Across the Acres

Jakin Tyrrell

Browerville | Todd County

What high school did you attend, and what years were you in FFA? I attended Staples-Motley from 1992 to 1996 and was involved in FFA during that time.

Why did you join FFA? It was a family tradition, but I also liked agriculture and wanted to gain more leadership skills.

What are your fond memories of being in FFA? Walking across the stage to receive my State and American FFA Degrees along with meeting people from all over the country. 

Tell us about your involvement with your chapter. I served as chapter reporter, treasurer and vice president, and also held the position of regional secretary for Region 2. I was recognized as the Regional Star Farmer and earned both my State FFA Degree and American FFA Degree. I participated in dairy judging, fish and wildlife judging, and the parliamentary procedure team. In addition, I was actively involved in fundraising efforts for the chapter, including the Corn Drive for Camp Courage and fruit sales.

What encouragement do you have for youth considering joining FFA? FFA is an organization that provides opportunities for members to develop their interests while building valuable skills. Through participation, members learn effective public speaking, livestock management, job readiness, and leadership skills that prepare them for future careers and personal growth. 

Tell us about yourself and current career. I have been married to my wife, Amanda, for 22 years. I am a fifth-generation family farmer and co-owner of the farm alongside my sister, Nikki. Our operation includes milking Guernsey cattle and managing approximately 1,000 acres of cropland.

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Kari Slinden

Grove City | Meeker County

What high school did you attend, and what years were you in FFA? I was a New London-Spicer FFA Chapter member and was active in FFA from 2000 to 2005.

Why did you join FFA? I had two older sisters who were active in FFA, and I was able to join summer ag in my eighth-grade year. I loved raising and showing beef cattle, and FFA was an awesome way to meet people around the U.S. My FFA advisers made summer ag, FFA and ag classes really fun also.

What are your fond memories of being in FFA? National FFA Convention & Expo in Louisville, Kentucky, and Indianapolis, Indiana, were some of the best trips that stand out in my memory even to this day. I loved traveling with FFA friends and being able to meet so many other FFA members from all across the U.S. I also attended many summer state conferences, including the State Greenhand Leadership Conference and State Leadership Conference for Chapter Leaders that were run by state officers. It is pretty cool what high school students can accomplish. Chapter officer retreats were awesome, and having a part in planning out the events and activities for the year is helpful in my career today. I even enjoyed getting up early to make pancakes for teachers and sort fruit for our fundraiser.

Tell us about your involvement with your chapter. I served as president, vice president and sentinel in my chapter. I was on a livestock judging team, small animals team, parliamentary procedure team and competed in creed speaking. I am proud to say I have my State FFA Degree and American FFA Degree (and so do my three sisters). I was involved in really everything FFA offered throughout high school.

What encouragement do you have for youth considering joining FFA? FFA is truly for everyone. You don’t have to grow up on a farm or have a background in agriculture. There are numerous ways to learn about agriculture and be involved in FFA. So many of the contests help students with the communication, teamwork, interpersonal skills and soft skills needed in any future career.

Tell us about yourself and current career. I am an agriculture instructor at Ridgewater College in Willmar. This is my 13th year of teaching primarily animal science courses. I am the professional agriculture students adviser, similar to FFA at the college level, and am looking forward to state and national conferences. My kids are in 4-H and love showing animals at the fair. I hope they will want to be FFA members when they are old enough.

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Alex Fellbaum

Swanville | Morrison County

What high school did you attend, and what years were you in FFA? I attended Little Falls Community High School, and I was involved in FFA all four years from 2010 to 2014.

Why did you join FFA? I joined FFA to be involved in Career Development Events. I was already raising sheep and showing livestock through 4-H, so it was a natural fit to also be involved in FFA.

What are your fond memories of being in FFA? I remember traveling to events, and our adviser would always stop to take a picture of the group somewhere along the route. An annual chapter event was attending the Cinch’s World’s Toughest Rodeo in St. Paul, and that was always a blast. I also had the opportunity to attend several state conventions and the National FFA Convention & Expo in Louisville, Kentucky, making new friends across the state and nation, some of whom I am still in contact with to this day.

Tell us about your involvement with your chapter. Within my FFA chapter, I served as the vice president during my junior year and president during my senior year. My Supervised Agricultural Experience was raising and selling sheep. I participated in general livestock evaluation, dairy evaluation and dairy cattle handlers CDEs. I advanced to the state convention contests in the dairy evaluation and dairy cattle handlers events several times. I received the Greenhand Degree, Chapter Degree, and, with the guidance of my agriculture education instructor, Erin Daninger, my State FFA Degree in 2015. 

What encouragement do you have for youth considering joining FFA? I encourage all students to join, as there are many opportunities to broaden their knowledge of the agriculture industry and learn more about different career pathways that connect to agriculture. FFA also teaches incredible leadership skills, and taking advantage of the opportunities that FFA provides will positively impact you more than you realize.

Tell us about yourself and current career. After graduating from high school, I attended North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota, where I received degrees in animal science and agricultural economics. While at NDSU, I was very active in several agriculture-focused student organizations, including the NDSU dairy judging team, where I continued competing in dairy evaluation events and even received All-American honors in the National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest at the 2017 World Dairy Expo. After graduating from NDSU, I joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency, where I have worked in several positions and locations and currently serve as the county executive director for both Morrison County FSA and Todd County FSA.