Student of Ag, SAE Mission
- R. Chappell
- May 19
- 3 min read
On the whole, raising a market animal is a rewarding learning experience that teaches kids, young adults and future farmers real life lessons; and that's a beautiful thing. I have laughed, I have cried and yes, I have even bled during my career in the livestock industry. That's all fine and dandy for me, I was raised this way. But I have my sights set on nurturing those who are curious about the farming, raising and show ring side of things that may not have the means or resources I have had. The following is a summary of the challenges I've noticed and my proposed solutions.
Reasons students don't get involved
It has been my experience in the world of feeding and clipping and fitting and showing these real live eating machines that there are some people with a spark of interest that are being left behind. Whether it is due to their shyness, them being overwhelmed and not knowing how or where to start, and/or their families not being able to afford the initial cost of the animal and its feed; I have personally encountered a handful of these cases. Therefore, I have committed my FFA career to helping these kids to the best of my ability.
Proposed Solutions
Shyness is an easy hurdle for me, I'm not shy and I am willing to help anyone who shows an interest and reaches out (or anyone who follows my journey). My future plans for this SAE Project include both Freshman and 8th grade outreach efforts where I can make myself available to help with everything from filling out forms to choosing the right animal for them.
Overwhelmed is well... Overwhelming. In the course of this SAE start up I will make FAQ's, forms and deadline information available to students in one organized place. Furthermore, I will be serving the people here and on Student of Ag's coordinating social media platforms with tips and tricks and lessons I'm learning in real time.
My crown jewel of goals through this SAE project is to help as many students and families as I can by easing the initial financial burden of breaking into the livestock show pen. My parents made a deal with my brother and me, and the deal was that they would cover the cost of my first animal and its feed free and clear. Then accordingly, the following years animals would be 100% our responsibility. In the spirit of responsibly facilitating project animal ownership, that's the deal I would like to offer any student that wants to commit to raising an animal but can't afford the upfront cost.
Solutions in Action
Through my platform as an FFA officer in a position of service and in conjunction with my High School FFA SAE project I am trail heading two initiatives.
Firstly, I am establishing a sponsorship program for first-time livestock exhibitors for the cost of an animal and for the cost of feeding the animal to finished weight. This is my immediate contribution to help bridge the gap and nurture youth involvement in agriculture.
Secondly, the wheels are set in motion to establish a commercial show cattle breeding program. My aim through this initiative is to provide competitive show cattle at reasonable market prices to students interested in raising and showing beef. Furthermore, I will be sharing my journey via my Student of Ag social media platforms to encourage and educate youths and future farmers by sharing lessons learned through my own successes and mistakes.
Interested in becoming a Contributor?
With the goal of impacting interested youths both during and spanning beyond my high school career, I have organized a crowdfunding initiative. All proceeds generated will go toward the efforts of both above-mentioned solutions to bridge the involvement gap to include more young people in the Ag Industry. If this is something that speaks to you, please view contribution details by clicking the link below or reach out to me personally, my email is linked below. Any and all donations are appreciated and with an optimistic heart I look forward to documenting the results of all initiatives in the future days, weeks, months and years.
R. Chappell, Your Student of Ag
email me at: student.of.ag2027@gmail.com
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