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SHOW NOTES
INTRODUCING GUS BARDWELL!
Today we are featuring a national gold proficiency winner in dairy production from southern Louisiana. Gus Bardwell joins us and talks about his time in the FFA, the transition of his families 120 year old dairy farm from dairy to beef and his thoughts about equipment.
Gus has been working on his families dairy as part of his supervised agricultural experience. It is interesting to hear about the challenges of running cattle on pasture, dealing with insects and heat in the dairy industry on the Gulf Coast. Gus’ family is also seeing the difficulties of surviving in the dairy business in their location and at their size. They they are in the midst of a transition and looking for a niche market to keep on farming and raising cattle.
Gus really likes equipment. And, he has a vision of obtaining a job in the future working on some large scale, construction type equipment. He is currently studying to be a diesel mechanic at North Shore Community College, and it was very interesting to hear about his course of study. He has a mechanical aptitude already, which has been beneficial. This way he can focus more attention on electronics, which is a significant challenge!
SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Dairy Production
HIGH SCHOOL: Ponchatoula High School; Ponchatoula, Louisiana
MASCOT: Green Wave
FFA ADVISOR: Maggie Klein
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR GUS BARDWELL:
Click on the picture below to be taken to the Ponchatoula High School Website:

Gus’s FFA Advisor’s Email Address: maggie.klein@tangischools.org
Ponchatoula High School Telephone Number: 985-386-3514
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:






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