Creston FFA students get involved through SAE

In Creston’s FFA chapter, involvement goes far beyond attending ag classes and participating in chapter activities.

Whether they’re working on their family farm or at a grocery or clothing store, FFA members across the country are also involved in personalized projects that give them a hands-on understanding of the ag industry.

Known as supervised agricultural experiences (SAE), these projects help prepare students for the college and career world through direct involvement with the ag industry. An SAE provides hands-on opportunities that enrich the learning that takes place in the classroom.

“SAE projects are what makes the Agriculture Education model work and is really unique to the FFA organization,” said Kelsey Bailey, Creston FFA adviser. “Not only are members learning the hard skill of what their SAE is about — such as calculating rate of gain, assembling machinery, learning to operate various types of equipment — but they are also learning life skills like tracking expenses, time and moeney management, evaluation and decision making, as well as giving to the community and exploring career opportunities.”

Upon joining FFA, all members choose an SAE to complete throughout the year, and they have a wide variety of choices. SAEs can include internships, research, agricultural entrepreneurship, exploratory projects and projects in a school setting. To complete an SAE, students log their hours and what they do at their selected activities.

Sometimes this involves keeping record of something they’re already doing, like helping out on the family farm and showing livestock.

That’s been the case for sophomore Dalten Bierle, who’s grown up around his family’s flocks of sheep and goats. Bierle joined FFA so he could show his livestock as an FFA member and, through his SAE, he’s taken a more active role in recording his role in the raising of the animals.

“Ever since I was probably 2 years old, I’ve been over there doing whatever I can to be involved with helping,” Bierle said. “Just recently, I’ve been getting more sheep and everything, growing my SAE up, taking records of the babies.”

Other FFA members, like junior Morgan Shawler, don’t have the opportunity to raise livestock. Shawler lives in town, so her SAE is ag photography.

“I take a picture, and I add captions,” she said. “I’ve been taking them to the state fair and had them up there being judged.”

Zach Hoffman, senior and Creston’s chapter president, said it’s a common misconception that FFA is just for “future farmers.” But he said it’s really for anyone, and agricultural involvement stretches far beyond the farm.

“There are so many possibilities for FFA,” Hoffman said. “There’s stuff for people who like to bake, there’s dairy judging — there’s something in FFA for every single person in Creston, Iowa.”

And all this record-keeping comes in handy when students start working on scholarship and college applications or begin building their resumes.

“It’s a more sturdy way to start building your career portfolio up with experiences out there in the ag field,” Hoffman said. “It shows how you use the skills you learn from FFA and from the classes and put them to use in the real-life experiences, and it keeps track of everything every step of the way.”

To see what some of the other activities Creston FFA students have been spending their time on the past few months, check out the photos on this page. Find more online at www.crestonnews.com.