FFA Proceedings 2002 - National FFA Organization

Agri-Entrepreneurship Awards
10
Sponsored by the National
FFA Foundation.
The convention theme – Learn, Lead, Succeed –
was present throughout the week at all contests and
events. Before national convention, however, these
principles are a crucial part of FFA programs, especially
the agri-entrepreneurship program. To participate,
FFA members must submit an agriculturerelated
business plan. These students – many of
whom will become future leaders in the agriculture
industry – invest time and resources into learning
about their respective businesses so their operations
can be successful.
At the convention, 10 national winners were recognized
on stage at the fifth general session Friday
morning. Each national winner receives a $1,000
scholarship and a plaque. The agri-entrepreneurship
program is a joint venture of the National FFA
Organization and the U.S.D.A. Rural Development
Agency.
PHOTO BY ED ZURGA
Tyler Benish of Hillsboro, Wis., owns and
operates Greenboro Driving Range. Benish
opened the driving range after his search for a
golf-related job for his SAE was unsuccessful.
Benish surveyed other golfers in Hillsboro and
nearby communities and established the range
so that golfers would not have to make a 25mile
trip to the nearest facility in order to
practice. Tyler invested $2,000 of his own
money into the endeavor. After starting his
business, he made use of other people’s talents
and skills, and learned from them how to
improve his advertising and how to better promote
his business.
Eric Bragg of Thetford Center, Vt., owns and
operates the Watch’em Grow Fish Hatchery.
An avid outdoorsman, Bragg has built his passion
into a business. Bragg supplies live rainbow,
brook and brown trout between eight and
10 inches in length to local pond owners and
fishermen who want a body of water stocked
with trout. Since his customers plan to catch
the product for consumption, Bragg pays special
attention to management practices that impact
taste, including types of feed, tank cleanliness
and waste management practices.
Kelly Brown of Randolph, Wis., is the owner
and operator of Shemorlla Farms Llama Sales.
An animal enthusiast, Brown owned a couple
of llamas when she enrolled in her first agriculture
course. Brown knew that there were several
llama shows around her state every year
where people trade and sell llama fleece and
llama fleece products and decided to tap into
the market with her own llamas. Her primary
customers are members of the Wisconsin Llama
Association. She was soon able to expand her
small herd to increase her cash flow, which she
hopes will help offset the costs of college
tuition.
Carol Cook of Bennington, Okla., owns and
operates Heulyn Pembrokes, a business that
sells high-quality Welsh corgi puppies. After
visiting a kennel at the age of 10, she set her
sites on starting a breeding business. She
applied for and received a Farm Service
Agency Rural Youth Loan and bought seven
Pembroke Welsh corgi puppies in August of
2002 and sold her first litter of pups in June of
2003. Cook has always been very active in
FFA, serving as a chapter officer, participating
in public speaking competitions, chairing the
Food For America project and attending various
camps and conferences.
Tony Crescio of Randolph, Wis., owns and
operates Tony’s Organic Scents. The idea for
the enterprise came when Crescio got his driver’s
license. One of the first things he did was
purchase an air freshener for his car. He soon
realized that the scent didn’t last long after the
package was opened, and he had to buy another
and another. Inspiration struck when one of
his friends visited his family’s farm on a day
they were distilling peppermint oil. The friend
remarked on how nice it smelled; Crescio
decided to put a few drops of the oil on old air
freshener and hang it in his car. Most of his
passengers loved the new scent and Crescio
knew he had found a marketable product. In
addition to air fresheners for cars, he is also
making candles and is working on other products
that will freshen large rooms.
Kaylee Kramer of Sutton, Neb., owns and
operates Kramer’s Weed Wiping, a business that
wipes weeds with herbicide in soybean and
grain sorghum fields. Before she invested in the
equipment needed to start this business, she
researched the potential acres of crops in her
area to make sure the investment would pay
off. One of Kramer’s goals was to become financially
independent from her parents. When she
started her business, she was forced to borrow
the funds needed to purchase the equipment.
After only one year of business, she was able to
pay off the loan and has continued to receive
enough cash flow to keep the company running
smoothly for the past four years.
Levi Long of Troy, Ohio, owns and operates
Long’s Lawn Care, a business that offers complete
commercial and residential landscaping
services. Long offers a variety of lawn care services
to his customers from mulching and edging
flower beds to lawn and gutter clean-up. His
business has remained steady due to an increase
in the number of houses being built in his area.
Many community members ask for help from
his company in maintaining their new lawns.
After he graduates from high school he plans to
grow along with his business by enrolling in
several landscaping and plant identification
courses at his local community college.
Keenan Rogerson of Bakersfield, Calif., owns
and operates Living Tree Poinsettia, a business
that creates and sells Christmas ornaments featuring
living poinsettias. Rogerson’s FFA chapter
sells six-inch poinsettias as a Christmastime
fundraiser. Incidentally, he learned how to
make antiseptic growing media for plant tissue
culturing in his biotechnology class at roughly
the same time. He put the two activities
together and started growing miniature poinsettias
in clear, round Christmas tree ornament
bulbs. The plants grow as each day passes,
bringing a new look to the ornament throughout
the season. After the holidays, the plants
can be transplanted to a pot and appreciated
throughout the year. Rogerson is working to
fine-tune his production line in order to
accommodate a likely increase in customers
this year.
Mike Schmidt of Fox Lake, Wis., owns and
operates Manure LLC in conjunction with his
parents. Manure LLC offers manure pumping
and application services to dairy and hog farmers
within a 40-mile radius of Schmidt’s town.
He became interested in the business after realizing
how much time his family lost in getting
crops planted when they had to wait to have
their manure pit pumped in the spring. When
his parents purchased the manure-handling
business Schmidt purchased 10 percent of the
business himself. He has since increased his
equity to 20 percent. Schmidt understands that
time management is critical in his business. He
works hard to provide prompt service to his
customers
Kyle Seyfert of Lebanon, Pa., owns and operates
Seyfert’s Corn Maze. The corn maze offers
three basic features: entertainment, retail sales
of ornamental decorations such as pumpkins
straw and corn, and refreshment sales. His idea
to develop the maze was inspired by a school
field trip to a corn maze in another county, and
his need to raise money for his college education.
He saw great potential in the profitability
of a corn maze, since there would be very little
competition in his own county. He was able to
corner a niche market in the agri-entertainment
sector of our community and draws
crowds by offering group discounts and
hayrides.