A Calf and A Challenge

Growing up on a small cattle farm, calving season was always my absolute favorite time of the year! There was nothing like going outside during odd hours of the day and night to see if a new baby had made its way into the world. While calving season was an exciting time, it was also very stressful and challenging.

This year, on a sunny March day, my family farm welcomed a set of twins. One was a white-faced heifer, and the other a black bull. The little white-face calf picked up on nursing right away and took to wobbling around the pen; however, her brother wasn’t learning as fast. Shortly after, I noticed that he was unable to stand. Every time he got his back legs underneath him, his front legs would wobble forward and collapse. As it turned out, the calf who we called “Mo”, had weak ankles that made it very difficult for him to stand.

Since Mo was unable to stand on his own, he was brought into our basement where he could be taken care of. I held Mo up as he drank a bottle and struggled to stand in the basement. My brother and I worked together to hold Mo up as he wobbled across the basement floor. With a little bit of tender loving care and encouragement, Mo was able to build up enough leg strength to be able to stand on his own. He was able to run and jump just like all of the other calves, and you couldn’t even tell that he had been unable to walk.

Almost three months later, Mo enjoys running through the yard, chasing chickens, and going on long walks. All of these activities are things that seemed impossible at first. These were things that no one thought he would be able to do, but that didn’t stop him. Instead of giving up when presented with a challenge, Mo continued on with the help of those around him. While Mo may have just been a calf, it doesn’t mean that we can’t learn something from him.

Throughout our lives, we will have to face many challenges. These challenges range in capacity, but nevertheless, they are still challenges. Whether it’s stepping outside of your comfort zone, trying something new in FFA, a major life decision or a bad day that seems to be getting worse, take a moment to tell yourself you can. You are capable of way more than you ever expect, and no obstacle is ever to big if you are willing to give it your all. Just like it took Mo a little while to get his footing, it might take a little time to overcome your challenge; but with the help of those around you, any difficulty can be overcome. 

In Blue and Gold,

Mickayla McGill

South Central State Vice-President

Small Town Proud

At last, the time has come. Summer is right around the corner. The time to go swimming in the lake, driving 30 minutes to go to Walmart only to walk around, and driving around your small town looking for something to do. The late night talk sessions while driving around with the windows down are where we will spend most of our nights. We all have that one thing we look forward to each summer. Personally, mine is the time spent with my FFA chapter that has my towns name on the back of their jackets.

Although I love to go swimming with my friends, going to Walmart just for something to do, driving around Nashua, going down the same street over and over for hours, I look forward to getting together with my chapter and decorating our float for the annual Water Over the Dam Days parade. The meetings, the grill outs, the kickball tournaments, each summer, we have a lot to look forward to. However, sometimes things don’t go as planned. Sometimes our activities will get rained out, or being in Iowa, they could get snowed out. With our chapter being in a small town, activities can sometimes get doubled up. If our FFA monthly meeting is at 6:30 in the Ag room, you better bet there is probably a football meeting in the library at the same time!

Being from a small town, everybody knows everybody. When I go into the local Casey’s or Kwik Star, I am greeted with a “good afternoon Mr. Bucknell, how are you doing today” or a “How is FFA treating you.” The advantages of being from a small town is that everyone sees your accomplishments or failures. It is up to you to decide what you want to be known as. Everyone knows the athletes, drama stars, band/choir kids, art kids, Ag kids, they know everything you do.

Being from a small town, doesn’t mean that no one can/will be successful. It means that those that are, face harder challenges. If you fail, everyone will see you as the person that failed but not the person who refuses to give up, but if you do succeed, everyone knows your accomplishment, it is in the town’s newspaper, all over your social media timelines, and in many other places. The community rallies behind your success(s) and looks at you as a role model and for advice. I can personally say that I am proud to be from our small town where my friends have turned into family.

Create your Legacy,

Lukas Bucknell

North Central State Vice President

The Next Chapter

Graduation. The point in our lives that we either can’t wait for, or the point that we dread. Whichever perspective we hold depends a lot on our personal experiences. If you are like me, you are the person who can’t/couldn’t wait to leave high school in the past.

I’m sure we’ve all heard someone say, “high school is the best time of your life.” Maybe this is true for some of us, but not for all of us. And that’s okay. It’s okay to love high school and it’s okay to not. What’s important to remember is to respect each other’s feelings on this matter. There was nothing I couldn’t stand more than someone trying to change my mind whenever I said anything about being excited for graduation.

Most of us have attended a commencement ceremony. We’ve seen the graduates who can’t stop the tears from flowing, the ones who check on stage to see if their diploma is signed, and the ones who are yawning in the front row. Although there are widespread feelings and reactions among these graduates, they share one commonality. They have reached a new beginning.

There seems to be a common misconception around graduation. Some look at this time as one story ending and a different one beginning. Graduation instead signifies the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new chapter. Life is not separated into two different eras, “before graduation” and “after graduation.” Life is one story with several chapters.

It’s okay to be excited to start a new chapter. Think about how you feel when you’re reading a good book. Everything that has happened in the book has led you to this moment. You can’t wait to see what happens next. This can also be applied to our lives. Our years of school that seem to drag on forever lead us to our graduation. We don’t know exactly what lies ahead after our graduation, but we’re excited to find out.

Just because we have left one chapter, does not mean we have to dwell on it. As the cheesy Dr. Seuss quote goes, “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” It’s okay to be ready to start your next chapter. The pages are blank. They are yours to fill in.

Living to Serve,

Hope Brecht

Southeast State Vice President

Iowa FFA Association

Finishing the Year Strong

As a student, the last month of school can be the hardest to complete. Summer is almost here and we’re ready to start all of the plans we have for our vacation. It can be difficult to stay focused and finish the year strong, even though we have many commitments to fulfill. It’s important to keep our energy up and finish the school year just as strong as it began.


In my FFA chapter in Forest City, we have an Ag Safety day for middle school students. We bring in different animals and farm equipment so that we can educate the students on different aspects of agriculture. It’s a fun event for both the high school students and the middle school students. Our biggest issue with this event is always the time of year. We have this event towards the end of May. Many times, Ag Safety Day falls on a date after the seniors have graduated. It can be challenging to have enough volunteers to put together a fun experience for the students.


In order to make this day a success, we have to work together as a team. We each tackle a task that has to be done. We communicate to the other members of the team. When we meet to plan Ag Safety Day, we make it a fun experience by sharing snacks and telling jokes. Most importantly, we hold each other accountable for completing the responsibilities we each have. We’d remind each other to get our tasks done, so that we could create a fun Ag Safety day for our middle school students.


Once the day of the event arrives, new challenges arise. There’s always a student that decides not to show up, even if they have volunteered to help. A student always forgets to bring the supplies they need for their station. As these issues arise, we have to be adaptable enough to cover them quickly. We always come up with a solution, and the day usually goes pretty smoothly. However, it’s always a little disappointing when we find out a student has decided not to participate, even though they had previously signed up to help.


While we finish our school year, it can be easy to be the student who decides not to show up to our commitments. We get caught up in our plans for the summer, and forget how much our participation is needed. As we finish the year, I encourage you to keep your energy high. There are three things that always seem to keep me energized and I want to share them with you now.


The first thing I always do is keep my schedule as routine as possible. I do my best to go to bed at the same time, and I eat breakfast every morning. I study for tests the same way I do throughout the year, and I take notes in every class. These actions all seem like little details, but the routine keeps me focused on finishing the year.


I also volunteer for activities with friends. I’m a part of my high school Interact club. Through this group, I do community service projects with other students. In the month before school ends, I make sure to sign up for service projects that I can do with friends. Maybe it’s planting trees or helping at the humane society. This way, if I start to slack on my commitment, my friends are there to hold me accountable.


Lastly, I make sure to plan fun activities on the weekends. My family has always loved camping, but we don’t always have the time to do it. If the weather is really nice, we’ll set up our tent in the backyard. This is a fun chance for us to spend time outside together. Sometimes my sister and I will go to a local ice cream shop and spend the afternoon walking around a state park. These are fun activities that I can do during the school year, rather than waiting until summer.


Keeping a routine schedule, finding friends to hold me accountable, and doing fun activities on the weekends are all ways that I finish the year strong. By finding the strategies that keep you focused and energized, I hope you’ll find it’s much easier to finish your school year. I wish you all the best of luck with your last month of school!

Run with your Challenges,

Natalie Jefson

Iowa FFA State Secretary

Knockout

The crowd rumbled with a hundred conversations in the packed arena. The smell of popcorn, salted peanuts, and sweat mixed with the electricity in the air. Men in 3 piece suits with loosened ties, sat next to farmers and factory workers still in their work attire, conversing. Taking the center of the ring, a man in a suite lifted a microphone up to his lips and the lights dimmed. Over in the corner, a short, but built man stood, shaking his arms and bouncing up and down, waiting. The crowd hushed as the man with the microphone spoke in a deep and exhilarating tone.

“Welcome, to tonight’s Golden Glove lightweight bout!”

The man in the corner continued to shake his arms and move his legs. The crowd roared as a man in black trunks entered the ring and waved to the crowd. The suited man lowered his voice once again.

“And in this corner, standing 5’7’’, weighing 126 lbs, from Hankinson, North Dakota your lightweight champion, James Jahner!

The man in the corner stopped jumping, put up his gloves and took the ring as cameras flashed and the crowd roared.

My grandfather, James Jahner, wasn’t a perfect boxer. He was a persistent one.

Persistence, by definition, is “firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.”

Persistence can be found in all walks of life, not just boxing.

In the 1980s, the American Agriculturist had to do all they could to keep their operations afloat. Whether it was high-interest rates, low market prices, drought or all of the above, life was grim. Companies began to collapse and merge, families lost their homes, Christmas gifts were merely the free items the seed salesman handed out. But some held on. If you are looking for a real-world example of persistence after being knocked down, talk to a farmer who made it through the 80s.

But where is persistence today? In our throw-away culture, what happened?

“Something isn’t working? We’ll buy new!” “He/she and I just couldn’t work things out, so we broke up.” “It was too hard, took too much time, so I quit.”

It makes no sense. Where’s the grit? Where’s the can-do attitude? Where’s the passion?

Rocky, although fictional, is one of the most recognizable boxers in the history of the sport said, “It ain’t about how hard ya can hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” That goes for everyone, not just boxers. Life is difficult, and that’s ok. Life is about what you do in the face of that difficulty. Did you fight or did you let go? Did you plant one more year and pray for the Crisis to end? Were you persistent?

I ask you, whatever it is you care about, whether it’s faith, family, school, or work, don’t let it go easily. Stay after it. Put your gloves up and fight for it! When you get tired, or when you fail, think before you throw in the towel, because you never know if your next punch is going to be a Knockout.

Go Get Em,

Chandler Jahner

State President

Throw Back Thursday - Meaningful Service

I spent the first week of 2017 in the mountains of northern Haiti. I could take the next twenty pages just detailing the events of each day, but instead I want to share some interesting lessons I learned over the course of the trip.

Lesson One: A smile and a wave can break through any language barrier.
On the four hour drive from Port-au-Prince to the the university where we would be staying and working, I rode in the back of a van. Although this spot made the banging and bouncing of the trip a little more extreme, it gave me a unique vantage point on the trek. I can distinctly remember looking out the back window amazed at the beauty of the mountains and the contrast of the abject poverty butting up to the road’s edge. Along the side of the road were two little boys, probably about five and three years old, sitting on a big rock used to keep vehicles from driving off the road and rolling down the side of the mountain. As we drove by, I made eye contact with them. I don’t know why, but I continued to stare as we got farther and farther apart. As the van drove on, I raised my arm and waved at them. When they waved back it brought a huge smile to my face, and as my smile grew bigger, the two boys smiled back and waved even harder. Even though I had no idea who these two boys were, couldn’t say anything to them, and will never see them again, we connected, not through speech, but by a simple smile and a wave. It makes for a nice feel good story, but more importantly, it made three people’s day better.

Lesson Two: You may never know what your actions mean to the people around you.
I have to preface this by asking you to imagine what it looks like in a high school ag class or a science lab when you are conducting an experiment. This will make sense at the end. To start, I was working with a group of students at the university testing soil from their garden plots. I had about eight students who were working with me. I began by going through the soil test, explaining each part as I was testing it. When I was finished demonstrating and explaining to the students, then it was their turn. Now, to the moral of the story and why I asked what I did at the beginning. Unlike almost all of the classrooms in the U.S., this class was full of students who were completely quiet, taking notes on everything being said, and engaged and attentive the entire time. This taught me that the students and the people in Haiti are so hungry for knowledge and ideas that can help them. They are so grateful and appreciative for what we are doing to help them, they don’t want to miss any of it.

Lesson Three: Actually do something that matters. 

Far too often we work on projects or go on church or university sponsored trips, and by the time we are done we walk away saying to ourselves, “I came in thinking they needed me, but walked away thinking I was really the one needing them.” I am not saying this is a bad thing, but I want to encourage you to do something that has residual, something that will leave a lasting impact. Don’t go into a situation thinking you have all the answers or you know best. What I learned was, often times, you get the best results when you talk to the people living in the situation on a daily basis, listen to what they need, and work to solve the problems with shared understanding. Be open to what they have to say and willing to selflessly go and make meaningful change that will last longer than the time you are there.

Cole Moody

2016-2017

Northeast State Vice President

Originally Published- 1/26/2017

9 Things to do at the 2019 Iowa State Leadership Conference

The state officer team recently sat down and had a conversation about each of our favorite things to do at State Leadership Conference and this was what we said. 

CD- My favorite spot at the great Iowa FFA Leadership Conference is the career show. I enjoy walking through all of the booths in Sheman and visit with the industry people. It was always the highlight of my convention not to mention getting free stuff from all the booths. My favorite booth was always Kirkwood, they always are very friendly and more than willing to explain all the programs that they have to offer and I can say visiting with the colleges helped me make my decision to go to Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. Another favorite has to always be the Hormel booth were you take a quiz on your knowledge of different meat products and what part of the animal they come from. I look forward to going to the career show this year and visiting with everyone there.

Lexi- Who doesn’t love getting new FFA gear?! Every year that I attended State Convention, I always stocked up on t-shirts, sweatshirts, and the occasional pair of suspenders for the year. The Iowa FFA Alumni will once again be having their Supply Service next to the career show this year. You can grab the conference themed t-shirt and any other new gear that you will need for the upcoming year! This has always been one of my personal favorites about convention. I can’t wait to see y'all there!

Jake- Hands down my favorite part of state convention is the BBQ and dance on Monday night! These are both excellent ways to meet members from all over the state and run into the state officer team! At the BBQ you will enjoy some great food from various Iowa State University Clubs and while here you can see some of what Iowa State has to offer. Later on Monday night, you can attend the fun night and dance! A night full of swing and line dancing is also a great way to meet people! If dancing isn’t your thing, no need to worry, BINGO is also going on during this time. The BBQ is held at the Hansen Center and fun night is at the Memorial Union on Iowa State’s Campus. See you all there!

Cole- Being the energetic person I am, seeing old friends is my favorite part of convention. Whether you met them through state fair ushering or at your sub-district convention, you are sure to see some familiar faces at state convention. I absolutely love to reinforce positive relationships with my fellow members through exploring the wonders of convention. So while you’re out exploring all of the parts of convention that my teammates love, bring your friends along for the ride! Create some new memories!

Jodie- If you love ice cream, Clone Cones are for sure one of the BEST parts of convention! Whether you are a cyclone fan or a Hawkeye fan, I think we can all agree that the Cyclones have the best ice cream! When you are sitting in sessions, walking around with your new FFA friends, or going to the career fair, you can take your Clone Cone to go! They are also perfect to share! One can grab the spoon and eat from the bowl, and then the other can eat the cone! You can also grab some cookies to finish off the ice cream! I can’t wait to see you at the 91st convention! Don’t forget to grab your Clone Cone!

Gwen- My favorite part about convention is definitely the workshops. So many awesome people donate their time to provide awesome information for FFA members. I have learned anything from how to become a better communicator, FFA Trivia, and how to better advocate for the agriculture industry. This year there dozens of fantastic workshops being provided that I’m jealous I can’t attend. FFA members will get to hear from our National FFA President, Luke O’Leary, learn about leadership and kindness form dozens of visiting State Officers, and hear from industry experts. The workshop I am most excited for is the Women in Agriculture Panel. You will get the opportunity to hear from some of the most influential women in the Iowa Agriculture industry, and ask them questions In attendance will be Julie Kenny, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Billie Hunt, Executive Director of Cultivation Corridor, Kelsey Tyrrell, of the World Food Prize Foundation, and Marji Guyler- Alainz, Founder of Farmher.

Lane- My favorite part about convention has to be all of the fun sessions throughout the two days! Seeing all of the young members that competed in CDE’s getting recognized on stage for their talents makes me happy to be involved in Iowa FFA. From state officer retiring addresses to FFA talent competitors, the energy-filled general sessions are where it’s at. Not to mention all of the pyrotechnics such as the fire and laser light shows for all of the great entertainment throughout the sessions!

Laken- My favorite part of State Convention is the Talent Show. It’s so awesome to see everything Iowa FFA members has to offer, whether it be singing, dancing, or a funny act. I’ve always loved seeing the unique things that are brought to the table. I also enjoy getting to see the winners one more time during the sessions to be reminded of the great winners from the contests! They provide a nice break from all the awards and are always great to watch!

Chandler- Convention is always a blast! Getting a chance to leave school for a few days, take over Ames, and see so many amazing people is the best! I love the sessions! Being able to see the hard work that members from all over the state have put in and have them be recognized is spectacular. The session give someone from the Southeast corner of the state a chance to connect with someone from the Northwest corner. It makes the “Sea of Blue” a united front, which is an incredible feeling.

In Blue and Gold, 

2018-2019 

Iowa FFA State Officer Team