I am impressed by the current crop of South Dakota FFA officers.

They are Colton Riley, Rapid City, president; Sarah Kroeger, Lennox, vice president; Lennox; Mari Robbins, Elkton, secretary; Grady Gullickson, Flandreau, treasurer; Carolyn Blatchford, Brookings, reporter; and TJ Bigge, Parkston, sentinel.

Like their predecessors, these college freshmen and sophomores are spending the year traveling to meet high school FFA members all over the state. Along the way, they are advocating for agriculture and teen leadership.

Their blue corduroy FFA jackets are conversation starters, Robbins says.

"When we travel for chapter visits, we typically eat in small town diners,” Robbins says. “We're wearing our official dress and many former FFA members will come up and visit with us about their FFA experience.”

Maybe everyone in agriculture ought to wear a jacket, shirt or cap that would encourage people to come up and talk to them.

Learned to be a rancher
Riley, the state FFA president, has an interesting background story. He’s not from a farm or ranch. Prior to joining FFA his freshman year of high school, he was considering a career as a biologist. Then, he got to know the FFA advisor.

She knew he was curious about raising livestock, but neither he nor his parents had any experience or land. She connected him with a rancher near Rapid City. Riley worked for him, and as part of the work agreement he was able to run six Angus cows he purchased with the rancher's herd.

Today, Riley's herd has grown to 14, and has helped him finance two vehicles and other college expenses. But more than income, Riley says he learned what it means to be a rancher.

"I didn't have a ranching background, so I had to learn everything,” he says. “General stuff, like working on tractors, driving equipment, animal health to more complex things like planning for the future so that I don't have too many cows to pay for feed, make sure I have finances in order to make sure debts are paid.”

By the time he graduated from high school, Riley was working for the rancher as a crew leader, helping him train other high school students.

"FFA takes the passions that students have and lets them run with it,” Riley says.

FFA LEADERS: The 2018-2019 South Dakota State FFA Officer Team includes TJ Bigge (left), sentinel; Grady Gullickson, treasurer; Colton Riley, president; Marie Robbins, secretary; Sarah Kroeger, vice president; and Carolyn Blatchford, reporter.

That sounds like something that would interest students everywhere.

To learn how you can get involved in your local FFA chapter or at the state level, contact Beth Mayrose at [email protected].

Freelance writer Lori Roti, who wrote a profile of the FFA officers for South Dakota Farmers Union, contributed to this column.