Emerson Tucker will represent the Bluegrass Region for Star Farmer at the Kentucky FFA Convention in June.
It is one of the most wonderful times of the year for FFA members and advisors. Regional contests are in full swing, agriscience fair projects are wrapping up and proficiencies are being placed. However, FFA members know one of the most rewarding achievements to get is a Star award for their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE).
Emerson Tucker is a senior at Bourbon County High School in Kentucky, where she serves as president of the Bourbon County FFA Chapter. Her dedication to her SAE throughout high school has given her the opportunity to represent the Bluegrass Region for Star Farmer at the Kentucky FFA Convention in June.
Success doesn’t happen overnight, so how did Tucker get to where she is today? From a young age, she could be found helping her dad on their family farm. She spent countless hours raising and caring for bottle calves from her family’s or other farmers’ herds. Once the calves were ready, she sold them at the local stockyards. Learning firsthand what hard work and dedication looks like set Tucker on the path to success when it came time to start her SAE.
One of the biggest indicators of a strong SAE project is growth and expansion. “My SAE has expanded tremendously from starting young with bottle calves,” Tucker says. “I now have my own feeder calf and crop production as well as helping my dad and brother with their operations and working at a local clinic as a veterinary assistant.”
Throughout her four years of high school, Tucker has been able to lease a farm and purchase feeder calf groups. On the crop production side of her project, she has gone from helping her dad with his crop production to now having her own field operation as well as starting her own vegetable garden.
The profits from sales of her vegetables, field corn and cattle have allowed her to effectively and strategically expand her operations. Having the opportunity to work at Central Kentucky Veterinary Services during her senior year has also given her the opportunity to explore her desired career path and create new goals for the future outside of her established SAE.
Emerson Tucker will represent the Bluegrass Region for Star Farmer at the Kentucky FFA Convention in June.
Senior year of high school comes with many difficult decisions and brand new opportunities. Tucker has chosen to attend Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky., this fall. “I plan to get a bachelor’s in pre-vet and a double major in animal science,” she says. She then has the goal of attending Auburn University for vet school, where she wants to study both large and small animal medicine.
Tucker has a tremendous goal of one day buying or leasing more farms, growing her feeder calf and crop production operation as well as starting her own cow-calf operation. However, with Morehead State University being about an hour away from her hometown and Auburn University being eight hours away, this raises the question of how she will keep her successful operation running and growing while also pursuing post-secondary education.
“I hope to keep my operation strong by hiring people to assist in the daily needs of my herd when I am away at college,” she says. “After both undergraduate school and vet school, I plan to come back home to grow my operation and work as a mixed animal veterinarian specializing in large animals.”
Emerson Tucker will represent the Bluegrass Region for Star Farmer at the Kentucky FFA Convention in June.
Although Tucker has her sights set on the larger end goal, she is also aware Kentucky FFA Convention is right around the corner. With hopes of winning Kentucky FFA Star Farmer, Tucker said she is preparing by “continuing to keep my operation strong and working on plans to grow the production in each individual aspect overall.” She has become the embodiment of dedication, adding, “I plan to continue to work hard, if not harder, for my SAE and entrepreneurship.”
Tucker has been a successful and involved FFA member throughout high school. When asked if she had any advice for members aspiring to follow a similar path to hers she said, “Grow and keep a strong work ethic. Working hard is what has got me so far in my personal operations, but also staying determined. Having your own operation and entrepreneurships will come with many hardships and ‘fails,’ but you have to learn and grow from these setbacks to make your operations strong.”
Congratulations and good luck to both Tucker and the other members competing for Star Farmer awards.
