OFI 1833: An American Star Farmer Finalist On The Way Up | FFA SAE Edition | Luke Jennings | Felicity-Franklin High School FFA

Luke Jennings is a 2023 American Star Farmer Finalist. He is also the state president for Ohio FFA, serving his second term as a state officer in the Buckeye State.

I first interviewed Luke in 2021 at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis. The media center for the convention is in the media offices at Lucas Oil Field where the Indianapolis Colts play, so we sat down in a room over looking the entire domed stadium, the huge FFA stage and the football field below.

Luke went up on the big stage three times that convention, including one time as a National Proficiency Finalist. I thought I was surely catching this young man at the heights of his FFA career. I didn’t think this because I didn’t think him capable, but he had accomplished so much already it was just a natural thought. However, in the following school year he became an Ohio State Officer, in May of 2023 he was elected for a second term – this time as state president and then in July he was selected as a finalist for American Star Farmer!

I couldn’t be more proud of what this young man has done and is now doing, and it is my thrill to have him back on the show.

Below are the original show notes from Luke’s first appearance:

Show Notes

Today’s interview is special. I rarely get to interview a student, or any guest for that matter, face to face. However, I had accidentally scheduled an interview with Luke Jennings for when he would be at the National FFA Convention and I would be traveling to the convention. So, we decided to do the interview in person in Indianapolis. My studio for this interview happened to be the press box way above the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, so it was quite a different experience for me.

Luke came up for the interview after walking across the big stage at the convention for the third time! He and his team had just been recognized for the performance in the parliamentary procedure competition. However, how I had first learned of Luke was due to his nomination for a national proficiency award.

Luke and his family raise cattle on their small farm in Southern Ohio. He has developed several niches that allow him to thrive in this environment. This includes cow/calf, feeder steers, showing and rotational grazing using portable electric wire. One of the factors that Luke was proud of was that he does not have a large operation but he was able to still be competitive and rise to a very high level. He credits the uniqueness of his operation and the niches they have developed for that recognition.

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Beef Production

HIGH SCHOOL: Felicity-Franklin Local School District, Felicity, Ohio

MASCOT: Cardinals

FFA ADVISOR: Holly Jennings

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR LUKE JENNINGS:

Click on the picture below to be taken to the Felicity-Franklin Local School District’s website:

Luke’s FFA Advisors’ Email Address: jenningsh@felicityohioschools.org

Felicity-Franklin Local School Districts’s Telephone Number: 513-876-2113

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:

“Because American farmers are able to provide for so many of us, they give more and more of us the freedom to pursue goals and livelihoods beyond growing the food we need to survive.”

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack