Kentucky FFA Gala Raises Money for Students

Sep 23, 2021

By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com

Call it a success; call it a job well-done; but above all call it a great time had by all.

The Kentucky FFA Association, a student-led organization centered around agricultural education and career development, held its 2021 Blue & Gold Gala on September 18, 2021 in Bowling Green, raising $132,500 via its raffle to be used to benefit its members.

Each ticket purchased at the event will be used to provide funding for an FFA jacket for a member who might otherwise not be able to afford one—so thank-you one and all for your kind generosity.

Monies were raised via a raffle for the chance to win a singular grand prize—a John Deere Gator XUV590M cross-over utility vehicle, won by the very happy active FFA Alumni volunteer Ashley Parsons of Johnson County.

Valued at just under $13,000 for a base vehicle, the four-wheel independent suspension Gator XUV590M was donated to the Kentucky FFA by Wright Implement, a John Deere-certified dealer with 15 locations spread across Kentucky and Indiana.

Established in 1936, Wright Implement provides high-quality products and service to the farming, commercial, residential and construction communities. For more information, visit: www.wrightimp.com.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.