Photography by Taylor Hill, 2 Diamond Photography.
Although she grew up raising and showing horses, entrepreneur Amanda Kimes wasn’t interested in FFA until her Sutherlin High School guidance counselor enrolled her in an animal science class. From there, she was hooked.
“My FFA advisor, Mr. Nelson, brought people together from all walks of life, and that had a big impact on me,” she says. Immediately after joining Sutherlin FFA in Oregon, Kimes competed in the meats evaluation career development event and parliamentary procedure leadership development event at the local, state and national levels.
One of the many lessons she learned in FFA was accountability.
“When you’re dealing with animals or crops, just because it’s 5 p.m. doesn’t mean the job is done,” Kimes says. “FFA is also good at exposing its members to new activities that oftentimes they may know nothing about, which can be very humbling. Learning how to be good at something by failing is a life lesson.”
A Brand Is Born
Kimes says these FFA lessons were reinforced in 2009 when she and her husband, Matt Kimes (pictured above), started an Arizona-based company with the goal of creating great-fitting, comfortable jeans that would look good both in a restaurant and on the range.
“Starting a business was a very humbling experience, but we learned that failing can be the next step in success,” she says. The couple built the Kimes Ranch brand from one style of jeans to a Western-themed apparel company that offers shirts, hats, outerwear, hoodies, dress shirts and multiple styles of jeans for both women and men.
At the time, the Kimes also owned two Texas Longhorns, Betty and Barney, who served as the inspiration behind their brand’s logo. “I really enjoy selling to people who want to get into the cattle industry because I sell gentle and confident Longhorns,” she says of Kimes Longhorns.“It’s a good way to bring people into the agriculture community.”
In more recent years, the FFA community has admired Kimes Ranch apparel at the National FFA Convention & Expo shopping mall.
“After attending the national convention myself [as a member], I know it’s a strong group of students,” she says. “I see this now in our new hires at Kimes Ranch [who are FFA alums]. People who come from an agriculture background, specifically FFA, are thoughtful in their work and hold themselves accountable.”
Even in her nonstop life as mom to three children and co-owner of two businesses, Kimes supports youth organizations, including FFA and the American Quarter Horse Youth Association. “It’s something I continue to do to help grow all of them where I can,” she adds.
