Name: Trista Ingle
FFA Chapter: Carthage FFA Chapter
Family: Parents, Teresa and Terry Ingle; brother, Travis
How are you involved in agriculture?
“I raise Boer goats to show and market. Right now I have 25 goats including 20 does that I breed each year. I wean the kids at 3 months, and look at what I want to keep and show. Then I have people in 4-H and FFA select the ones they want to (buy and) show. The others I take to the sale barn in Diamond to market.”
How did you get started in 4-H and FFA?
“I’ve been raised with animals, and started with my own horses and Nubian milk goats when I was 8 years old. My brother, Travis was already in 4-H and FFA and that got me interested too. I found out that Nubian goats are very fragile and hard to breed so I switched to Boer goats. The demand is much higher for goat meat than for goat milk and the demand for meat is getting away from just holidays to year round now, too. In 2007, I had the reserve champion Boer goat at the Missouri State Fair. I was at the barn when he was born and I raised him. So he came off my farm and the only cost I put into him was the feed. That was exciting.” This past spring Trista won first place Specialty Animal Production Entrepreneurship/Placement Proficiency award at the Missouri FFA convention in Columbia, Mo. She is now competing in the national competition, which will be announced in October.
Who have been your mentors along the way?
“My mother and father, definitely. Without them none of this would be possible. Also, two of my early advisors when I was a freshman, John Dillard and John Littlefield had a big impact on me and were always great when I called them for help.”
What's the No. 1 thing you've learned in agriculture?
“My knowledge of where our food comes from. A lot of people would be without jobs if it weren’t for agriculture and an appreciation of the importance of it.”
By Pam Artman
