By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER

Ohio Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Being a “Star” is a big deal; fewer than 1 percent of National FFA Organization members receive the American Degree. The FFA chooses its American Stars from among Degree recipients.

Those receiving their American FFA Degrees are eligible to apply for an American Star Award that same year. Each state FFA may select one candidate in each of the Star categories: Agribusiness, Agricultural Placement, Agriscience, Farmer.

These candidates go on to the National Convention, where the final winners are selected, said Brett Evans, FFA Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE) education specialist.

Kacie Haag of Emington Ill., is that state’s Star in Agriscience. She is a senior at the University of Illinois.

“Ever since my freshman year, I’ve seen people get their American Degree,” she said. “Knowing that only 1 percent of FFA members get this degree, I thought it was an opportunity that people did not take enough advantage of.”

So, when her senior year in high school rolled around, Haag decided to up her game to be more competitive; her project was farm research with plotted nitrogen related results. “I used those results to inform farmers about the benefits of implementing new, more agronomical practices on their farms.

“This was my last year that I was able to apply,” she explained. “I never dreamed that I’d actually be one of the four finalists. I am excited to be where I am today!”

Haag, who grew up on a farm, attended Tri-Point High School, where Diana Loschen was her FFA advisor.

Blake Quiggins of Horse Cave, Ky., is representing his state as the Star in Agribusiness.

“Being brought up in the agriculture industry, when I started my SAE, I saw a need for clipping and fitting show cattle services in my area. So I started Premier Livestock Services in my freshman year,” he said.

As the second part of his project, Quiggins Champion Show Supplies, Quiggins is an independent Sullivan Supply dealer.

“I didn’t attend college. I jumped right into the workforce, and that has allowed me to build both of those businesses, as well as making a living doing what I love,” he explained. “I am also running about 45 registered cows and about 65 commercial cows.”

Quiggins’ sister, who is nine years older, was showing cattle when he was only 2, so he grew up at cattle shows. That sister, Ashley Thomas, is now one of his FFA advisors; the other is Shawn Murray. Quiggins attended Hart County High School.

“It is an extreme honor and privilege to be selected as a finalist to be able to represent Hart County and the state of Kentucky at National Convention,” he said. “It is very humbling.”

Luke Scott of Bucyrus, Ohio, always had an entrepreneurial interest. He is his state’s Agribusiness Star. He was looking for a business that would allow him to continue working on the family farm, and his first venture was selling firewood.

Four years ago, he bought an all-terrain vehicle sprayer, which allowed him to get into small fields when it was too wet to use the big sprayers. Looking for something more efficient that could cover more acres, the next year he bought a RoGator. He has increased the acreage he is spraying every year.

Scott felt some commercial companies took on more acres than they could effectively handle. He didn’t want to get to that point with his company, LS Custom Applications. “I keep a goal set in mind that balances efficiency, productivity, and getting a good job done for any farmer that wants to have me do their spraying,” he said.

He went to Wynford High School, where Tessa Martin and Mike Hoffman were his FFA advisors. He graduated from the University of Northwestern Ohio and is now working on the home farm, as well as doing his own farming and running LS Custom Applications. Winning the award was a personal goal for him.

“I didn’t play any sports, so FFA was my big extracurricular. I put in a lot of time,” Scott said. “This will mean a lot to me personally and my friends and family that helped me get to this point. I have sister that is still in high school, so I want to be a good role model for her.”

Olivia Pflaumer of Chillicothe represents Ohio as its Star in Agriscience. She had a production SAE for honeybees. She did multiple projects focusing on pollinators and their health.

In her freshman and junior years, she researched the pollen in store-bought honey versus the honey from her hives, qualitatively and as a product, she said. In her sophomore year she looked at the bees’ survivability over the winter. Pflaumer found that using reflective bubble wrap increased the hive temperature – and that increased the survivability by 80 percent.

“In my senior year, I had made the decision that I wasn’t going to go into research when I went into college,” she said. “I did the social system agriscience project looking at the perceptions of honeybees at my local high school.”

She attended Zane Trace High School, where her FFA advisors were Jennifer Johnston and Aaron Miller. She is now in her third year at The Ohio State University studying agriculture science education with a minor in agriculture science in production agriculture.

Todd Peterson of Sabina is Ohio’s Star Farmer. He wanted his SAE project to help him obtain firsthand involvement in agriculture, specifically row crop farming.

“In my freshman year, I planted wheat with my sister and my uncle,” he said. “That gave me a taste of production ag. The next year I was able to find a small field and plant that to soybeans on my own. From there, I have continued to grow and to pick up opportunities as they arise.”

Peterson is now farming 333 acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat on his own. He owns 20 acres and rents the rest.

“I am in college, my third year at OSU, studying agribusiness and agronomy,” he said. “I would love to come home and continue farming with my dad and uncle. We farm 2,500 acres.”

Peterson attended Miami Trace High School in Fayette County. His FFA advisors were Bruce Bennett, Amanda Swigert, and Wendi Mizer-Stachler.

Photo IMG 1787

LUKE SCOTT of Bucyrus is Ohio's Agribusiness Star. The goal of his company, LS Custom Applications, is balancing efficiency and productivity, and doing a good job for any farmer that wants him do their spraying.

(Photo provided)

Photo IMG 6948

IN HER RESEARCH on honeybees, Olivia Pflaumer found that using reflective bubble wrap increased the hive temperature, and that increased bees’ survivability by 80 percent. She is representing Ohio as its FFA Agriscience Star.

(Photo provided)