Name: Caitlin Claflin, 17
Parents: Charles and Michelle Claflin
Hometown: Sheldon, Mo
FFA Advisor: Mr. Briant Barker
Involvement in Ag: “My family owns and operates a row crop farm, growing corn and soybeans. We also run a cow/calf operation where we raise Angus/Charolais cross cattle. During fair time my sister and I show steers and goats,” explained Caitlin.
Show Experience: “I started showing pigs when I was 9 years old. Then in Junior High I started showing steers. Getting the animals broke for the show is the biggest challenge. You have to work with them everyday,” added Caitlin.
FFA Involvement: Catilin is currently the Vice President of the Sheldon FFA Chapter. “I have attended the National Convention four times. I have competed at the State level in knowledge, agronomy and meats,” said Caitlin.
Supervised Agriculture Experience: “I started my SAE project the beginning of my freshman year. We were going to start adding nutrients to the soil on our farm. So I started taking soil samples, which turned into my project. The samples are set up on 10-acre grids. I sample from each 10 acres, rotating each year throughout our farm. Once the results come in we apply the nutrients needed. I never paid attention to soil types before this SAE project but the information went along with what I was learning in class,” shared Caitlin.
Future Plans: I plan on attending Oklahoma Sate University majoring in some sort of Agricultural Management or Agricultural Marketing. After college I would like to return back to the farm,” concluded Caitlin.
Story and Photo by Lynzee Glass
