Sharpening his skills

WATKINS — Growing up on a dairy farm, Porter Kuechle gained lots of skills and knowledge about his family’s farm, which would lead him to the stage of the 98th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Kuechle took first in the dairy production placement Supervised Agricultural Experience at the Minnesota State FFA Convention held in April 2025. From there, he advanced onto the national contest, where he was named one of four national finalists.

“Being named a national finalist was a shock,” Kuechle said. “I knew I had grown and learned a lot in the last few years. However, another skill that I was able to hone in on with FFA was my interview skills. By my senior year, I was able to talk to any judge about anything about me. So, that made me feel more confident.”

A SAE in FFA is when the student records the agricultural activities performed by the student outside of the classroom. The student describes the activities performed, what they learn from it and how it will help them grow.

During the third general session at the National FFA Convention & Expo, Kuechle and the other finalists were recognized on stage, and Kuechle was not selected as the overall winner but said regardless of the outcome, he is still proud of his accomplishments.

“My sister was named a national finalist in 2019 also in dairy production,” he said. “So, it was pretty cool not just for me, but for our family that we both got to go to nationals for the same thing.”

Kuechle grew up on his family’s farm, Kuechle Dairy, near Watkins. Kuechle Dairy is owned and operated by Kuechle’s dad, Perry, and his aunts, Rhonda, Brenda and Becky (Kuechle) Haag. Together, they milk 220 cows in a double-12 parlor, farm about 800 acres of crops and raise their own steers.

At the regional, state and national levels, Kuechle had to fill out an application and go through an interview process about what he learned with the project.

“Basically, I just had to show the judges what I did on the farm,” Kuechle said. “I had to prove that I was growing and learning new skills. I was able to update my application from state to nationals by adding a couple more skills I learned. But the interviews at the national level were much more intense.”

Kuechle joined FFA in seventh grade and participated in different activities and meetings. But he did not get overly interested in FFA until his adviser, Tyler Warren, encouraged him to do an SAE in dairy production. For Kuechle’s project, he took notes of his chores at home on the farm and explained how his responsibilities changed over the course of his high school career.

“Doing that SAE sucked me into FFA,” Kuechle said. “I had to write down what I was doing and steps that I was going to take to gain new skills on the farm. It seemed too easy not to do.”

Growing up on the farm, Kuechle routinely followed his dad around and helped where he could. By his freshman year, Kuechle was milking cows, hauling wagons and moving bales, among other chores.

“Once I started milking, that blossomed my excitement with the cattle side of the farm,” Kuechle said. “From there, I started learning about giving shots, heat detection and genetics. I really grew within that, and by my senior year, I could explain cow health and why we do what we do on our farm.”

Kuechle not only helped in the parlor on the farm but also in the field, and his duties grew from hauling wagons to driving larger equipment and learning mechanical work. While in high school, Kuechle took classes that would coincide with his farm knowledge and interests.

“I took welding in school and started working on machinery,” Kuechle said. “My mechanical skills grew considerably as I did more mechanically on the farm.”

As Kuechle and his SAE advanced from the regionals to state and then the national contest, he did not get overwhelmed in the process.

“At the national level, my interview was about a month before the convention, and we wouldn’t get any results until the convention,” Kuechle said. “But I didn’t stress too much about it because I knew this is what I have and it is what it is; I did the best I could.”

Now that Kuechle’s FFA career has come to an end, his career on the farm is just beginning.

“Currently, I am working full time at a different farm, but in the future, I would like to transition into the family farm and be part of our farm’s future,” Kuechle said.