It’s a family. Nothing more, nothing less. When we set out a little over two years ago to start a fundraiser for the Georgia FFA Foundation I felt it would go over well with the circumstances of COVID-19, but I was unsure of its long-term future. I genuinely never thought that 2 years later I’d be writing a blog for the Support Georgia Agriculture website and have raised nearly $80,000 in donations that directly benefit the students of the Georgia FFA.

According to the USDA, we (The United States) lost 1.3 million acres in 2021. It takes around one acre of land to feed a family of four for an entire year. This statistic means in 2021 alone; we lost ground that could have supplied food for 5.2 million people (about half the population of Georgia.)

A day in the life at a hog show starts like any other day. I get out of bed, stumble to the kitchen, and pour myself a cup of ambition. The second we arrive at the show facility the work begins.

The American Veterinary Medical Associations stated in 2019 that only about 10% of all practicing vets work with large animals. The assistant dean of college affairs at Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Jim Weisman, states, “The average debt for a student graduating from the Purdue College of Veterinary Medicine in 2021 was $186,000.”