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 a supervised agricultural experience (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.
Congratulations to the 2020 American Star in Agribusiness winner:
Blake Kirchhoff, Nebraska
Hay bales are a common sight across the Great Plains, but if you see some near the Kansas-Nebraska border, there’s a chance Blake Kirchhoff might have baled them.
“I basically do ‘start to finish’ haying operations,” Kirchhoff said. “Swathing, raking and then round baling or square baling, depending on what the customer wants.”
Kirchhoff owns and operates a haying business called Blake Kirchhoff Custom Baling for his supervised agricultural experience (SAE) with Superior FFA in Nebraska. Blake’s business does more than spinning hay into bales, though — he helps local farmers get in contact with buyers for their hay bales too.
“I also do some contracted hay sales, like a broker [or] a middleman,” Kirchhoff said. “Helping buyers and sellers find each other and negotiate prices.”
Kirchhoff’s business has seen strong growth since he started many years ago on his family farm. However, he didn’t initially plan on haying for his SAE.
“Originally, I had some sheep, and I thought I wanted to do that for an SAE, and I needed hay to feed them,” Kirchhoff said. “I had to start looking for small square bales, and I just couldn’t find anyone in my area … that had any for sale.”
With no other options, Kirchhoff purchased his baler at the age of 14, intending to buy hay from local providers and use that to feed his sheep. He realized, however, that he was the only person in his area with a square baler, so he decided to fill a niche and focus on haying instead. He later used his haying profits to pay for a second baler, a swather, a tractor and more.
“I definitely like running equipment,” Kirchhoff said. “Especially when you own it, and you did all the books to figure out if you can afford it. [You’re] seeing things come full circle.”
The haying business is a collaborative effort, however. When he is away from the Kirchhoff farmland to attend college, his family helps run the business in his absence. Kirchhoff also said his FFA advisor, Seth Going, was a huge help for providing him with financial advice and networking opportunities.
“It got me out of my comfort zone,” Kirchhoff said.
After he graduates from Kansas State University with an agronomy degree, Kirchhoff said he wants to run his haying business full time. He added that 2020 has been a surprisingly good year for his business despite the COVID-19 pandemic because more people are starting gardens under quarantine.
Kirchhoff’s advice for FFA members wanting to start their SAEs is to find work they enjoy doing.
“You’ve got to find something that you like to do,” Kirchhoff said. “Not every day is good for me … but if you like what you’re doing, it makes it a lot easier to get over those hurdles.”
Blake competed against the following American Star in Agribusiness finalists:
Ely Boulds, Illinois
When Ely Boulds decided to start working in agriculture while he was in high school, he ran into one major issue: His family doesn’t farm.
“I’ve always wanted to be in an agricultural field,” Boulds said. “But these days, it’s tough to start out farming from the first generation without already being in it.”
Boulds persisted, though, by getting in touch with local farmers and researching what they needed so he could fill a niche in his local market. He now owns and operates Dewey Lime Spreading in southern Illinois and Indiana for his supervised agricultural experience (SAE) with Eldorado FFA in Illinois.
“I spread lime fertilizer and gypsum,” Boulds said. “It’s limestone broken down into pellets … Lime helps raise pH to a neutral or more basic level.”
Boulds said a lot of what he knows about soil types and bookkeeping came from his agribusiness classes. He specifically thanks FFA advisors Bill Kittinger, Erica James-Harris and Kaleb Irwin for their help.
On the business side of things, Boulds said Dewey Lime Spreading has been growing much faster than he initially expected, and he has been continually buying more equipment over time. The name “Dewey” also has an unexpected origin.
“It’s the name of the road I live on,” Boulds said. “I wanted to do something different. I didn’t want something more generic like my last name.”
Boulds is currently studying agribusiness at South Eastern Illinois College, a junior college near where he lives. He would like to transfer to either Southern Illinois University or Murray State University if he continues his studies. No matter what the future holds, Boulds would like to continue running his business.
“Either way, if I do continue in my school or I don’t, I feel I’d like to continue in this business for as long as I can, and maybe make another generation out of it,” Boulds said.
For FFA members looking to start their SAEs, Boulds said the most important thing to do is work within your interests.
“Find something you’d be interested in,” Boulds said. “Just go at it in a good support group, or just do the best you can.”
William Kellum, Georgia
When William Kellum was first starting his lawn care business with his then-co-owner Alex Mason, the two boys from Jefferson, Ga., had one major problem to solve: How do two teenage boys start a successful advertising campaign?
“We entered the talent show,” Kellum said. “And neither one of us can sing. I should throw that out there.”
Kellum and Mason sang a cover of “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett. While they didn’t become country music stars overnight, they still accomplished exactly what they set out to do.
“We were doing this as an advertising campaign,” Kellum said. “We got done, and we said, ‘This show has been brought to you by Mason & Kellum Lawn Services. We do it all — all you have to do is call.’ And it worked!”
Kellum and Mason continued their guerrilla marketing campaign by making waves on the Jefferson High football team and paying for radio ads during their games. Their unique approach to building a customer base proved successful.
“Every single year, we managed to have a 90 percent growth rate,” Kellum said. “We had to give up running track because we were so busy.”
After graduation, Kellum and Mason amicably split the lawn business in two because they went to different universities. For his supervised agricultural experience (SAE) with Jefferson City FFA, Kellum is now the sole proprietor of 47 Lawn Care, LLC — named after his high school football jersey number.
47 Lawn Care offers basic lawn services — mowing, weed eating, trimming bushes and more — but Kellum said he wants to grow the business in a new direction.
“I’ve always been interested in more hardscaping and actually designing landscapes,” he said. “I love talking to people and them saying, ‘Wow, I had no idea my yard could look this good.’”
Kellum is currently studying electrical engineering at the University of Georgia, and he said his dream job is to combine his passions for landscaping and engineering. To that end, he has two ideas in mind: working in eco-friendly environmental design or making robotic lawnmowers.
“If Gillette and Roomba got together, they could make the best lawnmower ever,” Kellum said.
Ultimately, Kellum said he could not have gotten where he is today without FFA. He rode his first lawnmower in his middle school FFA program, and he credits his advisors David Calloway and Melissa Webb with pushing him to work hard and run an honest business.
Kellum said his best advice for students looking to start their SAEs is to find work that inspires satisfaction and pride.
“If you find something you love … you’ll pay more attention to details,” Kellum said. “I don’t love sweating my butt off every day, but I do love that finished product, and that’s what gets me by on these hot days in Georgia.”
Hannah York, Kentucky
Halloween is just around the corner, and folks living in western Kentucky will no doubt be contacting Hannah York soon to ask about her decorative autumn arrangements.
“I got started my freshman year doing fall displays,” York said. “Pumpkins, mums, straw, cornstalk bundles, various corns and things like that. I set these up at people’s homes, churches and local businesses.”
For her supervised agricultural experience (SAE) with Caldwell County FFA, York runs a business currently called Arrangements by Hannah. However, she said the name would be changing soon to Arrowhead Acres Nursery because her services have expanded beyond arrangements. Although she started her business six years ago, York said she still creates dozens of displays per year because she enjoys it, and she earns a healthy profit.
“I diversified into five different counties, and I got up to about 38 displays,” York said. “These will typically last up till Thanksgiving, and then I go and take these down.”
Over the last two years, York has also been working in her greenhouse to grow vegetables for consumption as well as decoration. Even within the past month, she has expanded her services once again to grow fruit trees. York said she tries to look for untapped niche markets in her area when deciding how to grow her business.
“I hope to specialize in apples and peaches,” York said. “Once I figure out what I specialize in best, then I can grow the orchard that way.”
York’s plans don’t stop there, however. She also plans to expand into agritourism someday with pumpkin patches, corn mazes and more.
“[Life] is getting more urban and not as rural, and people like to come back to the farm,” York said. “At least they do in our area. They love that aspect of bringing the kids.”
Currently, York is studying agribusiness at Murray State University and acting as an officer for her collegiate FFA chapter. She added that her “dream” is to continue expanding her business once she graduates.
“I feel like I’m standing at the edge of a cliff, and whenever I graduate, I’m ready to jump in,” York said. “I have the market, I have the customers, so I’m ready for it.”
York said building her business was a collaborative effort, though. She greatly appreciated the help she received from her FFA advisors Wes York — her father — and Magen Woods, who got her interested in greenhouses to begin with.
York’s best advice for students wanting to start their SAEs is simple: Don’t be afraid to fail.
“Failure is something that’s always on your mind,” York said. “Step out of your comfort zone and get involved.”
Sixteen American Star Award finalists from throughout the U.S. are nominated by a panel of judges who then interview the finalists. Four are named winners and receive cash awards. Case IH, Elanco Animal Health and Syngenta sponsor the awards.
