FFA from Colorado to Nebraska

Oct. 28, 2020

By Mary Crawford, NCTA News

Taylor Hendrix, an agribusiness management major in her second semester at college, is a campus leader with Collegiate FFA/4-H at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis.

A native of Holyoke, Colorado, Hendrix was raised in agriculture. Her family operates a custom haying enterprise and has a 400-head cow/calf operation. She was barrel racer in youth rodeos.

And, about five years ago, she brought her horses to Curtis for health exams at Medicine Valley Veterinary Hospital, where she now works about 14 hours each week.

Living only two hours away from Curtis, and having an established relationship with the community, she knew then that her college career would begin at NCTA.

A goal of eventually working in the banking industry as an agricultural lender is coupled with a background in livestock, riding horses and marketing.

Hendrix credits the FFA organization and her four years as a member of the Holyoke, Colorado FFA Chapter for her skills and leadership, and career development.

“FFA has special meaning to me as I was a member for four years in the Holyoke Chapter and served as an Executive Committee Member with the 2018-2019 State Officer Team with Colorado FFA,” Hendrix says.

 A highlight of her FFA career was the state officer team planning the state convention at Pueblo for 7,000 FFA members.

In her Holyoke chapter, Hendrix focused on Supervised Agricultural Experiences in Beef Production and Ag Sales as a feed dealer of livestock feed, and some human supplements, too.

Both SAEs earned her gold awards at the state level as a junior in high school. Then, her senior year, she won state in Ag Sales, and another gold for Beef Production.

While Hendrix attended the 2018 National FFA convention, she served as a national delegate and earned a gold in her Ag Sales SAE.

“I was honored in 2019 to attend the convention in Indianapolis and receive my American FFA Degree,” she shared in a radio interview this week. “What a thrill to walk across the national stage!”

Three months later, in January 2020, Hendrix moved to Curtis.

“I was equally excited to become an NCTA Aggie. This college has the small-town atmosphere I enjoy, with top-notch academic programs and dedicated faculty to help me achieve my goals of going into ag banking.”

Hendrix was the voice of NCTA this week for a radio salute to FFA members and those who earned their American FFA Degrees.

She is active in campus clubs including being a member of the Aggie Rodeo Club and running her horse in barrels and serving as secretary of the NCTA Collegiate FFA & 4-H Club.

In addition to being a veterinary assistant at the local animal hospital, Hendrix carries a class load of 15 credit hours this semester.

“I like being involved and being around friends at campus, and with my activities, work and clubs, I don’t get away very often, at this point,” Hendrix says.

She admits, however, that her parents would love to have their only child come home on weekends to help at the farm.

“We always have fence to put in, or cattle to move, or other work to do, but I kind of stick around here at Curtis. It’s a good place to be, with others in agriculture.”

In fact, she recently met with her college advisor and agribusiness professor Mary Rittenhouse.

“We’ll see how the next year plays out. I may take another semester of electives beyond an associate degree and graduate in May 2022.”

And then, she adds, she may even begin her career while taking online classes for a bachelor’s degree.

All because of the influence of FFA.