Future Farmers of America students earn state degrees
Will Kemp can definitely say he has a future in farming after recently being honored for an award no rising farmer has ever earned in Chester County before, the Tennessee Star Farmer Award.
At the Future Farmers of America State Convention last week, he was recognized for this honor.
After still feeling the excitement of earning the West Tennessee Star Farmer Award, earning the Tennessee Star Farmer Award is amazing he said.
“It feels amazing to accomplish this goal. I’ve always wanted to be Star Farmer for as long as I can remember. But winning state star farmer is next level,” he said. “I couldn’t believe I won state star farmer it truly changed my life.”
Though he is the first person from Chester County to earn the award, he said that he hopes he is the first of many.
“It feels great to be the first, I hope there’s more to come after me. I’ve always tried to be an example for others,” he said.
Kemp moved to Chester County High School from Jackson Christian School his freshman year just for the agriculture program. The growth of the Chester County FFA and agriculture programs have helped him grow as a farmer, and he said he is proud of how far they have come.
“I moved to CCHS to be a part of the ag program. I am so proud of the growth of this program since I started in it 4 years ago,” he said.
Mrs. Teresa Crouse, agriculture teacher at CCHS, is mentioned she is very proud of the hard work he has put into accomplishing his goal he set freshman year.
“I’m extremely proud of him,” she said. “He’s worked really hard. He said his freshman year that he wanted to be star farmer one day and put his mind to it. He did a lot of work and here he is today; got Star Farmer at the state convention so I’m extremely proud of him and all the hard work he has put into it.”
So what does it take to achieve this award exactly? Kemp explained what his farming life is like and how he lives and breathes farming.
“I eat, farm, sleep and repeat. I live to farm,” he said. “I have year around responsibilities on my farm. That includes planting, spraying, harvesting and trucking. A typical day on my farm starts around 6:30 and ends about 6. Maintenance and field work are daily for me.”
Kemp, along with other CCHS students Paul Jones, Sydney Cherry and Lexi Harwell all earned their State FFA Degrees.
Crouse is proud of all the work that the students did to earn their FFA Degrees.
“I’m really proud of all those kids. They put a lot of hard work and dedication into the accomplishments they have gotten,” she said.
