Missouri FFA Vice President Chance Wallace sees a world of opportunity in agriculture
Nineteen-year-old Chance Wallace is focused on a future in the agriculture industry.
From helping on his family’s farm at an early age to studying animal science at Crowder College, the Seneca, Mo., native is passionate about farming.
An active member of the Seneca, Mo., FFA chapter since seventh grade, Chance is now a college freshman and currently serves as a Missouri FFA vice president, a position he’s proud of.
“After six years of looking up at state officers and idolizing their positions, being able to step into a vice presidency was amazing. I love it,” Chance said.
His FFA Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) project involves a 25-head cow/calf operation. In addition to raising cattle, Chance is also a licensed auctioneer and has seasonal projects selling firewood and operating a lawn care business – all while studying at Crowder in Neosho, Mo.
Chance has been involved with his family’s farm since he was about 6 and convinced his family to get back into raising cattle after a hiatus.
“We bought 40 head of cattle, and then we slowly grew up from there, and since then it’s been a part of every day life,” Chance said.
The Wallace family farm currently consists of 600 acres in Newton County, with 200 head of cattle spread over several pastures.
Chance credits his grandmother, Glenna Wallace, as the most influential person in his life.
From growing up in a two-room cabin and putting herself through college to becoming an influential professor and administrative leader at Crowder College, and the first female chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, it’s easy to see why Chance looks up to his grandmother.
“My grandma is the American dream at its finest. She’s come from nothing and built herself into a woman that I can look up to and a person I’d like to be like one day,” Chance said.
Chance said the best part of being involved with agriculture is all the options it offers.
“One of my favorite parts is the diversity,” Chance said. “Agriculture is often seen as a farmers-only type of deal where you have to have cattle or grow corn or something like that, but agriculture is actually the most diverse industry in the world, in my opinion.”
Chance sees a world of possibilities in the industry, and plans to take advantage of whatever comes his way as he works through his college years. In addition to his FFA officer position, he was recently elected state president for Missouri Post-Secondary Ag Students (MOPAS) organization.
“I’m going to get an associates in animal science, then the plan is to transfer to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and switch over into an agriculture communications-type major,” Chance said.
“In the end, I’d like to come back and continue to grow the family farm. I’d like to diversify a little bit more and go into hogs and poultry operations. One of my big dreams is to open up something like a locally raised grocery store that sells all natural, local products and try to bring the producers back to the consumer and connect the divide between the two.
“I’m not solidifying anything just yet because you never know what the good Lord’s going to throw in front of you, so I’m keeping my options open,” Chance said.
