In celebrating National FFA Week, AEM recognizes the importance of FFA and the impact the organization has on agriculture. This week serves as a valuable opportunity to not only celebrate FFA and its members, but also for AEM to reaffirm its commitment to its support of farmers and ag equipment end users alike.
By Austin Gellings, AEM Agriculture Services Manager
Growing up on a small farm in southeastern Wisconsin instilled a love for agriculture within me at a young age. It’s what I know – and what I’ve always known – as it’s been in my life for as long as I can remember.
My family has been farming in Wisconsin for more than two centuries and over the span of many generations. A lot has changed over that time, as our family has gone from raising 400 beef cattle a year and running 500 acres of row crops, to now raising over 25,000 chickens a year and running over 1,000 acres of hay land.
My life in agriculture began when I father, sister and I moved back to our family’s farm when I was 6 years old. So from a young age I have known what it is like to work on a farm, whether that be taking care of the animals or working out in the fields. Looking back, it’s clear to me this is where my love for agriculture began. And to this day, I still love working with animals and farm machinery.
It wasn’t until high school, however, that I was afforded the opportunity to join the National FFA Organization (FFA). At the time, I has never heard of it, but I’m so glad I took the opportunity to participate. Ultimately, FFA opened my eyes to everything agriculture had to offer.
When you grow up on a farm like I did, it can be all too easy to become narrow-minded in how you perceive ag based on what your family farms. FFA changed all of that for me. And while I never got the chance to go to the FFA National Convention or take part in any National FFA career and leadership development events, I’m truly grateful for everything the organization exposed me to thanks to my involvement in my local chapter.
Looking back, one of my biggest takeaways from my FFA experience is it has led to opportunities for me to be able to work outside the farm while still being able to be involved in – and more importantly, contribute to – ag. Each month, our chapter would have a meeting after school, where among other activities, we would welcome a speaker or the head of our chapter. He or she would often give a presentation on a variety of topics.
At some point during my second year with FFA, we had a speaker talk to us about the different careers in ag. I’ll never forget his message: No matter what you go to school for, or what your passion is, there is a way to give back to agriculture. Interested in medicine? Become a veterinarian. Business savvy? Work for an ag company. Like building? Become an equipment engineer.
His advice proved critical to my growth and development as a young adult. Throughout high school, I would continuously wrestle with what I wanted to do for a living, even though I knew deep down that I wanted to someday find my way back to agriculture through the work I would do outside of the farm. Knowing that I could pursue a professional career and still take part in ag ultimately gave me the confidence I needed to pursue my dreams.
Now, years later, I get to work directly with AEM members to make a real difference in ag. I have also had the chance to work with FFA as well through AEM’s sponsoring of FFA’s Innovation Station. However, I never would have had the self-assurance to pursue the roads that have led me to this point in my career had it not been for me taking part in FFA and being exposed to all the different ways I could give back to the industry that I love to this day.
Are you willing to help me continue to make a difference in ag? If any of this has stuck a chord with you, then AEM would like to invite you to support inspiration and become an FFA superfan. No experience is necessary. Every quarter we will provide you with one idea or opportunity around how you can connect in a meaningful way to FFA. Along with this we will also meet once a quarter to reflect on how the previous quarters engagement went and talk through new ways we can engage in the future. All of this will build up to an in person meeting at FFA National Convention each year where we will all come together as a group and support the students that are there in attendance in various ways. This group is for anyone who once engaged with FFA and wants to tap back into those roots, or anyone who has just heard of FFA and wants to be involved because they love the idea behind the organization. Reach out to me at agellings@aem.org to learn more or to get involved.
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