Drew Harris is a freshman at Utica High School and a member of the Utica FFA Chapter in Ohio. Harris is part owner of his family’s roadside stand, which is his Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE).
Starting in 2018, Harris, along with his dad, Karston, and little brother, Cole, started making maple syrup from a few trees at their neighbor’s house. They slowly expanded their maple syrup production to about 300 taps, producing around 120 gallons of syrup each season. The advancement in their maple syrup business led the boys and their dad to invest in a roadside stand in 2020, which is used to sell sweet corn, pumpkins and their maple syrup.
Doing To Learn
The boys plant one acre of sweet corn and 3/4 of an acre of pumpkins each year. They plant, spray and pick their produce with the help of their parents.
Harris and his brother also pick sweet corn and pumpkins when they come home from school each day. They wash and sort their pumpkins by size, color and shape and check their sweet corn, ensuring they have quality products to sell to their customers.
Earning To Live
The Harris boys have learned valuable life lessons while operating their stand.
“Our parents wanted us to learn how to communicate with customers and have a good work ethic,” Harris says. “It also teaches us financial responsibility and how to pay for our own expenses.”
The boys have profited about $4,000 each year they have sold their produce. Making small improvements each year, they were able to purchase a new tractor and planter for planting this spring. They were also able to implement a tubing system for their maple syrup that allows the syrup to run to a central collection rather than gathering from each individual tree.
Living To Serve
Harris hopes to continue the stand in the future, as it has become a staple in their community and is appreciated by many. Harris’ entrepreneurial skills are paving the way for other FFA members and setting a great example for youth in agriculture, including those in his FFA chapter.
