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After lifetime of FFA influence, she bleeds blueAfter lifetime of FFA influence, she bleeds blue

Andi Belt’s journey takes her from North Shelby graduate to Missouri FFA president.

January 22, 2025

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Andi Belt, Missouri FFA President

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by Joann Pipkin

Blue and gold runs through Andi Belt’s veins.

While story after story formed the foundation of her youth, the North Shelby, Mo., high school graduate says it was the memories her family shared that made her eager to learn more about FFA and how it could benefit her in the future.

“I was lucky to have a family that was so involved in FFA,” Belt explains. “I knew I wanted to be involved in FFA, but I don’t think I knew how far I would take that.”

Now president of the Missouri FFA Association, the opportunities she encounters in the organization are helping chart a course for the future.

Down on the farm

The daughter of former state FFA officers Travis Belt and Jessica (Eckler), Belt has built an impressive resume grounded in agricultural education’s three-circle model: supervised agricultural experience, classroom instruction and leadership development.

Her maternal grandfather, Harold Eckler, a high school agriculture teacher, also played a key role in expanding her skill set from an early age.

Growing up on her family’s farm, Belt showed sheep first as a 4-H member. As a freshman in high school, she says it was a natural progression to develop the purebred Southdown sheep project into her FFA supervised agricultural experience.

Related:Moms, grandmas matter for FFA members

“At the end of my sophomore year, I applied for a national grant and began a consumer direct project,” Belt says. “With the grant, I was able to start my own business selling fresh cuts of lamb meat, like kebabs and burger, leg of lamb, to local restaurants and consumers.”

The venture brought with it a brand-new challenge for the young FFA member: educating consumers on an unfamiliar product.

“I was blessed that it was very well received by my community,” Belt says. “I had a lot of support, and I’ve been able to continue that project for the last three or four years now. My SAE was something that certainly challenged me.”

Beyond the books

In the agricultural education classroom, Belt stepped out of her comfort zone and ventured into ag construction and power classes by her senior year.

“I was the girl who purposely forgot welding clothes my sophomore year because I didn’t want to weld,” she recalls. “But that class was one of the biggest learning moments for me in high school.”

She was a member of North Shelby’s ag mechanics team that placed first at the National FFA Convention and Expo last October.

“I learned a lot of skills that I never would have had before, like soldering copper tubing and cutting and gluing PVC pipe, and identifying and repairing lawn mower parts — even pouring and mixing concrete,” Belt says. “If it wasn’t for the work in the classroom, I wouldn’t have been able to transfer that to a contest.”

Learning to lead

As a high school freshman, Belt recalls writing “state office” on her goal card.

“But I don’t think I ever expected to be in this position and for it to really come true,” Belt says. “I knew I was going to work hard, but it was still just a goal.”

Attending leadership conferences such as HYMAX (Helping Youth Maximize their Agricultural eXperience) and State FFA Camp provided her with lifelong friendships and countless learning opportunities. Those served as building blocks for her role as state FFA president.

From connecting with FFA members across the state to leading workshops that included her own brother and cousin, Belt says her year as state president has been filled with treasured moments.

“Getting to help members from my home area get excited about agriculture and FFA and do what they love has been really neat for me,” she says.

Paving the way

With a briefcase full of experiences in agricultural education and FFA, it’s no surprise that Belt plans to pursue a career in the industry that raised her — despite it not being part of her original plan.

But it was Missouri Farmer’s Care Ag Ed on the Move program, a 10-week curriculum where FFA members teach mini lessons on agriculture to third grade, that solidified her future path.

“That was a unique opportunity in advocating and educating,” Belt says. “I remember coming home from that and being so excited as I talked with my mom and my advisor about it. I just knew ag ed was where I wanted to be.”

Now the college freshman at the University of Missouri-Columbia is anxious to share her passion for agriculture. She’s pursuing a degree in ag education and hopes to return to northeast Missouri following college as a teacher and FFA advisor.

“FFA as a whole has made me a better version of myself,” Belt says.

Crediting the people she’s encountered throughout her FFA journey as having made a difference in her life, her goal is to simply pay that forward.

“Passion drives everything, and if you can find your passion, you can have a lot of success in life,” she concludes. “I found my passion for people, building skills and relationships from agriculture. That’s what drove me throughout high school and helped me find my career.”

Pipkin writes from Republic, Mo.

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