Eastern IA Farmer_Fall23_SOUTH

For more than sixty years, students have run
the show at the Wilton FFA farm, taking care of
livestock, planting crops that generate revenue,
and keeping the operation a going concern
BY NANCY MAYFIELD
EASTERN IOWA FARMER
About a dozen teenagers
stood at the edge of a Wilton
field on a Wednesday
morning in early May,
firming up a plan to begin planting
soybeans within the hour.
“We’ve got to figure out our starting
point,” Joshua Day said to the
group, some of whom nodded their
heads in agreement.
For several minutes they discussed
how many feet the driver of the tractor
pulling the planter would need
to be able to safely stop, the row
pattern they’d use, and the strategy
for cleaning out the meters in the
planting boxes, among other details,
“As long as that makes sense to
you guys, that’s the plan,” Day said
after a consensus was reached. As if
on cue, Tommy Fitzer, a local farmer,
pulled up in his tractor, ready to
get started at the Wilton FFA farm.
FFA students run the farm with
the help of Wilton High School ag
teachers and FFA advisors Day and
Olivia Sippy. Seed and equipment
are donated every year. Area farmers
take turns helping with planting and
harvesting, but, for the most part,
students call the shots.
In fact, students have managed the
property since 1957. The concept
started when 12 farmers donated 40
acres of land for a student-operated
agriculture farm.
As technology, soil health and
knowledge about seed genetics have
advanced over the years, so too have
yields increased. Corn yields went
from an average of 140 bushels per
“This gives them
experience they
don’t otherwise get
if they don’t live on a
farm. For those who
are more familiar,
the work lets them
advance their skills.”
— OLIVIA SIPPY
Wilton High School FFA student Jacy Wiese helps care for
livestock at the Wilton FFA livestock barn. Students are taught
how to properly care, breed, and feed the livestock.
EASTERN IOWA FARMER PHOTOS / BROOKE TILL
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