SAE Visit... 3 in 1! Now We're Talking!

On Wednesday 3/23 I has the privilege of going to the Walters' farm to visit H, W and Y!

H had been asking me for two weeks to come visit and help with chores, so I was very excited to find a time that worked for both of us! Mr. Steinfelt and I had already been to their farm to pick up the boys for Dairy judging last weekend, so luckiliy I knew where the farm was. Located just feet from the New York Line, you can see the "Thanks for Visiting Pennsylvania" sign from their barn! #NorthernTier is right! As I prepared for the visit, I discussed their SAEs briefly with Mr. Steinfelt and looked a little bit at their AET records. I also thought of questions I wanted to ask!



This is A, a friend of the Walters' who often comes to help out! They LOVE Linebacks!

So... contestant number 1 is H! H is a junior at Athens and she works on her family's farm. Her responsibilities include setting up the milking parlor, milking their 32 cows, cleaning up the milker system, feeding the cows, and cleaning the stalls. H is taking SAE/FFA Leadership and is very involved in chapter activities. She updates her AET weekly, and said that she likes seeing the financial records. Her goals in the future are to have a more active role in other parts of their operation, and to one day take over the farm!

Recommendations I gave to H were to include the growth in her SAE. Explain on AET how her responsibilities have changed over time and that she has grown a lot through her project. I also recommended that she add variety to her journal entries by adding info on the ducks and other little special projects that she has.



H's goal is to one day take over the farm!

H is explaining to S their milkers. S also comes from a Dairy and loves to visit.

 W and Y, who are twins in 9th grade are also very active in the Ag Program!



Y and W are standing by the chickens.

W is in charge of feeding the cows and heifers hay, and he helps to feed the calves. W is also hoping to start his own Greenhouse and recently bought some supplies from Tractor Supply! He is currently taking Horticulture and Introduction to Agriculture. W's goals are to make a profit on his vegetables, and to help his family save money by growing cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, and possibly pumpkins. I encouraged W to take many pictures and to keep track of the Greenhouse project as it starts "taking root!" He is excited for the prospects, and I told him to make sure he enters everything so that he can closely monitor his finances!

CALVES are the best! Awesome to see the new genetics of the herd. L is another student from Athens, she works at the Walters' farm and enjoys learning about dairy.

His brother, Y is in charge of feeding the calves and also has chickens that he takes care of. He has 13 hens and is looking forward to expanding in the future. He currently sells eggs to family and hopes to sell more in the future. Y is taking Introduction to Agriculture this year and is looking forward to taking more ag classes in the future. His goals are to make more money and expand his flock. Y also wants to grow pumpkins to sell in the fall. I told Y to keep up the good work and to make sure that he maintains his AET records every week!




Here are Y's chickens, he is very excited to expand in the future.

H recently got interested in ducks, so they have some ducks and A, one of their friends is also keeping her ducks at the Walters' farm.



Little Ducks! They are still in their cute and fuzzy stage!

Both W and Y are on the Dairy Judging Team and recently competed in the Creed Speaking. H wrote a senior prepared speech on standard operating procedures on diary farms and presented the speech to her class. I am so proud of these hard working siblings.

So that was great! I was able to visit three SAEs in one night, and then I was able to help out with chores and talk to several of my students in a different context. It was an enjoyable experience for all!

Best
Sarabeth