OXFORD, Ohio – FFA seems to run in families, from freshman to alumni. The Beckner family is no exception.

Brother and sister Kari and Jason Beckner were in Ross FFA. Inspired by FFA, Kari went on to Wilmington College to get her ag education degree. Jason often visited his cousin, Jessica Brown, at The Ohio State University’s Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI).

Jessica’s roommate was Stephanie Strayer. That led to a wedding – Stephanie and Jason’s. Now their sons, Justin and Ryland, are in with FFA. Aunt Kari is their ag instructor.

Justin is studying ag education at Wilmington College. He will apply for his American FFA Degree (awarded to members who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to FFA). He will also apply for the American Star Degree in Agribusiness.

“At age of 17 I started my own feed business (In Pursuit Show Feeds),” Justin said. “I sold 20 tons of feed in the first year and it’s been growing ever since.”

He credits FFA for the public speaking skills gained at competitions. He recently competed at the national level in extemporaneous speaking.

“Coming from a kid that was nervous to give class presentations in eighth grade, four years of FFA got me to that point; that’s pretty cool,” Justin said.

Justin’s brother, Ryland, is a junior at Talawanda-Butler Tech. “Many people say that FFA is a second home for them,” Ryland said. “Sometimes people who don’t necessarily have the nicest home find a nice place in FFA. I’ve had a good childhood but FFA is like a whole new world for me. There is so much variety in what you can do. It makes your life better.”

Before COVID-19, Ryland did several career development events (CDEs) including parliamentary procedure, job interviewing and public speaking. He frequently does presentations on farm safety. “I’d love to become a mechanic after college,” Ryland said. “I am taking a mechanics class.”

Aunt Kari Beckner-Roberts was pleased to be Justin and Ryland’s FFA advisor. Kari and Jason did not grow up on a farm but got the farming bug while working summers at their Uncle John Brown’s farm. They gravitated to FFA in high school. Jason was in FFA for four years; Kari started on a different path. However, she had been involved in 4-H, showing sheep at the fair.

“At the Butler County Fair just before my junior year, Jeff Korb, Ross High School FFA advisor said, ‘Why don’t you join FFA?’” Beckner-Roberts explained. “I ended up liking the leadership opportunities. When I was a senior I thought, ‘I really like I think this (ag education) is something I could do for the rest of my life.’”

Temporarily put off when someone remarked that there wasn’t a future in ag ed, she entered Wilmington College with an ag business major. Then her instructor, Monte Anderson, told her there was a growing need for ag instructors. She switched her major.

After graduating in 2002, she was hired as an ag educator at Union County High School. She moved to Talawanda in 2015.

“Teaching ag is a lifestyle,” Beckner-Roberts said. “It’s not something you can leave at 3:00. I asked my husband (Eric) when we got married, ‘do you know what you’re marrying into?’”

One of the perks at Talawanda is that there are two ag teachers – Beckner-Roberts and Carley Snider. They just registered 143 ag students. “It takes two teachers to run a program this size,” said Beckner-Roberts, who was a 2021 FFA Golden Owl Award nominee.

“I think FFA members are the best, most well-rounded kids,” she said. “People say we work long hours. If the kids weren’t as good as they are, I don’t think we would stick around as long as we do. These kids are top-notch; they’re respectful and hardworking. It’s hard not to tell them ‘yes.’”

Her brother, Jason, was in FFA all four years at Ross High School with Korb as his advisor. Besides farming 35 acres, he is the Monroe branch manager for Zimmer Tractor.

“FFA lets you know what opportunities are out there in the agricultural field, not only from the farming aspect,” Jason said. “I’m at an equipment dealership which is related to it.”

What impressed Jason was attending the National FFA Convention. “When my oldest son, Justin, went to the national convention, that was the eye-opening thing for me. Seeing the great opportunities and the things that could benefit our kids through FFA. That was a good trip.”

Jason continued to work with FFA when he joined Zimmer. The company gives back through Ross FFA and Talawanda-Butler Tech FFA. “We support FFA groups with different activities,” Jason said.

Before meeting Jason, Stephanie Strayer was in FFA for four years at Anthony Wayne High School in Whitehouse, Ohio. The organization was still the Future Farmers of America (the name was changed to the National FFA Organization in 1988). Only a couple of girls were members at that time.

“My dad was in FFA, and we were in 4-H,” Stephanie said. “It was a natural progression from 4-H to FFA. I loved every minute of it. It was an amazing team-building experience, and I learned to speak in front of people. It brought me out of my shell.”

Stephanie liked animal judging and remembered having a blast at the 1996 FFA National Convention in Kansas. FFA eventually led her to OSU’s ATI in Wooster.

“I decided I loved cattle so I got my degree in production and management of beef and that led me to Jason,” she said.

And the beat goes on. Lydia Beckner, Justin and Ryland’s sister, age 9, is already in 4-H and on her way to FFA. And Kari has a young family.