Crockett Co. FFA member recognized
CROCKETT CO., Tenn.–Local FFA member recognized.
A Crockett County native is named as FFA’s newest Agribusiness Star.
According to information from the National Future Farmers of America Organization, local member, Lainey Hutchison was recognized with the American Star Award in Agribusiness.
Hutchison is a FFA member from Crockett County who has been riding horses since a very young age and is now spending time educating future generations.
Hutchison hails from a farming family and has been competing in rodeos since the early age of 7.
She is now 19-years-old and a student at the University of Tennessee in Martin. Hutchison came to UTM on a rodeo scholarship and is currently majoring in farm and ranch management.
After graduation, she plans to work on offering a more wide range of activities at the family farm.
Read the full news release from the National Future Farmers of America Organization below:
National FFA Organization Names Tennessee Resident 2023 Star in Agribusiness
INDIANAPOLIS – (Friday, Nov. 3, 2023/National FFA Organization) – Horses have been a staple of agriculture for centuries, and people like Lainey Hutchison are educating the next generation of cowboys and cowgirls.
“My supervised agricultural experience (SAE) is in an area of equine entrepreneurship,” Hutchison said. “My ag business consists of me teaching horse riding lessons [and] doing youth farm camps.”
Hutchison, a member of Crockett County FFA in Tennessee, has been riding horses since she was 3 years old and competing in rodeos since she was 7, she said. Horses are just one part of her life, however — Hutchison comes from a cattle ranching family, and she has also worked with goats for many years.
In addition to typical ventures like breeding and selling goats, Hutchison said she spent a few months in high school using her herd’s milk to make luxurious cleaning products.
“A smaller part of my business was making and selling goat soap and lotion,” Lainey said. “There was a lot of experimenting and trial and error, but we finally perfected our recipe, and we sold a lot of it in a very short amount of time. … Honestly, one day, I would like to start that back up again.”
At 19 years old, Hutchison said she is proud of her financial independence and how much agricultural knowledge she gets to pass on to younger generations at her youth farm camps. She also credited her parents and FFA advisor, Haley Williams, with making her SAE a success.
“I never was a huge SAE kid in high school,” Hutchison said. “I didn’t understand why they wanted me to compete with it at all. Now I do. … [Ms. Williams] definitely has pushed me and encouraged me to keep going.”
Hutchison is currently attending the University of Tennessee at Martin on a rodeo scholarship. She’s majoring in farm and ranch management, and she said she plans to continue expanding her operations after graduation. She already has a few ideas, including hosting retreats and birthday parties on her family farm.
For FFA members looking to start an SAE, Hutchison’s advice is to chase your passions.
“I found something that I loved, and I made a business out of it,” Hutchison said. “Without my SAE and without FFA, I would not have been able to showcase my independence as a woman in ag. I think FFA is a great decision for anyone.”
About the American Star Awards:
Each year at the National FFA Convention & Expo, four FFA members are honored with American Star Awards for outstanding accomplishments in FFA and agricultural education.
The American Star Awards, including American Star Farmer, American Star in Agribusiness, American Star in Agricultural Placement and American Star in Agriscience, are presented to FFA members who demonstrate outstanding agricultural skills and competencies through completion of an SAE. A required activity in FFA, an SAE allows students to learn by doing, by either owning or operating an agricultural business, working or serving an internship at an agriculture-based business, or conducting an agriculture-based scientific experiment and reporting results.
Other requirements to achieve the award include demonstrating top management skills; completing key agricultural education, scholastic and leadership requirements; and earning an American FFA Degree, the organization’s highest level of student accomplishment.
Sixteen American Star Award finalists from throughout the U.S. were nominated by a panel of judges who then interviewed the finalists this fall. Four were named winners during the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo this year, which was held in Indianapolis. Winners received cash awards. Cargill, Case IH, Elanco Animal Health and Syngenta sponsor the awards.
The National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 945,000 student members as part of 9,163 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
