“For five years I maintained records on a herd of dairy cows that I raised within my family’s farm,” Hartschuh says. “Through that experience I learned how to select animals that were profitable and long-lived. The project also brought me in contact with other people in the dairy industry, which gave me experience in networking and working cooperatively with other people involved with dairies.”

Hartschuh received the National FFA Dairy Production Entrepreneurship Proficiency

Award as a result of the five-year project he recently completed. He was selected for the recognition due to his ability to knowledgeably discuss and explain his project and the results of his work.

“Financial management was a big part of the project,” he says. “It was easy to recognize the value of keeping records. I can see how important that data is when you have to make management decisions.”

 

Among the other dairy industry topics Hartschuh’s explored in his project was dairy and product promotion. He discovered the importance of “selling” the family dairy and using the wide variety of tools – including Internet opportunities and word-of-mouth – to tell others about his family’s work and the industry’s products.

“One of the skills that I gained from the experience was added confidence in my ability to speak in public,” Hartschuh says. “That’s important because today’s dairy owners have to do more than just operate their dairy. Very often they’re called on to interact with consumers, be able to tell their ‘story’ and help their community and customers learn more about the dairy industry. I certainly learned what it takes to maintain a profitable dairy. I also learned that keeping customer trust is just as important as any other function of the dairy farm. Without a customer base there’s no need to produce dairy products.” 

 

Both Hartschuh’s parents grew up on a dairy farm and his brothers also took advantage of the learning opportunities found in FFA.

In addition to in-depth learning about his family’s dairy farm and the dairy industry as a whole, Hartschuh says he developed leadership skills that have already given him an edge in his college community and current work experience.  “It’s becoming more important every day to learn how to use leadership skills in the workplace,” Hartschuh says. “If you can’t work with others, it won’t matter how much knowledge you have. You can’t be nearly as effective on your own as you can working within a group. I haven’t made a decision about my career path yet, but it won’t matter what field I’m in, I’ll take the learning and leadership skills with me to the workplace. I’ll also be able to make use of what I’ve learned in the community where I live.”

 

Hartschuh’s experience is one Brian Hendrickson has seen repeated again and again as he mentors and coaches youth who take advantage of FFA learning opportunities. With 28 years of teaching ag and working with FFA, Hendrickson knows the benefits of the experience follows students throughout their lifetime.

 

“My dad was an Ag teacher and involved with FFA so I grew up watching older kids work through FFA projects, travel to different places and gain a lot of experience,” Hendrickson says. “I spent 27 years in Wisconsin and recently came to Catoctin High School in Maryland. I don’t know of any better way to match the interests of students to their career path and help them meet their potential than through FFA projects.”

 

One of the students Hendrickson coached went on to develop her Political Science career and work in the Wisconsin state legislative branch. Throughout his career as a teacher and FFA mentor, Henderickson hasn’t limited his ability to mentor youth to his home state.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with kids across the US, in Puerto Rico and many different places,” he says. “I’ve never tire of seeing the kids I work with make it to their state FFA competition and then come to the national FFA stage and be recognized there. I have the pleasure of working with these fine young people and their parents. It’s a great reward.

“There are 47 different proficiency areas in FFA,” he adds. “In Wisconsin dairy was a huge project area for my students. I would love to see more industries across the United States, those outside traditional agriculture, become involved in sponsoring FFA programs in their community, too. FFA gives youth interested in dairy many opportunities to learn about the industry, whether their interest is in the actual dairy operation or some other facet of the industry.”

Because his passion lies in agriculture, Hendrickson encourages the youth in his programs to follow that path, but he says Hartshcuh is exactly right about the benefits of an FFA experience, regardless of the industry an FFA member works in.  “Learning to organize a project, maintain records about that project and give presentations about their work. Those are all valuable skills in any setting,” he says. “There are plenty of opportunities for youth in the dairy industry. We need to keep promoting that and encourage them to set their goals high and go for them.”

 

Approximately 3,300 students from nearly 170 school districts in Minnesota attended this year’s state convention in April in St. Paul. FFA Dairy Cattle CDE Superintendent Jim Ertl says there’s no substitute for the value of hands-on learning that FFA projects provide.

“Through our FFA SAE projects and programs, students learn exactly what they need to know about the dairy industry or whatever industry their project is related to,” Ertl says. “It’s the reality of that field, not all theory. It’s practical and current knowledge.”

Ertl sees the “best of the best” as he works with FFA students who bring their projects to the state convention. He says the quality and content of FFA projects speaks highly of their advisors who have assisted them.  “It’s unbelievable what kind of work these youth are doing,” he says. “A young man, Kyle Orr, has done some work mapping epilepsy in fruit flies. He started in FFA as a 7th or 8th grader. He was recently selected to attend a world food conference consortium in China in June 2010. He learned about these opportunities through FFA and he’s made the most of them.”

 

Ertl notes that ag teachers who participate in FFA are often ideal mentors for students who want to develop their knowledge of a particular field before they reach college age. He points to a young Minnesota woman, Amy Robak from Foley, who was named Star Over American in Agriscience in 2009.

“She can tell you more about soil than you ever wanted to know,” he says. “She’s studied fertilizer, manure and the environmental side of crop production. She’s isn’t certain yet what career path she’ll take but she’s just one example of a phenomenal young student who became involved in FFA and is reaching their potential through the organization.”

 

Ertl notes that one of the strengths of FFA is the wide variety of project areas students can explore. While many students work in the area of livestock and crops, opportunities to develop management, service and other industry-related skills are also available to students.

 “Because in our work we are in contact with the dairy cattle industry we have first-hand knowledge of what employers are looking for,” Ertl says. “The basic skill every employer wants in their employees is the ability to talk and communicate and utilize critical thinking skills. They want to know the people they hire are team players. Technical skills can be learned on the job, but employees lacking social and communication skills may not turn out to be very productive to the business.”

One of the challenges facing FFA today is the cost of the program in schools that are often experiencing reduced budgets and less than bright outlooks for expansion in the next few years. Ertl says losing an FFA program in any school is detrimental to the youth enrolled there.  “FFA programs really should be year-round,” he says. “Superintendents or administrators overlook or may not know the student projects or work related SAE that take place throughout the entire year, so it makes sense to have instructors guide and chaperone students all year. It’s a difficult situation and FFA is often one of the first programs schools look at when they have budget issues.”

 

Because FFA is widespread in Minnesota, Ertl says students there value and take advantage of the program. While he’s deeply involved in dairy projects, he says Minnesota students will also find opportunities to explore other project areas pertinent to their state such as wildlife and natural resources, horticulture and landscaping.  “I know one of our Star candidates worked for a landscape service all summer, mowing lawns and installing landscape barriers,” Ertl says. “He plowed snow in the winter, using his own truck. I know he made some money and learned about the industry he was interested in. That’s just one of our FFA success stories. There are hundreds of them. Just ask any ag teacher and they’ll be glad to explain the benefits of FFA that apply not just to students but to everyone who takes part in a successful local program.”

 

More information about FFA is available at www.ffa.org.