On the street with Missouri FFA membersOn the street with Missouri FFA members

Tinleigh Spoonster takes over the mic and talks with FFA’ers at the state convention.

April 24, 2023

3 Min View

More than 8,000 students converged on Columbia, Mo., for the 95th Missouri FFA Convention on April 20-21.

Some FFA members were there for awards — 962 members received State FFA Degrees, and 554 FFA members earned awards in 45 agricultural proficiency areas for their Supervised Agricultural Experience program. Others competed on contest teams from livestock judging to parliamentary procedure. But most walked away with memories to last a lifetime.

This year’s theme was Ignite, Embrace, Empower, and Missouri Ruralist took it to heart. My niece Tinleigh Spoonster from the Clopton FFA chapter took over our coverage for a day and asked members questions about the convention, contest teams and SAEs. Click on the above video to see if your chapter member made the cut.

Editor’s note: FFA parents you have some amazing kids. The future of Missouri agriculture looks bright!

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About the Author(s)

Mindy Ward

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

See more from Mindy Ward

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