OFI 707: Five Generations Of Farm Stewardship And What You Don’t Hear About Farmers From The Media | FFA SAE Editon | Kacie Haag | Tri-Point High School FFA

SHOW NOTES

INTRODUCING KACIE HAAG!

I know I say it all the time, but being able to interview so many FFA students and profile their journeys, history and passion is always such a pleasure.  Today’s interview is the epitome of that, and I cannot wait to tell you why.

Kacie Haag is a 5th generation farmer from Illinois.  She takes both her legacy as a farmer and her responsibility as a farmer very seriously.  On her families farm they raise hogs, and they have been doing so for generations.  They also raise crops for feeding the hogs and as another revenue source.

One of their management practices on the farm is to pump the hog manure into their fields and incorporate it into the soil as a fertilizer for next year’s crop.  Kacie is extremely aware of the problems that are taking place in the Gulf Of Mexico due to nitrogen that has ended up in the Mississippi River and flowed out to the Gulf.  She is determined to make a difference when it comes to this on her own farm.

This has led Kacie to her agriscience research project in which she has been measuring the amount of nitrogen she and her family apply to the soil on their farm.  Kacie strives to make sure that every molecule of nitrogen produced on her farm as a bi-product of animal waste, stays on the farm and does not find its way to the river.

Kacie has been measuring the amount of nitrogen they are putting on the land, the uptake of nitrogen from the crops they grow and whether or not there is any nitrogen leaching from their soil.  Kacie believes that they are currently putting less nitrogen on their soil than is taken up by their crops, allowing them to not have any escape the farm.

This research project as well as Kacie’s passion for farming and the environment have led her to become a National Star Finalist in agriscience.  It has also led her to the University Of Illinois where she is studying agricultural leadership education and communication.

Good luck Kacie!

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Agriscience

HIGH SCHOOL: Tri-Point High School; Cullom, Illinois

MASCOT: Chargers

FFA ADVISOR: Diana Loschen

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR KACIE HAAG:

Click on the picture below to be taken to the Tri-Point High School Ag. Department’s website:

Kacie’s FFA Advisor’s Email Address: dloschen@tripointschools.org

Tri-Point High School’s Telephone Number: (815) 689-2110

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