WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. – FFA students in Wayne County are celebrating National FFA Week by bringing generations of the agricultural community together for a shared meal and conversation.
The fifth annual Farmer’s Breakfast takes place at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25 at the Wayne County Fairgrounds. The event is hosted by FFA chapters from Northeastern, Western Wayne and Hagerstown and welcomes businesses, supporters, producers and school administrators from across the area.
“The goal is to provide an opportunity for our FFA members to meet and talk with the local ag community, to say thank you to that community with a free breakfast,” said Christy Herr, FFA Advisor with Nettle Creek School Corporation.
The breakfast includes a panel of FFA alumni sharing their experiences and knowledge.
“The speakers all bring something different to the panel,” Herr said.
Panel Members:
- Hagerstown High School Alumni
- Dr. Andy Herr – Corn Breeder for Corteva
- Jaron Baker – Welding Engineer for John Deere
- Kori Craig – IU East Student
- Northeastern High School Alumni
- Jackson Neagle – job title not confirmed
- Liz Stubblefield – job title not confirmed
- Western Wayne Alumni
- Alex Hokey – manages a drone spraying service in the area (company name not confirmed)
- McKinnah Harvey – Conservation Program Analyst with the Wayne County Farm Service Agency
Roughly 100 students from all three schools are involved in the event, interacting with guests while serving drinks and meals.
Food options include biscuits and gravy, sausage, egg bites, donuts, and mixed fruit. Drink options include coffee, juice, milk and water. Aside from the donuts, everything is prepared by Thalia Messer. FFA chapters share the expense of the meal, with the help of Farm Credit, who provides cutlery, cups and plates.
Each school chapter creates an invitation list of people and businesses within the community that support FFA, along with any producers of livestock or grain that are known. Typically, 200-250 people attend, and this year the event is expecting around 215 attendees.
“It is a list that needs to keep growing,” Herr said.
While invitations are sent out, Herr encourages anyone interested to attend by reaching out to one of the advisors. Advisors include Herr, Jonathan Ferris, and Allison McCumons. All three FFA chapters are also looking for community members to help in preparing for contests, including judges for mock contests, preparing speeches or demonstrations, and helping with welding.
Herr added that the Farmer’s Breakfast provides fellowship between many different generations learning from and focusing on agriculture.
“One of my students, Ben Hokey, commented that he is more comfortable speaking with and in front of others because of this breakfast,” she said.
Herr said events like Farmer’s Breakfast reflect the broader mission of FFA programs in Wayne County.
“FFA builds leaders. It uses the foundation of agriculture to build future leaders,” Herr said, also including a response from some of her students. “FFA impacts students’ lives whether they have lived in agriculture their entire lives or if this is just a new beginning. FFA informs the community about agriculture while positively encouraging members and their community to do whatever they can to give back to agriculture.”
