you don’t have any food in the house and the next thing you know you have the best meal you’ve ever had and she made something out of nothing. To know Tee Keppy is to love her, her genuine heart makes her one of the good ones. And we still don’t know how she ages backwards but we love the fact she is ours.

Kaylee Keppy-McDonnell is director of retail business at United Animal Health.

Your Next Read: What Makes a Good Mom?

Grit, Grease, and Gears: Meet the Colorado Teen Breathing New Life into Old Tractors

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 19:57:13 GMT

Colorado teenager Tyson Hansen is a shining example of that old saying “If you start them young…”

That’s because Hansen, 17, has cultivated a rare passion for buying and restoring classic tractors. It is a passion passed down from his great grandfather, who started the Hansen family farm and pieced together a massive tractor fleet over the years.

“He had over 200-some tractors, mostly two-cylinder, and when he passed, they had the big auction and my dad bought one to remember him by, and well now it’s our family tractor,” Hansen remembers. “My dad still talks about the first day he let me drive it, and he always says since that first ride, I was just hooked.”

The tractor that launched his lifelong love for tractors - the 1934 John Deere GP in all its glory.

(Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions)

That first taste of classic tractor heaven was on the hardened steel green seat of a 1934 John Deere GP, a popular two-plow row crop setup John Deere built and sold from 1928 to 1935.

The high school junior says he’s wrenched on about 16 to 17 classic tractors at this point, all while participating in his high school FFA program and wrestling for the varsity team. And it’s not a hobby he tackles alone in a dusty, dark barn – his dad, stepmom, and brother all pitch in and help out. Because everyone knows nothing brings a family closer than bonding over busted knuckles and stripped chassis bolts.

Tyson says his family is “pretty much a John Deere family” but that he has started to feel the pull from other legacy brands.

“I started out as a John Deere guy, but I don’t even actually own any John Deeres,” he says, adding that right now his personal collection consists of two classic Case IH tractors and two Farmalls.

That doesn’t mean a young man can’t dream big, though, and Tyson’s big dream restoration project is to someday fix up a John Deere Model R.

He purchased his latest tractor, a Case 400 Super Diesel Western Special Edition with a hand clutch – one of only eight ever built, he says – with the goal of fixing it up and flipping it to raise enough cash to make that dream a reality.

“Once I got that tractor I went online and looked up some Facebook groups where the guys are all about Case, and I didn’t know anything about them at the time, so I just started asking guys for help and next thing I know within an hour I had about seven or eight texts from guys asking to buy that thing off me,” he says. “That’s when I realized that 400 is a little rarer than I figured it would have been.”

His Case 400 is also going to end up helping his fellow students in the FFA program. Tyson’s FFA teacher has asked him to bring the 400 in and is going to let the young man lead his classmates through a lesson on how diesel engines work.

Work is a key word in any farming family, and the Hansen family is no different.

“I don’t know why, my dad always tells me I won’t like it when I am out of high school, but I like to work,” Hansen says. “I guess I’ve just got a working mindset – I’m not the biggest fan of sitting in the house.”

Check out Tyson Hansen’s latest Tractor Tales spotlight below, where the teen shows off his rebuilt Case 400 tractor. And subscribe to the Farm Journal YouTube channel to get all of the latest Tractor Tale videos.

Also keep an eye on U.S. Farm Report every Saturday morning for the debut of the newest Tractor Tales feature.

Your Next Read: 2001 John Deere Smashes Record With $132,500 Price Tag

The Story Behind Why the Owl is Emblematic in FFA

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 23:14:34 GMT

National FFA Week is a celebration of the impact the organization has across the country. To help in the celebration, Andrew McCrea shares this bit of FFA history on “ American Countryside ":

In 1925, four agricultural education teachers gathered at Virginia Tech University to discuss the formation of a leadership organization for boys enrolled in vocational agriculture class. The meeting was the beginning of the Future Farmers of Virginia, which evolved to become the National FFA Organization.

One of those men was Henry Groseclose. He deserves a lot of credit for the power and foundation of FFA. Not only did he use his hospital stay to write the entire constitution bylaws and ceremonies for a national organization, but when he returned home, he even shot and stuffed an owl for them.

Shortly after the meeting in the fall of 1925, Groseclose was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore Maryland where he was confined for about six months. During that time, he wrote a tentative constitution and bylaws for the FFA.

“Henry Groseclose was a mason, and Masonic rituals influenced the opening ceremonies FFA officers still use,” says John Hillison, a retired ag professor from Virginia Tech.

Groseclose also started a rough draft of the FFA emblem, which included a background setting of a half plowed wheat field with an owl perched upon a spade of wheat in front of the field.

“The idea of the owl was the ‘wise old owl,’ they thought that would be appropriate for the leader who called the adviser,” says Hillison, who has helped preserve FFA history in the “FFA room” at Virginia Tech. “They wanted to have an owl, so the men went out into the woods and they trapped an owl.”

That owl was stuffed and became the first adviser’s emblem for the Future Farmers of Virginia.

One of the other founders of FFA was Walter Newman, who became president of Virginia Tech. He knew FFA chapters were famous for their banquets and wanted to do something to recognize that fact, Hillison says.

“So, he thought, well, it’d be nice if they had china to put the food on instead of paper plates,” he says. “So, he commissioned a company to build china. As it turned out, those FFA members really didn’t care what the food was on. So, in order to get a minimum order Walter Newman had to buy it all himself.”

Some of that china is on display at Virginia Tech.

10 Ways FFA Made Us Better

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 23:01:07 GMT

High school registration is a nightmare if you have a teenager who wants to do everything. One of our challenges when signing up our oldest for classes was trying to fit in an agriculture class so she could be a part of FFA. She made some adjustments to her schedule, put in extra effort to make it work and realized she would have to stop some things. But she would tell you it was worth the extra effort.

I suspect if other young people knew what FFA really is and what it isn’t – they’d go to extra lengths, too.

You can’t fit FFA in a box.

It’s not just farming or welding or raising livestock or public speaking or growing vegetables. It’s a nearly limitless opportunity for young people to figure out who they are and what they want to do in life. It’s cutting-edge, innovative, empowering and most importantly, fun.

In a world where more and more young people are glued to electronic devices and missing out on community, FFA offers connection, hands-on learning and adult mentors to invest in their lives.

Need more convincing? Here are 10 lessons Farm Journal employees learned through FFA that they use every day.

10. Everything always works out how it’s supposed to.

9. There’s value in a good handshake and eye contact.

8. Be confident in your own abilities, and also those around you, to achieve your goals.

7. Find someone to look up to and listen to what they have to say.

6. Read the instructions and don’t forget to sign your name.

5. It’s ok to shake in your boots a bit.

4. Influence isn’t about position, it’s about heart.

3. Keep trying new things until you find your “sweet spot.”

2. Failure stings, but it makes us better in the end.

1. To be the best, it takes top-tier effort. A little bit of preparation will yield good results, but a lot of preparation and study will always yield better results.

Editor’s Note: The National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 850,000 student members as part of 8,995 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. For more, visit the National FFA Organization online at FFA.org and on Facebook and Twitter.

Read More of our Favorite FFA Stories:

4 Ways FFA Shaped My Life for the Better

Texas Tornado Destroys Ag Shop, But Doesn’t Stop FFA Members From Helping Community

FFA Has-Been? No, Your Role Just Changes

Teenager Who Survives Brain Cancer Raises Over $30,000 for St. Jude Showing Pigs

Ag Teachers: When Someone Believes in You

Growing Deep Roots

Lucky Penny Sells for $17,000 in OYE Night of Stars Gilt Sale

National FFA Convention: Farm Journal’s Inside Perspective

Football, Flight and Friendship: How Extraordinary Teens Helped Mayfield Rise From the Rubble

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 17:43:54 GMT

Sitting in her home two hours from Mayfield, Mary Schalk learned about the turmoil just like every other teenager that night.

“I saw it on the news,” says Schalk, who’s now 17 and attends high school in ----, two hours from Mayfield. “I started all night watching the storms, it was happening here, but not as bad, so I was up all night with the storms.”

The next morning, she had a calling to help.

“I knew that I had the resources, I knew that nobody else could really drive the semi-trucks were turned over, the roads were blocked, but the runway is only 3,000 feet, and all they had to do was clear it and I could be there with so much supplies,” she says.

Schalk, who was 16 years old at the time, was well on her way to getting her pilot’s license, but she’d never made a solo flight before. The 30-minute flight to Mayfield wasn’t something she made every day, as this would be Schalk’s first solo flight.

“At that time, I was trying to get my hours in and was trying to fly solo, but I’d never been on a mission necessarily,” she adds.

Within 30 minutes, she had the approval from her instruction to make the trip, and that’s when Schalk got to work.

“Through our Facebook page, we put out there that we were opening the doors to the church and a local community and few counties over. We said that we were opening the doors to the airport and anybody that wants to bring something you just bring it in, you drop it off, and they sure did,” says Schalk.

Compassion Takes Control

From diapers and baby formula to even trash bags, she jetted off with the necessities in tow.

“We pulled over there and the hanger was within five feet,” she describes as she landed in Mayfield “We unloaded everything. And from there people from the city came out to the airport and dispersed it to where it needed to go.”

While her first trip brought the community items they desperately needed, she knew her work still wasn’t done.

“Then we eventually took some Christmas presents towards the end of the month, towards Christmas,” she says.

At 16 years old, Schalk put a desire to help, into action, even if at times she questioned if the mission was something she’d be able to complete.

“Those people didn’t deserve that, and I knew I had to do something to give back to them,” says Schalk.

From Flight to the Football Field

As compassion took flight that day, just a week later, teenagers in a town nearly 5 hours from Mayfield also refused to let the ravaged community stand in solitude.

“Last year, on November 26, we played the Beachwood high school football team of Fort Mitchell, Kentucky .We met them in a semifinal game. And we did not come out victory,” says Kathy O’Nan, mayor of Mayfield.

And just two weeks after that game as the Cardinals loss that ended their season, Beechwood marched into Mayfield with help.

“Here came people from Beechwood, their football team, people from Forth Mitchell,” she says. “They brought money, they brought supplies, they brought their hearts.”

From Foes to Friends

From foes on the field to friends on that December day, after the tragedy, the two towns saw no competition. They were compassionate peers who did what they can to aid Mayfield.

“They brought their help,” says O’Nan. “That’s a pretty cool thing.”

What O’nan describes as a football school, the Mayfield Cardinals fought the entire season this year to bring joy to this community, and help Mayfield heal. And that’s exactly what they did.

“We have the fourth best winning record in the whole United States. That’s a wow for our little school,” says O’Nan.

Honorable Rivals, Forever Friends

The Mayfield Cardinals made it to the class 2A state championship football game this month, and you’ll never guess who they met once again: Beechwood High School, with the two mayors documenting the emotional occasion before the game.

“He and I are going to meet on the field and we have a presentation to give to the city of Fort Mitchell and Beechwood High School. This is very special,” says O’Nan.

The plaque said, “Honorable Rivals, Forever Friends,” a fitting tribute from a town that became unexpected friends.

Lessons Off the Field

With all the acts of kindness this past year, what the teenagers have earned can’t be taught in a classroom or coached on a football field. Instead, it’s been a year full of life lessons of how to be selfless servants in times of dire need.

“You’re not sitting them down and saying this is how you treat people. They are witnessing it,” says O’Nan. “They are witnessing it by doing it. And by seeing how we help each other, and it’s from the heart.”

While so much has been done in the year since the tornado hit, Mayfield has a long road of recovery still ahead. To help with the long-term recovery efforts, you can donate here .

The Night Devastation Hit: Recounting Stories from the Mayfield Tornado One Year Later

Kentucky Farmers and Ag Industry Still Cleaning Up a Year After December 10 Tornado

Pilgrim’s Pride Invests in Mayfield Following Deadly 2021 Tornado

Compassion In Control: Kentucky Teen Jets Off on First Solo Flight Delivering Supplies to Town Ravaged By Tornado

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 17:43:17 GMT

Mary Schalk isn’t your typical teenager. At 16-years-old, her maturity is propelling her into the spotlight.

Growing up in a family full of pilots, her dream was always to fly.

“I’ve been around it my whole life,” says Schalk, a junior in high school in Glasgow, Ky., as well as an active member of Barren County FFA. “Since the beginning, I’ve always wanted to fly, and I’ve always wanted to do it by myself.”

A Calling to Help

In December, the day after a destructive tornado struck Kentucky, Mary Schalk had a calling to help.

“Seeing what I saw on the news that night, because we stayed up all night watching, I knew I had to serve somehow, to help these people because I was available, and I had the resources to make this happen,” she says.

With a burning desire to help, an idea came to life.

“My aunt kind of texted me and said she had an idea,” says Schalk. “I was like, ‘That is perfect.’ So we took it and started running. And I kind of thought, ‘Well, maybe I should ask Mom and Dad.’”

So, she did what any 16 year-old should do. She asked her parents for permission, already knowing what the answer would be.

“They enjoy me helping. And they always tell me to lead by example,” says Schalk.

Leading by Example

Her dad was an agricultural teacher and FFA advisor for years, so leading by example has been a pillar of her upbringing. And in December, leading by example, is exactly what she did.

“The night before we left one of our pilot buddies’ wives actually put out on Facebook that she was going to leave the church doors open, as well as leave the airport open and unlocked. And she just put a call out for people to bring stuff. We were just trusting everybody to be honest and bring it,” explains Schalk.

With a simple call for help on social media, the ask was answered within hours.

“It was just overfilling with all the stuff that people donated,” Schalk says. “She put it out on Facebook at about 7:30 that night, and by 7:30 that next morning, in a 12-hour period, there was so much donated at the airport and at that local church.”

First Solo Flight

Loading up her four-seater plane with the donations that came flooding in left room for only one person in the plane. And so with that, Schalk took off on her first solo flight, all at the age of 16.

“We’ve taken toiletries, water, clothes, blankets, and we even did Christmas presents for our last trip,” she says.

The 200-mile trip to Mayfield, Ky., an area considered ground-zero for devastation, didn’t happen just once. With the approval of her instructor, she’s completed the 1-hour flight three times by herself, each trip with a plane loaded full of supplies to help.

Watch: Kentucky Farmers Endure Epic Ruin And Worst Storm Damage In State History As Agriculture Rushes To Rebuild

“Natural disasters don’t define poor or rich or anything in between. It’s just people. And at the end of the day, those people had nothing. It didn’t matter if they lived in a small trailer home or if they lived in huge mansion, it was gone,” says Schalk.

Mission Takes Flight

And with the resources to provide relief, Schalk did what not man teenagers are able do. She took to the skies to get the relief to those in need.

“I just wanted to help those people, because I was the middle ground. I wanted to help them when they had absolutely nothing left,” she adds.

Comfort in the Pilot’s Seat

Her mission isn’t over yet. Schalk says she has another trip planned, with more supplies to help with recovery and relief. As it seems in the pilot seat is exactly where the 16-year-old is meant to be.

“Well, my dad jokes all the time. I’ll be driving like we did in the snow the other day, and he was holding on for dear life. He’s scared to drive with me. But he said he absolutely loves flying with me,” says Schalk with a smile on her face.

The FFA member is a living example of what it means to embody the virtues of FFA. Schalk is learning to do, while also living to serve. She is proof the sky’s the limit when compassion takes control.

How the Farm and FFA Shaped Nashville Star Easton Corbin’s Career

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 17:41:17 GMT

Nashville singer Easton Corbin is no stranger to agriculture. Growing up in Florida, raising and showing cattle was engrained from the start, as was FFA.

“FFA is such a great organization — it shapes so many young people’s life for the better,” Corbin says. “You can always tell when you’re around those kids. FFA really teaches kids about hard work and responsibility.”

After high school, Corbin didn’t go straight to Nashville. Instead, he attended the University of Florida and majored in agriculture business. He says that decision was heavily weighted by his grandparents’ desire for him to put education first.

“I was in FFA from middle school to high school, and my grandparents had a big, big hand in raising me,” Corbin says. “My grandpa was a cattle farmer, and he really got me into showing cattle, which was kind of mine and his project. That whole experience, through my grandparents, taught me about hard work, honesty and follow through.”

The #FarmON Benefit Concert airs on MONDAY!

Will you be watching?

Tune in on RFD-TV or https://t.co/FM7uZZu2pp at 7PM to help support the @NationalFFA Foundation pic.twitter.com/S1mmbJxlfF
— AgDay TV (@AgDayTV) September 16, 2021

With a passion for singing and performing, Corbin moved to Nashville after college in 2006. His hard work paid off in 2010 when he released his debut single “A Little More Country Than That.” The hit peaked at No. 1 on the country chart in April 2010, making Corbin the first solo male artist to send a debut single to the top of the charts since Dierks Bentley in 2003.

Corbin performed some of his hits in Colby, Kan., in August during a live #FarmON concert. While the outdoor concert met obstacles with rain and lightning, the event managed to #FarmOn and move indoors for an electric night of entertainment. A portion of those live songs will be featured during the #FarmON Benefit concert Monday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. CST. The concern benefits the National FFA Foundation.

Corbin will be joined by fellow FFA alum Alex Miller , who credits his success as an American Idol contestant to the leadership skills he gained through FFA.

Mark your calendars for the second annual @FarmJournal #FarmON Benefit Concert on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, at 7 p.m. CDT headlined by Easton Corbin with special guest Alex Miller, FFA member.
Learn more here: https://t.co/oWK1N5fi95
Donate here: https://t.co/fUzr8WfcSW pic.twitter.com/cI3PkRqhB7
— National FFA (@NationalFFA) September 15, 2021

Corbin says he’s excited to help give back to an organization that continues to impact the lives of so many students, providing them with perspective and a passion to continue to follow their dreams.

“I really think you can take those lessons you learn on a farm and apply those to life,” Corbin says. “The farm is kind of a small part of a bigger world and all those things really apply, especially about hard work and follow through, and I can’t stress enough just being a good person. It has really helped me in what I do because sometimes it gets hard out on the road and it takes a lot of hard work, and all those things tie together.”

🎶@eastoncorbin can sure put on a concert in a hangar on a farm in the middle of nowhere.

big thanks to @FarmJournal for the #FarmON concert and their support for @NationalFFA 🥳 pic.twitter.com/45An3eoWOv
— Madison Mackley (@madsfarms) August 27, 2021

Join Easton Corbin along with other FFA alum as they bring the energy and entertainment on Monday, Sept. 20. The #FarmON Benefit concert kicks off at 7 p.m. CST. Throughout the event, Farm Journal will raise money for the National FFA Foundation and pay tribute to an organization that continues to support the future of agriculture.

You can register now to join the fun onlin e or watch the concert on RFD-TV.

FFA Star Farmer Finalist: Success is No Accident

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 17:40:33 GMT

National FFA week is a good reminder of the fun and life lessons learned for a member of one of the nation’s largest youth organizations. For the kids considering their future FFA goals, take a page from Raegan Klaassen’s book: Start early and work hard.

The lights and prestige shone brightly as Raegan stood on stage in Indianapolis in 2021 as an American Star Farmer finalist.

“I had so many emotions going through my head,” Raegan recalls. “I was happy, I was excited, I was very nervous and anxious.”

Those feelings of joy and accomplishment didn’t start during that moment last October. They started years earlier at home in Hydro, Oklahoma.
It was the family fields and pastures where Raegan poured perseverance and sacrifice into a trough of goals.

“I started on my family’s farm, working for my dad when I was in eighth grade and just starting FFA,” Raegan says. “That’s when I decided it was time for me to have my own operation.”

That spark became a flame thanks to encouragement from her ag teacher and adviser at Hydro-Eakly High School.

“We sat down and talked about some of the goals we wanted to have for her,” remembers adviser Chris Klaassen.

A voice that’s more than a teacher — he’s also Raegan’s dad.

“I’ve always felt like with my kids they’re no different than any other kid in the classroom,” Chris says. “They don’t call me dad. They call me Mr. Klaassen.”

Together the duo spent the next four years pursuing the goals that would eventually put her on stage in Indianapolis.

“It started out as small goals, like we wanted to have a breed champion at a livestock show and we wanted to win a speech contest,” Chris says. “Then that worked its way to we want to be Star Farmer of Oklahoma.”

With help and encouragement, Raegan built a crops and cattle business ultimately buying and breeding her way to a 30-head operation.

“I actually ended up running those calves on wheat pasture throughout the winter as a chance for them to gain weight before selling them in March,” Raegan explains.

Those winter wheat pastures are part of a 300+ acre rotation that includes peanuts and black-eyed peas.

“It was around my junior year of high school that I was able to get contracts with Del Monte Foods and Birdsong,” Raegan says.

Raegan graduated high school with a host of state awards, including sports, and a chance at the national Star Farmer award.

“It was a result of her work ethic,” Chris says. “I feel like she didn’t mind being in the barn at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning to rinse and blow steers in order to get them into the cooler so we could be successful.”

Those little moments piled up to create big opportunities. Today, with the stage behind her, this full-time college student and full-time farmer is still driving her business forward thanks to the lessons learned.

“Right now, I’m just putting the profits back into my operation to continue operating debt free,” Raegan says.

A business cultivated by passion and watered by memories she’ll never forget.

“Overall, just to be able to represent my community, represent my family and represent the state of Oklahoma is something that I’m proud of,” Raegan says. “I hope my state’s proud of me as well.”

Ultimate Gift: FFA Members Restore Their Adviser's Family's Farmall As A Surprise Retirement Gift

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 17:37:08 GMT

Meet Larry Plapp just once, and you’ll quickly see the retired ag teacher and FFA adviser has a gift.

“I taught agriculture for 37 years and had a wonderfully enjoyable career doing that,” Plapp says.

Plapp was honored with many awards during his 37-year teaching career. His gift was the ability to connect with students, especially their freshman year.

“We touched upon a lot of different things in the freshman class, and it was kind of a launching point for the kids as to what they might take as their sophomore, junior or senior year. I just enjoyed their curiosity is for the most part,” he says.

Maybe that’s why many out of the close to 5,000 students Plapp taught will forever remember him.

“He was the greatest teacher ever,” says Carter Volck, current president of Badger FFA in Lake Geneva, Wis. “He was the teacher who came into school every day and he wanted to do his job. There wasn’t a question about that. He would do anything for anyone.”

The Decision to Retire From Teaching

The classroom was his calling, which is why the decision to retire this year wasn’t easy.

“I had toyed with this for a while,” Plapp says. “ I’ll be honest with you, COVID was a difficult time in the teaching business. We were teaching virtual at school and everything in between. It did take a toll.”

It was a tough decision, but Plapp says he simply knew it was time.

“I had a wonderful officer team lined up for my what I was thinking would be my last year, as I kept going on with this team, I thought, ‘This is this is a good way to end,’” he says.

The Gift Idea

What Plapp didn’t know was he would receive a very special retirement gift.

“We were at some leadership conference, and he was talking about how another ag teacher from a different school got a tractor for his retirement,” remember Volck. “And joking to us, he’s like, ‘Oh, I bet I won’t get a tractor for my retirement.’”

While it was a joke at the time, it quickly turned into the students’ new goal. With the help of Candice Franks, Plapp’s teaching partner and Badger FFA adviser, the students got to work.

Franks contacted Plapp’s brother, who lives in Indiana. He knew just the tractor the kids should restore.

An FFA member and his dad picked up the tractor and bought it back to the Lake Geneva area so the FFA members could restore it.

Close Call

With a separate group chat, Franks and the students worked behind the scenes, all while working to hide it from Plapp.

“One of our local tractor implements had donated us a check towards the project, and they just sent it to Badger FFA Agriscience,” says Franks. “Convenient enough, Larry actually went down to go through the mail that day, and had brought the check back in his hand. “

At that point, Franks was sure the secret was out.

“I came back to these guys, and said, “We are so busted; he saw one of the donations,’” says Franks.

“It was a close call,” adds Volck.

That wasn’t the only challenge to restoring Plapp’s family tractor. Everything was donated -- all the work and parts.

“None of us have really restored a tractor. My dad works in diesel truck shop, but before that, he worked in another like auto mechanic shop, where they like redid trucks and stuff like that. So my dad was the one who painted the tractor,” says Volck.

The Ultimate Gift

But with a mission in mind, those challenges were always overcome, and last spring during the FFA awards night, still unbeknownst to Plapp, he was in for the surprise of a lifetime. They first called him up and gave him a couple personal gifts.

“Then they said, ‘Well, we’ve got to go outside to see the next one,’” says Plapp.

“We had to walk outside, and all of a sudden they fire up the tractor, and I knew this sound, and I thought, ‘That can’t be,’” Plapp says. “It just flabbergasted me.”

It wasn’t just any tractor, it was a very special tractor.

“This is 1954 Super M-TA,” says Plapp. “This was my dad’s first farming tractor.”

It’s also the tractor Plapp and his brother first learned to drive.

“It wasn’t like some where it sits outside and rusted to death, you know, it was in a shed, but it just wasn’t runnable,” he says. “Basically the carburetor had boiled up and had some pretty significant oil leaks that they repaired.”

When most people get a plaque or other gifts for retirement, Plapp received a tractor. The ultimate gift for a man who instilled lessons beyond the classroom on three decades of students he taught.

“It really touched me to the core and it was incredible gesture of love by these people. It was just something I’ll never forget,” he adds.

His Retirement Plan

Plapp’s retirement plan is already in the works, as he plans to showcase his newly restored tractor off every chance he gets.

“I bought a trailer and a bigger truck so I can haul my tractor, because this coming spring and summer, I want to take it to some shows.”

Plapp was able to take it to the National FFA Convention this year, as well as lead the Badger FFA student in their homecoming parade this fall, showing off a gift that didn’t come from a store. No, this gift means much, much more.

Related Stories:

From Raising Cattle to Now Reindeer, How One Family is Sharing the Magic Of Christmas On Their Farm

Forget the Steaks, Give the Gift of Corn this Christmas

John Phipps: Why More Americans Don’t Actually Roast Chestnuts On an Open Fire

Two Teens Team Up to Tackle A Remarkable Farmall F-20 Complete Tractor Restoration

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 17:30:00 GMT

When Charlie Bortner and Wyatt Myers spotted a 1938 Farmall F-20, they knew it needed a lot of work. A 6-month FFA project turned into a two-year undertaking, and the finished project is polished perfection that is breathing new life.

Both Bortner and Myers wanted to enter into the FFA competition, and once they had their eyes set on the Farmall F-20, they jumped right in.

“Me and Wyatt stumbled upon the FFA tractor restoration competition, and we decided that it’d be kind of fun to enter. And so the restoration started,” explains Bortner, an 18-year-old with McCook FFA.

Watch Bortner and Myers highlight their Farmall F-20 restoration in Tractor Tales below.

The iron required a complete restoration, and the boys decided it was a challenge they’d try to tackle, as they took on the restoration project one step at a time.

“Anything that could come off, effectively came off,” says Bortner. “We had the transmission completely disassembled to the point that the rear axle housing was removed from the tractor, sealed and put back on. We had the whole entire tractor sandblasted, painted individual pieces. Just if a piece could come off, it came off.”

Related Story: Ultimate Gift: FFA Members Restore Their Adviser’s Family’s Farmall As A Surprise Retirement Gift

After two years of work, the boys can step back and admire just how far they’ve come in that time.

“Just looking at it makes me feel like wow, I can’t believe what we actually accomplished,” says Myers, a 17-year-old McCook FFA member.

“It’s unreal. It truly is,” adds Bortner.

What was intended to just be their project for FFA turned into a feat with meaning, as Bortner learned a love for Farmalls ran in the family.

“After we got done restoring it, I took it to my great grandpa. He didn’t tell me this before, but he ran an F-20 on his family farm,” Bortner says. “And just hearing his stories over this tractor, and his stories about it, made this restoration so much better.”

At a young age, Bortner and Myers are learning the power of hard work with a classic red Farmall F-20 as a piece of iron the boys will cherish forever.

Watch more Tractor Tales on the Farm Journal YouTube .

Nashville Singer and Pig Farmer Release Anthem for Ag

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 16:39:00 GMT

Showing livestock doesn’t always make economic sense, says Jesse Heimer of Heimer Hampshires in Taylor, Mo. If you pencil it out on paper, there’s not a lot of logic as to why stock show families do what they do. From the outside, it may even look like a burden at times on the families who are committed to showing livestock.

That’s why Heimer set out to produce a song and music video that embodies what stock show families live, breathe and dream. He wants to help people understand why show families do what they do.

“For those of us that are in it, it makes perfect sense. There are all sorts of reasons why we do it. As the song says, ‘We don’t do it for the money, we don’t do it for the fame,’” Heimer says.

Adam Sanders says “Do What We Do” is a song all of agriculture can relate to.

“It’s What We Love”
A few years ago, Heimer created a series of videos to highlight the ancillary benefits of showing livestock. His goal was to help people outside of ag see that showing livestock was about more than just the animal and the ribbon.

“We took this really simple concept that there was so much more to the junior livestock experience than showing competitively in the ring. It was the time spent at home with family,” he explains. “It was the time spent on the road buying your animals. It was the experience you get while you’re in the trenches doing the work. And then it was all the things that were possible after that career in 4-H and FFA.”

The response to the videos was incredible, but Heimer says he felt convicted to do more. A friend encouraged him to produce a music video. The challenge? He couldn’t find a song that fit the narrative he was looking for.

“And you can’t have a music video without a song,” he laughs. “I decided one day that I was going to have to write the song myself. Unfortunately, I’m not a songwriter and that is definitely not in my wheelhouse.”

Thankfully, one of his friends introduced him to Adam Sanders, a talented songwriter and aspiring country music artist. Heimer invited Sanders to perform at his sow sale in the summer of 2019 and began to plant the seed about his idea. Months passed before Sanders returned to the farm for another visit.

“I had to learn more about his industry, so I could have enough knowledge about his side of the fence,” Sanders says. “I think we spent months really talking about the idea of this. One day, it really just registered with me and it clicked. I remember writing down in my phone: ‘that’s why we do what we do.’”

Adam Sanders recording the song in Nashville.

“Why We’re In It”
Sanders called on his friend Brice Long, a fellow songwriter to help write “Do What We Do.” It took a few marked-up versions, but they eventually landed on the song that is set to release on May 7.

“I wanted the song to be broad enough that it could appeal across facets of agriculture,” Heimer says. “I knew if we made it just about the show ring, we were only going to attract those that already believe the same things as me.”

The project started as an anthem for stock show kids and although that goal never changed, the video went down a different path than Heimer first expected. He wanted to create a music video that everybody in agriculture could see themselves in.

Jesse Heimer’s cow herd made it into a few scenes of the video spotlighting U.S. agriculture.

“Deep In Our Roots”
As a young boy, Heimer recalls many swine breeders that were willing to help him get started raising show pigs. That’s what brings Heimer the most joy now – returning that favor to kids who share similar aspirations.

After Heimer sold all of his sows in 2003 when he graduated from college, he says there was no one in his close circle of friends that encouraged him to stay in the pig business.

“Some time away and some reflection helped me get my itch back,” he says. “When I got back into the pig business in 2006, I thought I recognized opportunity. But even then, I never dreamed that the show pig industry would be what it is today in terms of size and scope and opportunity.”

Nearly 15 years later, this third-generation farmer says he’s still in the business because he truly enjoys raising pigs and working with the families who purchase his pigs.

“That’s still why I do it,” Heimer says. “At my core, what still motivates and drives me today is helping kids have the same experience I had. I get to help kids live out their own dreams in this business, whether it’s the kids that want to show at the county show or kids that want to be competitive at a higher level than that. Even beyond that, it’s helping folks make progress in their own genetic programs.”

Adam Sanders shooting the music video, “Do What We Do.”

“It’s What We Work For”
So, if the show ring isn’t about winning, what’s it about? Heimer says that’s a fair question. The stock show industry is competitive and arguably more competitive than it’s ever been, because more knowledge is available to anyone who wants to find success in the show ring.

There’s no question these kids want to win and achieve goals, but that’s not what it’s all about, he says.

“Kids that show livestock have so much more grit when they’re done. They understand wins and losses, they understand overcoming disappointment. They’ve been through trials and tribulations that they are not going to learn anywhere else,” Heimer says. “Stock show kids have to show up. They’ve got to take care of their animals every day.”

In addition, he believes there’s a big animal husbandry piece that young people gain from showing livestock as well as an education that you just can’t learn from a book.

“There is tremendous value in the advocacy skills the kids develop that will stay with them as they grow into adults,” he says. “There is no stronger voice than the hundreds of thousands of kids across the country that show livestock who can talk passionately about meat, agriculture and our food supply. I think we have to do a better job of empowering those kids to be the messenger for agriculture.”

Four generations have raised hogs “on the hill” in Taylor, Mo.

“For the Pride That Runs Deep in Our Roots”
Regardless of what your role in agriculture is, Heimer believes this song speaks to the feelings of many about why they do what they do.

“I couldn’t be prouder of how the song turned out, and how it all came together,” Sanders says. “It was just a natural fit. It took some time to make it happen, but God had a plan in all of this and how it shaped out.”

Learn more at Heimer Hampshires or Adam Sanders on Facebook. Watch the full video here.

More from Farm Journal’s PORK:

Unpopular County Fair Opinion

San Antonio Barrow Show Winner Captures Hearts and Breaks Records

Building Future Leaders in the Show Ring

Perspectives in Progress Panel Takes a Stand on Biosecurity