LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Four Hoosier FFA members were named Stars Over Indiana for excelling in Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) endeavors. The Indiana FFA Association named its 2023 State Stars as part of its 94th Indiana State Convention held last month at Purdue University. 

After submitting an application, a personal interview and a site visit these four were deemed Star finalists in their respective categories: Agriscience, Agribusiness, Agricultural Placement and Star Farmer.

 

Matthias Hefty of the DeKalb FFA Chapter is the new Star in Agriscience.

For his SAE, Hefty wanted to reduce hay waste from his experiences raising sheep and meat goats. By reducing hay waste he could increase the efficiency of the goat enterprise he shared with his sister. He collected 81 data points, from three variables and control, and was able to reduce hay waste by 85 percent. As the responsibility of his goat SAE increased, so did the use of the scientific method to solve problems in the goat herd. Hefty’s SAE was performed over a three-year period.

 “My freshman year I built a hay bunk feeder in order to reduce hay waste within my herd,” Hefty said. “My sophomore year I built a retractable tray within my fence line feeders to be able to remove manure within the feeder, thus reducing the re-consumption of parasites in order to ensure herd health and to reduce the time needed to de-worm my goats. My current project focuses on a fecal floatation device that could detect parasites properly within my goats.”

 

Cole McCloskey of the Lewis Cass FFA Chapter is the new Star in Agribusiness.

After watching his father and grandfather work on and restore antique tractors, Cole decided it was his time to start buying, restoring and maintaining vintage tractors and equipment. In 2021 Cole bought six tractors and many different farm implements and machinery to launch his SAE.

 “One of the biggest challenges has been finding parts for some of the tractors, which has resulted in the need to re-create parts as well,” McCloskey said.

McCloskey says he plans to continue buying tractors by selling some of the pieces, adding that as his skills continue to develop he will take on more advanced and complex tasks to repair and maintain the antique equipment.

 “A lot of what we work on involves finding a lot of parts for rare tractors or foreign tractors,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of different brands, some of the brands we have are Lamborghini or Ferrari or Porsche, and some other brands that people might not have heard of before.

“My dad and grandpa have been around Cass County, Indiana, their entire life and I’ve gotten to know a lot of great people. I also credit FFA. I’ve competed in 18 different contests in my FFA career and in each one I’ve taken away a different skill of leadership and career development.”

 

Ryan Kihlstrum of the Eastern Hancock FFA Chapter is the new Star in Agricultural Placement.

Kihlstrum works at B Thompson Associates LLC as a field tile technician. Kihlstrum had to learn from scratch, as he had no experience or knowledge of field tile. It didn’t take long for Kihlstrum to flourish in this trade as he is now able to recognize problems and fix them, complete tasks on his own, and can think several steps ahead.

 Kihlstrum has become proficient at analyzing field maps, selecting tile patterns, and installing tile at the correct grade. He recently started overseeing new hires for his employer and assists in their training.

“Through my employment I’ve gained a lot of experience and knowledge with heavy equipment,” Kihlstrum said. “Before doing this I knew nothing about field tile work. My main job is that of field drainage, and that entails digging holes to make sure everything is on grade so the water is getting out of the fields and the crops can keep growing.”

Kihlstrum, too, credits FFA for his success.

“FFA has helped me be more social and able to communicate with others better. FFA has helped me with my future,” he said.

 

Lucas Lyons of the Jay County FFA Chapter is the new Star Farmer.

As the seventh generation on his family farm, Lyons has always been deeply immersed in agriculture. Today, with no outside assistance, Lyons tends to five acres of hay, 65 acres of cash-rent ground, two acres of sweet corn and 40 goats he raises for market. He manages his operation independently and still offers many hours of assistance to his family’s farm.

“There’s a lot still to learn,” Lyons said. “Over the years I’ve learned many lifelong lessons. The most important one is to be patient. You never know what’s going to be thrown at you on the farm. It’s very uncertain, so having patience is a virtue.”

Lucas just completed his first year at Purdue University, There he is studying Ag Education with a dual minor in Crop Science and Farm Management.

 “All this will help me with farm management when I get out of school,” he said. “I hope to come back to my home town, manage my own farm, and teach ag at a local high school.”