SHOW NOTES

INTRODUCING GRADY JOHNSON!

It is never too early to learn your markets.  That has never been more true than for our guest today.  Grady Johnson is the 5th generation to farm on his families land in Nebraska.  The first time this land was ever plowed it was by one of his ancestors.

During Grady’s freshman year he arranged for his own financing and purchased 55 feeder lambs.  He decided to move forward with that project and wound up purchasing 50 ewes.  At this point he has 300 lambs and is creatively marketing his sheep.

Grady is now shipping his lambs to markets in places like New York, Chicago and Greeley, Colorado.  He times the sale of his sheep for when the demand, and thus the price, are the highest.  He pays attention to different ethnic holidays in which lamb is consumed and services the people who want to consume lamb during those times.

As Grady’s business has grown he has needed to expand his footprint.   This has now led him to lease over 150 acres of his neighbor’s land to assist in raising his sheep.  

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Sheep Production

HIGH SCHOOL: Holdrege High School; Holdrege, Nebraska

MASCOT: Dusters

FFA ADVISOR: Jeff Moore

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR GRADY JOHNSON:

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

Grady’s FFA Advisor’s Email Address: jeff.moore@dusters.org

Holdrege High School’s Telephone Number: 308-995-8663

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 

Other Places You Can Listen To Us:

D&B Supply Show

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