Name: James Elijah, 18
School: Ava High School
Parents: Robert and Heather Elijah
FFA Advisor: Tiffany Kauffman
Are you an FFA officer?
“I’m the chapter President and the Area 12 Treasurer.”
SAE: “My SAE includes beef production, diversified livestock placement and dairy placement. I have at least 10 registered Shorthorns and three commercial cows that I use, and I show the offspring at local fairs during the summer. I also work on a dairy farm, which is my dairy placement SAE, to earn money.”
Benefits of growing up on a farm?
“There are a lot of benefits. Some kids don’t think they get to sleep in, but when you get that extra hour of sleeping in on the weekends, it’s heaven. I’d also say the benefits would be working with the animals – learning how to give vaccinations, learning about plants, how to work machinery, how to run a tractor, baler and rake. All that stuff.”
Future plans: “I plan on attending College of the Ozarks, and majoring in animal science and minoring in ag business, and eventually get my Master’s somewhere.”
Thoughts about the farm labor act: “You can’t operate machinery until you’re 16 on the farm? I was doing that by the time I was 10. I know they’re trying to protect individuals from getting hurt, young kids, but if they grew up on a farm and learned from their parents, I’m pretty sure they know how to operate machinery right.”
Story and Photo by Brenda Brinkley
