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UK student represents in 
International Leadership Seminar
 
By Doug Graves
Ohio Correspondent

TAYLORSVILLE, Ky.  – More than 70 current and past state FFA officers from across the nation started their new year off by exploring Australia and the various types of agriculture the country has to offer.
The students took part in the International Leadership Seminar for State Officers (ILSSO), which was supported by FFA corporate donors Bungee and John Deere.
University of Kentucky junior Casey Montgomery, of Taylorsville, Ky., was the lone UK student selected for this trip, Jan. 6-15. Current and past FFA officers from all 50 states were eligible to apply.
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me,” Montgomery said. “It was my first time being outside of the country. It was so interesting to see how diverse the agriculture industry is in Australia and finding out there are many similarities and differences between the U.S. and the continent of Australia.”
While in Australia, the students explored Sydney, where they took a tour of the Royal Botanical Gardens. They traveled to Canberra, where they visited with the counselor for agricultural affairs, agricultural specialists and agricultural marketing specialists based at the U.S. Embassy. The group then met with a representative from the National Farmers’ Federation and a representative from the Australian Rural Leadership Program.
On subsequent days, the group took advantage of agriculture learning opportunities in other urban and rural areas. This included visiting the Agricultural Attache based at the U.S. Embassy, Future Farmers Network Australia, Australian Rural Leadership Program, Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and Yarra Valley.
Montgomery and others visited perennial pastures and inspected Reiland Angus. While visiting the Darlington Point District they explored Australia’s most productive farmland, where rice and other cereal crops, fruits, vegetables and citrus are grown. They encountered a meat sheep enterprise and cattle feedlots. The students visited Australia’s only independent agricultural college (Marcus Oldham College) and wrapped up their journey in Melbourne, where they visited the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary.
“I learned that opportunities in agriculture are endless and diverse,” Montgomery said. “This experience taught me that we need everyone and that I want to be a voice for this industry.”
Montgomery grew up on a third-generation family farm that procures swine. She helped breed stock, raise commercial cattle, show swine, feed pigs and more. Her involvement with the 4-H Livestock Club at the Spencer County office led her to become involved in agriculture while in high school. She served as an FFA chapter president, 4-H Livestock Club vice president and volunteered in the Animal Science Club.
“My teachers and advisers in high school were inspirational, helping me transform my understanding of agriculture and giving back to others,” Montgomery said. “Attending UK and pursuing my goal of becoming an agriculture teacher was the right decision for me.”
At UK, Montgomery has been involved in Block and Bridle Club, Collegiate Farm Bureau, Agriculture Education Society, UK Dairy Judging Team, the UK Living Learning Program and the Kentucky State All-Star Livestock Judging Team.
“I was very grateful to represent UK and Kentucky during this trip,” said Montgomery, who served as an FFA state officer from 2022-2023. “To meet all these past and current FFA student officers from different states was inspirational. I made it a mission to be a light for my program, our industry and to present my state in a bright, positive way.”
Next spring, Montgomery plans to take advantage of an experiential learning opportunity offered in the agricultural education program at UK. She will be matched with a current agriculture teacher in Kentucky, known as a cooperating educator, and teach students in a real classroom setting, while gaining valuable mentorship.
Montgomery said this unique opportunity will help her obtain her teaching certificate and reach her career goal of becoming a teacher in a Kentucky high school classroom after graduating. She is slated to graduate in May 2025 with a bachelor’s in agricultural education with a double minor in animal sciences in agricultural economics.
Other participants from the Farm World readership area included Collin Bauer, Lauren Beyer, Josephine Kelly, Annabelle Newson and Holly Schmitt, of Iowa; Haley Bode, of Illinois; Mary Jones, of Indiana; Lillian Houtteman and Dakota Spink, of Michigan; Chloee Howard, Luke Jennings, Katelyn Kinsella, Anna Moeller, Kaydence Morris, Lauren Thornhill and Emma Wells, of Ohio; and Lillie Cagle, of Tennessee.
To learn more about the agricultural education program in the Community and Leadership Development department, visit https://cld.ca.uky.edu/ukaged.

4/2/2024