By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

BRANDENBURG, Ky. — Many young people become involved in agriculture because their parents were farmers. That is the case with Alex Richardson of Meade County – and he learned well.
In fact, the recent high school graduate was named 2009 Kentucky FFA State Star Farmer on June 11, during the final session of the 80th annual FFA Convention in Lexington. That in itself is a feat, but what is unique is that Alex’s father, Homer Lee Richardson, was awarded the same honor in 1971.

The Richardsons are part of a rich heritage in agriculture. “The farm where the homestead is located has been in the Richardson family since 1809. Of course, when my dad took it over, he had about 125 acres. We’ve grown it up and there is about 550 acres here altogether that has never been out of the Richardson name,” Alex said.

Today the farm is diversified, the elder Richardson pointed out, with beef cattle, a cow-calf operation and row crops that include corn, wheat and soybeans. That diversification has served Alex well in his FFA endeavors.

The Star Awards are the highest honors presented at the convention and the Star Farmer Award recognizes students for outstanding work in a production agriculture Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) Program. Alex has raised beef cattle, forage, corn, wheat and soybeans and has been involved in every aspect of the farming operation. His dad likes it that way and feels it benefits young farmers later in life.

Alex has also been recognized as a State Proficiency Winner in Grain Production, Beef Production and Diversified Crop Production, according to Curt Lucas, state FFA advisor.

“Alex represents the best of Kentucky FFA. He has applied the skills he learned in his agricultural education courses to develop an outstanding SAE program,” said Lucas. “It is through the leadership of young people like him that American agriculture will meet the challenges of the 21st century.” Lucas also said the Richardsons are the only father-son pair to receive the Star Farmer award.
Homer has seen quite a bit of change since his days in FFA, from GPS-guided equipment to the use of applying fungicides with helicopters, something the Richardsons did with their wheat crop this year. Those changes have allowed him to pass on some valuable advice to his son.

“I told him to never get complacent and think you know best and no one else does, because it changes too quickly. You’ll have to change fast to keep up with it,” he said. Alex is about to enter his first year in college at Western Kentucky University, where he plans to major in agriculture, but he is keeping his options open when it comes to his future.

“I think the farm has helped me to be focused. We have had to grow so much and at this point I have never really considered a career path other than coming back to the farm. However, I have talked to Dad about it and I think I have decided that at least for one summer during college I will intern at a place like Farm Credit Services to get other job experience,” he said.

“I’m not like other high school kids who had a different summer job every year and worked different places. The farm has been my summer job since I could walk and I’ve never had any other work. We both think it would be good to get those different experiences, but regardless of whether I come back to the farm or not, my career will be very much involved in agriculture.”

The FFA has obviously helped shaped the farming life of the Richardsons, but the family aspect of farming has made them successful: Passing good advice and practical experience from one generation to the next.