Marengo County Farmers assist Demopolis High FFA

The Demopolis High School chapter of Future Farmers of America recently received a boost to its efforts in the form of a donation of nearly $2,400 from the Marengo County Farmer Federation.

“That started back during the summer when I originally contacted the county president, Mr. Meador Jones and asked him about serving on the program advisory committee,” DHS FFA sponsor and Agriscience teacher Trent Wells said. “Basically it is kind of like a steering program. They help to guide the program and make sure that I’m doing things that are important and relevant to the local community.”

Through that relationship, Wells found himself in a position to address the MCFF and inform the organization of his hope to take a group of students to the National FFA Convention.

“The idea started of, why don’t we go to National FFA Convention. You’re talking 50 or 60,000 high school kids and their Ag teachers and sometimes even principals and parents. You’re talking about a sea of blue jackets that descends upon Louisville, Ky. and it is a wonderful experience,” Wells said. “What I got to thinking was, I’d like to be able to provide this kind of experience because I got to go when I was in high school.”

The Marengo County Farmers Federation opted to fund the trip in its entirety.

“They don’t exactly have a huge amount of money right now and frankly, nobody else does either,” Wells said. “But a unanimous vote put me and three kids on a bus at the end of the month from Prattville all the way to Louisville, Ky.”

Wells will be leading a group of three students that includes freshmen Austin Barton and Michael Clary as well as senior Tommy Cristwell. The convention runs from Oct. 30 through Nov. 2.

Wells is hopeful the excursion will help to spark great interest in FFA from both those who are attending and those who hope to have such an opportunity next year.

The DHS FFA group is also hopeful of placing teams in competition at the state level later this academic year.

“I already have some interest this year in livestock judging contests, small engines, tractor driving, land judging, agricultural mechanics,” Wells said. “We’re talking in the spring, we may have eight teams. You’re talking about a lot of them going straight to District in Clanton.”