Sugar Gliders clinging to their owner, Belton-Honea FFA Alumnus Gavin Powers.
When thinking about an interesting Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), the only reasonable answer is to pick a zoo.
Gavin Powers is a college freshman at Tri-County Technical College in Pendleton, S.C., where he’s majoring in business and planning to transfer to Clemson University in a few years. Now a Belton-Honea Path FFA Alum, Powers’ SAE in high school started in 2019 and focused on specialty animal production. It includes breeding, selling and working with more than a dozen species of exotic mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish. He also teaches at various educational events for schools, churches and other kinds of gatherings where people can interact with and learn about various species.
When asked about the biggest challenges with his SAE, Powers says they included “dealing with governmental regulations regarding non-domesticated species.” His African Wildcats and skunks cannot be touched by the public under any circumstances, which can make attending events difficult.
During his time in FFA, Powers was a National Gold Emblem winner for his agricultural proficiency award. When asked about how he felt when he received this title, Powers says he was surprised. He plans to grow his SAE into his own zoo when he gets out of college.
Lessons Learned and Future Plans
“Learning to deal with criticism was the biggest lesson I’ve learned,” Powers says. “Exotic animals are controversial, so wanting to work with them has been difficult. This has pushed me to learn how to deal with the criticism through advocating and educating people on why what I’m doing is so important.”
Powers is currently working on receiving a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Class C Facility and Permits to raise carnivores. In order to get this certification, he has to have his animal building and animal cages up to USDA standards. Once he receives it, Powers plans to buy wallabies, kinkajous, coatimundis, brazikian short-tailed opossums and some new glider species. His current list of animals includes:
- Goats
- Goldfish
- Koi fish
- Platy
- Leopard geckos
- Skunk geckos
- Dune geckos
- Chickens
- Skunks
- Rabbits
- Turtles
- A tokay gecko
- A crested gecko
- Mourning geckos
- A thick-toed banded gecko
- Sugar gliders
- Hermit crabs
- Frogs
- Sheep
- Guinea pigs
- Flying geckos
- African Wildcats
- Golden geckos
- A cow
Powers’ unique SAE shows how FFA is a diverse organization that allows the realm of agriculture to grow and expand throughout the nation. To learn more, check out his Youtube channel, Powerhouse Exotics.
