SHOW NOTES INTRODUCING BECCA LEHMAN! It is always very interesting to interview students in the early part of the FFA journey. So many students start out small on their projects or in their competitions, and then they grow into more sophisticated projects and supervised agricultural experiences. Each of these students go through a transitional period as they progress in their FFA experience. In today's episode I get to catch one of these students right in the midst of her transition. Becca Lehman has started transitioning from simply showing market animals at her county's fair to breeding livestock and selling market animals to 4H and FFA students who want to show. It is a very interesting conversation about what motivated her to do this, and how she is approaching this change. Becca has raised market steers, hogs and goats throughout her experience already. Now, she is starting her own herd of goats to breed them for other exhibitors. In addition to this, Becca works at her families two feed stores as a cashier, and his learning the business of retail at the same time. SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Diversified Livestock HIGH SCHOOL: Central Columbia High School; Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania MASCOT: Blue Jays FFA ADVISOR: Douglas Brown CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MADISON: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Central Columbia High School website: Madison's FFA Advisors' Email Addresses: dbrown@ccsd.cc Central Columbia High School's Telephone Number: 570-784-2850 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA Donate to FFA - One way that FFA students are able to start small businesses is through an FFA grant of $1,000. In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants. With your donations, more students can get this head start - pay it forward. REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world. FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation. The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: “The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America’s youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America’s youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard: Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters