With as much effervescence and joy in raising her cattle herd as she exudes for just having won the highest honor in Kansas for a young farmer, teenager Ella Pachta of rural Belleville, Kan., is the newest Kansas State FFA Star Farmer, after receiving the award at the state FFA Convention in Manhattan, Kan., June 2. Pachta is also only the fifth female to be awarded Star Farmer in Kansas FFA history. The honor is geared to a person who goes above and beyond in their attitude, involvement, community service and their SAE (supervised agriculture experience).
The 18-year old Pachta who graduated two weeks earlier from Republic County High School in north central Kansas told The Fence Post, that when her name was announced onstage as the Star Farmer she was surprised.
“It was kind of a shock, I think my heart skipped a beat. When I go into something I know there are other good candidates, so I didn’t expect to win. It was a lot of mixed emotions, very sentimental to me and knowing my hard work paid off,” Pachta said, while she briefly stopped swathing.
She earned the Star Farmer award for her SAE in both Beef Production Agricultural Entrepreneurship and Forage Production.
With a herd of 20 beef commercial cows, the newly-graduated farmer works daily to background her calves until they’re 400-500 pounds, then sells them. Her cows go to corn stalks. Pachta puts up hay with the family’s Pachta Hay Farm business and also farms her own 22 acres of alfalfa that goes to her calves’ feed.
She also won the FFA Forage Production Proficiency Award, and earned fourth place in employment skills (job interviewing) in an LDE (leadership development event).
“This is a tremendous honor not only for Ella and her family but for our chapter and ag education program as well. Ella has gained many ag-related skills through her supervised ag experience program, but probably most importantly, she has learned to articulate the lessons learned and the importance of agriculture,” said Jed Strnad, FFA adviser and agriculture instructor at Republic County Junior/Senior High School in Belleville, Kan. Strnad and co-adviser Cara Holtorf joined Pachta and other award recipients onstage at the convention.
Pachta is only the fifth female in Kansas State FFA history to be awarded Star Farmer.
In 2018, Natalie Hawkins of Atwood, Kan., won Star Farmer. In 2016, Samantha Beauchamp, Holton won. Two decades earlier in 1995, Elizabeth Neufeld of Inman, Kan., won Star Farmer. Eighteen years previously, Lorena Croucher, Garnett earned the award in 1977.
Pachta gets strong support from her brother who helped with the hay operation, and from her two sisters who help with the cattle, as well as proud parents Jenny and Garry Pachta.
Source: thefencepost.com
Photo Credit: Kansas FFA
Categories: Kansas, Business