Name: Jessica Youngberg, 16
Parent: Lynn Youngberg
School: Sophomore at Verona High School
FFA Advisor: Chasity Vangunda
FFA Activities: Jessica is gaining management skills from her involvement in her school’s FFA chapter. With her current SAE (Supervised Ag Experience) she is learning bookkeeping, “Recordbook is where you have to write down everything, like the hours I work on the farm, money and time I spend on my Charolais cattle, and money I make.” She is also involved in judging teams, “Livestock is my favorite team, and I went to state and lettered as a freshman.” Jessica also holds an office, “I’m the reporter for our FFA Chapter, I send information about events to the paper and take pictures for the scrapbook.”
Family Influence: “I like farming with my dad and hanging out with my brother and sisters.” Jessica’s dad owns Spring River Salvage that specializes in tractors and implements. “My dad encouraged me to get a loan when I was 14 to start my herd of Charolais, so I took his advice.” Jessica’s family influence has given her a lot of actual ag experience, “My grandpa gave me advice to start small and sell calves and and keep building my herd.” Jessica also uses her own branding iron that she designed and has registered in the state of Missouri.
Other Activities: Besides her Ag related interests, Jessica plays on the varsity volleyball and basketball teams at Verona. In the summer months, Jessica enjoys touring the local tractor pulls with her “Cub Cadet on alcohol.” Jessica shared, “I’ve placed at every single pull we’ve been to.” She plans to continue competing, but has ideas for a different tractor, “I wanna go bigger!”
Future Plans: “My ag advisor encourages me in my involvement in FBLA, because I want to major in ag business and I want to specialize in cattle and focus on AI and breeding.” For Jessica, this choice comes natural, “Ag is something that’s always been in my family.”
Story and Photo by Sherry Leverich Tucker
