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 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.
The American Star in Agricultural Placement is awarded to the FFA member with the top agricultural placement SAE in the nation. Here are the 2022 winner and finalists for American Star in Agricultural Placement:
WINNER: Jacob Wuebker, Ohio
Plants and animals, flora and fauna, crops and livestock — whatever you call them, they’re the core of agriculture. Some farmers may choose to specialize in one or the other, but people like Jacob Wuebker manage both just fine.
“My [SAE] is working on my family’s diversified grain and livestock farm,” Wuebker said. “Row crops consists of corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa. We have 2,000 sows, 300 head of dairy steers, and we finish out about 3,000 head of pigs at a time.”
Wuebker, a member of Versailles FFA in Ohio, said his family farm is a “pretty decent size” in order to accommodate all the plants and animals they cultivate. Around 1,200 acres are used for the crops alone.
Wuebker said he appreciates all the work his family has done to help make his supervised agricultural experience (SAE) a success, and not just because he works on the family farm.
“My mom’s actually my ag teacher,” Wuebker said, referring to chapter advisor Dena Wuebker. “Definitely a big thanks to her…whenever you live on a farm and your mom’s your ag teacher, agriculture kind of consumes your whole life.”
After he recently graduated from Wright State University — Lake Campus with a degree in agribusiness, Wuebker became a full-time farmer for his family’s operation, and he said he has no plans to stop.
“I love what I do,” Wuebker said. “That’s for sure.”
Wuebker added that farming gives him a sense of purpose — and that helps him through even the most grueling days of work.
“What I’m most proud of is getting to feed the world and knowing that what I do every day has a purpose,” Wuebker said.
For FFA members who want to start their own SAE, he said passion and purpose are critical to your success.
“Don’t ever let anyone discourage you from doing something you love,” Wuebker said. “Whenever you find your passion, you are able to dedicate your life to something greater than you.”
FINALIST: Case Edwards, Alabama
If your tractor breaks down in Alabama, there’s a good chance Case Edwards of Wetumpka FFA will be the one to repair it.
“I’ve worked at a tractor repair shop in Alabama since my junior year of high school,” Edwards said. “I’d do everything from splitting them apart, putting clutches in, hydraulic pumps, four-wheel drive, gear boxes…you name it, I’ve probably done it.”
Edwards was hired by a tractor repairman named Randy Stubbs when he was just 16 years old. Case had previously worked on small engines through his FFA chapter, but he said getting hired was partially due to serendipity.
“I went in there because I saw camper shelves out by his fence,” Case said. “I said, ‘Hey, if you need an extra hand, here’s my number. I’m pretty handy on small engines.’ Sure enough, he called me back in about a week or two and I started working for him.”
Edwards said his FFA advisor William Norris was a tremendous help in getting his supervised agricultural experience (SAE) paperwork sorted, but his boss Randy taught him everything he knows about heavy equipment.
“He [Randy] would’ve made an outstanding ag teacher, had he chosen to get into that profession,” Edwards said. “That man is the most patient, most knowledgeable person I think I’ve known in my life.”
Now 20 years old, Edwards is enrolled at Auburn University as a horticulture major with plans for graduate school. He said he’d like to keep repairing tractors as a “hobby” even if he finds work elsewhere after college.
“I got really interested in the sciences, so that’s where I’m going now,” Edwards said.
For FFA members looking to start their own SAE, Edwards said his best advice is to “just get out there” and find opportunities.
“Sometimes it’s just that simple, especially in the ag community,” Edwards said. “Everybody’s looking for help. It’s just [a matter of] finding young, motivated helpers.”
FINALIST: Cory Yarbrough, Georgia
From wings to tenders to gizzards and more, Americans love eating chicken — and Cory Yarbrough of Madison County FFA is no exception. In fact, he loves chicken so much that the workers at his local Chick-fil-A recognize him by his car.
“I have chicken at least once a day,” Yarbrough said. “I am a chicken lover.”
Yarbrough’s appreciation for chicken is about much more than taste, though. He’s been raising chickens and livestock with his family in Georgia since he was a small child.
“We, as a family, raise beef cattle as well as broilers, which are just meat chickens,” Yarbrough said. “I also worked for my uncle raising market hogs. And then, last, I have worked in the poultry industry working with breeders.”
Farming is a family business for many, and Cory said he is a fourth-generation farmer. His parents and grandparents were all members of FFA in their youth, so it was only natural Cory joined in middle school.
“If it weren’t for my middle school ag teacher, I would not be where I am because he was able to help me in so many different ways,” Yarbrough said.
Yarbrough is currently a student at the University of Georgia, and he works with breeders at the college’s poultry research farm. Cory is majoring in poultry science with minors in agribusiness and avian biology, and he plans to work with chickens for the rest of his life.
Producing beef is still important for his family business, though, and he said he’s very proud of the work he’s done to improve the health of his cattle.
“[I’m] establishing a preventative program and then being able to treat animals once they’re sick,” Yarbrough said.
His advice for FFA members starting their own SAE is to stay involved in FFA and take risks.
“From there, you can develop your passion,” Yarbrough said.
FINALIST: Emma Victery, Oklahoma
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) says there are almost 100 million cattle in the U. S., and someone must take care of them. That’s where people like Emma Victery come in.
“My [supervised agricultural experience or SAE] is…beef production and placement,” Victery said. “I started out my freshman year of high school. I’ve always worked on my family’s farm, just as part of growing up.”
Victery, a member of Chickasha FFA in Oklahoma, raises Black Angus cattle with her family. She started small in her youth, but now Emma is an irreplaceable part of the management and marketing on her family farm.
“The thing that makes me the most proud is my dad trusts me with my family’s operation, and he told me [I’m] the only person that he would trust to take care of things while he’s gone,” Victery said. “He also values my opinion a lot when it comes to selecting bulls and making breeding decisions.”
Breeding cattle is something in which Victery has a particular interest. She took classes on artificial insemination in high school, and she’s currently enrolled at Eastern Oklahoma State College to major in animal science, pre-vet and ag communications.
“With that pre-vet major, I would eventually like to go to vet school and specialize in cattle reproduction,” Victery said. “I actually had the opportunity this summer to go with a guy that does embryo transfer work…so hopefully I will get to specialize in that somewhere in vet school.”
After graduating, Victery plans to follow both of her passions by taking over her family farm and working with cattle breeding on the side. She has a secret third passion, though.
“I also like taking pictures, so that is another thing I get to do working for my family,” Victery said. “I get to [photograph] all of our bulls and heifers for our website and Facebook page, and also for sales stuff.”
Emma’s best advice for FFA members starting their own SAE is, technically, to not start an SAE — instead, consider multiple SAEs to find your passion.
“Try a couple different things, talk to [your] ag teachers,” Victery said. “Just keep your options open while you’re doing that.”
The American Star Awards are sponsored by Case IH, Elanco Animal Health and Syngenta. For more information on the awards, visit FFA.org.
General convention sessions will air live on RFD-TV and The Cowboy Channel. FFA members and supporters can tune in and watch gavel-to-gavel coverage of the event. To learn more, visit Convention.FFA.org.
