LOUISVILLE, Ky. — FFA members Caleb Brannon and Kellie Einck have followed their fathers’ examples in agriculture-related careers, and recently brought home National FFA Proficiency Awards for their achievements.

Brannon and Einck were among winners in 49 categories honored on Oct. 30 during the 88th National FFA Convention & Expo. Brannon took top honors in the Agriscience Research-Integrated Systems category, while Einck was honored for Agricultural Mechanics Repair and Maintenance-Placement category.

Both students, who are pursuing careers in their respective fields, were inspired by work done by their fathers. In Brannon’s case, he feels his dad’s work as an ag researcher, professor and current dean of agriculture at Murray State University in Murray, Ky., has been both a blessing and a challenge. “My father has definitely helped to add to my technical knowledge, but at the same time, I have felt the pressure to live up to people’s expectations of me as his son,” he said.

Brannon’s award-winning project included research he completed over five years. The breadth of the project is what Calloway County FFA co-advisor Jacob Falwell believes set him apart from other applicants. “Caleb had over 20 different research projects in his application,” explained Falwell. “Also, he included many different and non-traditional crops and applications, including solar and hemp.”

He called Brannon an “easy kid to work with” and said he is truly motivated to do well. “He did all of the research on his own,” noted the advisor.

Brannon’s drive has led him to develop his own agriculture company, Brannon Agri-Energy, that grows, researches and markets switchgrass and other experimental bioenergy crops. Although he has partnered with various entities for the business, he manages the farm himself.

The FFA award, he said, is the culmination of all of his work and a kick-start for his career. “This project and all of the FFA events I’ve participated in have helped establish a base for my career in the agriculture industry,” said Brannon.

He is a sophomore at MSU, majoring in agriculture business with an emphasis in crop production.

Einck similarly used her father’s legacy to help decide her career path in the ag industry. A member of the South O’Brien FFA Chapter in Paullina, she took what she learned from her truck driver father and parlayed that into a career as an auto-mechanics technician with Icon Ag & Turf, a John Deere dealership located in northwestern Iowa.

Her employment with Icon, along with work completed for a local garage in her hometown, qualified Einck for the Proficiency Award, which measures a student’s growth and ability in an ag-related area. While still in high school, she completed an associate’s degree in diesel technology and, as part of FFA, learned welding and fabrication and intake and exhaust systems.

Einck originally believed her FFA training and diesel technology degree would be a jumping-off point for her to become a mechanical engineer, but her focus changed once the program was complete: “I found that I like working with my hands and being able to see a project through.”

In a career primarily dominated by men, she is certainly an outsider, but the status doesn’t seem to cause her much concern. “It never bothered her,” said FFA advisor and teacher Eric Kumm. “With the boys, she can give as much as she gets.”

Being a female in the industry, though, is not without its challenges, according to Einck. “The biggest problem I have is finding boots to fit,” she said. “I don’t have the strength of a 250-pound man, so finding tools that I can adapt for myself is also an issue.”

Other regional winners include:

Riley Lewis, Prairie Heights FFA Chapter in LaGrange, Ind., won for Diversified Agricultural Production-Entrepreneurship/Placement. From work on his family’s dairy and crop farm, Lewis has graduated to his own small dairy farm, which he hopes to grow in the future.

Derek Neuhoff of the Southridge FFA Chapter in Huntingburg, Ind., received top honors for Diversified Crop Production-Placement because of his work in growing and sustaining his family’s farm, which plants and harvests wheat, soybeans, corn and grain sorghum. 

Austin Tanner Wilson, Whitley County FFA Chapter in Williamsburg, Ky., won for Forest Management and Products-Entre-preneurship/Placement. Wilson has many jobs related to the forestry field, including co-owning a custom sawmill operation that saws an average of 65,000 board feet of lumber per year.

Sam Alan Shaver of the Southmont FFA Chapter in Crawfordsville, Ind., was awarded for Outdoor Recreation-Entrepreneurship/Placement because of his assistance in his family’s recreational vehicle dealership and in running the largest off-road ATV race east of the Mississippi, The Ironman. Because of the success of that race, Shaver helped develop an extreme 5K race that sees more than 8,000 participants each year.

Amy Wyant, Pontiac FFA Chapter in Ill., received top honors in the category of Veterinary Science-Entrepreneurship/Placement because of her job as manager of the Livingston County Humane Society. Through her position, she assists with basic medical procedures, performs testing and gives inoculations.