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SHOW NOTES INTRODUCING BREANNA THOMPSON! How big a part of your community is your local FFA Chapter?  In today's episode we will speak with a student who lives in a community in which the FFA chapter is central. Breanna Thompson was inspired as a young girl to join the FFA because she already knew the FFA advisors and was seeing what the FFA was doing in her community.  It was exposure like this that led her to begin her own cattle herd while she was in the 8th Grade and just getting started with the FFA.  She had her father take her to the auction, and got her own buyers number. Then she bought her first cattle. Today, as an incoming sophomore Breanna is already an FFA veteran.  Her thoughts about the FFA and agriculture have evolved.  She brings up a very good point during the interview about what she sees and feels when she goes into the grocery store.  Looking at all of the different agricultural products that are abundantly available and priced reasonably makes Breanna swell with pride in seeing just how much modern agriculture really helps people. Breanna has been raising her own cattle for some time, but she wants to experiment with new ways of working with cattle.  This year she is buying feeder cattle and is going to start trying this business out.  Raising cattle is how Breanna is going to pay for her future college expenses, so let's wish her the best luck possible on this endeavor! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Beef Production HIGH SCHOOL: Laclede County High School; Conway, Missouri MASCOT: Bears FFA ADVISOR: Mary Ann Keck CONTACT INFORMATION FOR BREANNA THOMPSON: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Laclede County High School Ag. Department's website: Breanna's FFA Advisor's Email Address: mkeck@lcr1.org  Laclede High School's Telephone Number: (417) 589-2171 Dictation Of Interview (not 100% accurate due to limitations of technology): Brianna welcome to the show thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for having me Hey you bet how are you enjoying your summer? I'm doing really good actually keeping very busy  Yeah that's good. I guess you get sent home from school in March like everybody else. Yes we did right before St Patrick's Day So you've been home for like six or five months now or something like that. Yes. Okay. But now are you on farm or are you in town I mean how is that part of your life look? Yes I do live on a farm, we actually just moved from Lebanon Missouri to Conway and so we have about 50 acres where we live and then we have a bigger farm about an hour away from where we live. But yeah, I've been keeping very busy on this farm with lots of projects that need to be done as usual. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. If you're living on a farm then there's probably plenty to keep you busy. Definitely! Okay, that's interesting! You're done in March and normally in March April May you're in school, I'm sure helping out on the weekends and after school and things like that but you probably did a lot more work than normal and experience more than normal. Yes that was for sure. I have had a lot more hands-on experiences all day going to farm when I have. I have being at school all day like I get to do more stuff be it bulk or small, being more of how it really goes down whenever I'm not around.  Yeah and is farming a multigenerational thing in your family? Yes! Do you know for how long? Actually on both sides of my family my grandpa has been farming, for my mom’s side for about 50 years or so, and then my dad's side he's been a big cow farmer since a very long time, since my dad was very little. Also my family have been very agriculturally involved and so that was kind of just part of my upbringing, how I grew up always involved being outside working it's all that kind of stuff. Oh, very cool. What part of Missouri are you in and I guess my frame of reference is closer to St Louis or closer to ...