The Ag Achiever of the Month is presented by the Nebraska Soybean Board.
A recent Johnson-Brock High School graduate is proving that agricultural research can start in a high school classroom and reach a national audience.
Gretchen Anthony of Brock has been named Rural Radio Network’s Ag Achiever of the Month after using FFA as a launching point to explore science, sustainability and the future of agriculture.
Through her FFA journey, Anthony completed agriscience fair projects for five years, qualifying for the National FFA Convention three times. Her research focused on finding new uses for corn byproducts, including whether corn chaff could be converted into corn ash and used as an insulating material in concrete.
Anthony said the project combined her interest in science with her desire to create new opportunities for farmers.
“It would be another source of income for farmers, and then also a way to help the environment, because that’s also a big issue in the ag industry right now.”
For Anthony, FFA became more than a competition. It gave her opportunities to learn from industry leaders, connect with other students and see the many career paths available in agriculture.
She said the experiences helped her discover her interest in the business side of the industry.
“Those experiences really introduced me to what the side of what I want to do now, which is ag business.”
Anthony’s involvement extended beyond the classroom. She has attended Commodity Classic for the past three years after becoming a state winner in a crop competition alongside her mom.
She said being surrounded by farmers, researchers and industry professionals from across the country gave her a new perspective on the strength of the agricultural community.
Anthony said Commodity Classic also highlighted the growing role women play in agriculture and the value of bringing people together to improve the industry.
“It’s really cool to see everyone coming together, just so we can all have a better crop and just coming together for the ag industry.”
As she prepares to attend Northwest Missouri State University this fall to study agribusiness, Anthony hopes to continue using her experiences in FFA and agriculture to advocate for the industry.
She says one of the biggest challenges ahead is helping people outside of agriculture better understand modern farming.
“I really want to bring light to the ag industry and so that people know that we are trying our best and that we are doing everything we can, because at the end of the day, we’re just trying to feed the world.”
