FFA members develop outstanding projects to earn Star honors

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Toby Winans instantly became hooked on flying drones the first time he piloted a machine.

“I give all the credit to my dad because the second he showed me how to fly a drone I knew I had to find a way to make it my FFA project,” said Toby Winans, who was named the Star in Agribusiness during the 93rd Illinois FFA Annual Convention.

The four Illinois FFA Stars were named during the first-ever hybrid convention, held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, as well as outdoor venues in Bloomington and Carbondale.

Stars honored during the general session include: Star in Agribusiness, Toby Winans, Taylorville Chapter; Star Farmer, Shana Lueking, Christ Our Rock Lutheran Chapter; Star in Agriscience, Delana Erbsen, Eastland Chapter; and Star in Agricultural Placement, Tyler Gerdes, Central at Breese Chapter.

Winans has flown drones for four years. His advisers are Katie King, Lori Parks and Sue Schafer.

“I use the drones to scout fields and I run the images through an algorithm to measure the biomass of the crop growing in the field,” said the son of Jacob and Laura Winans.

“I find the problems and report them to the farmer or ag retailer,” he said.

This fall, Winans will attend Lake Land College to study ag business and ag technology and then transfer to a university to complete his degree.

“I am interested in a career in ag technology since it is growing and the future of the ag industry,” he said.

Star Farmer

Shana Lueking owns 39 dairy cows of six different breeds.

“I wanted to have diversity so I could market my animals to different people in the industry,” the Star Farmer explained.

Lueking lives on her family’s dairy farm and enjoys working with cows.

“I love showing cows, so I go to nine to 10 shows a year,” she said. “I have met a lot of people through showing different breeds of cows.”

Receiving the Star Farmer honor, Lueking said, was crazy.

“I didn’t know what was happening. It was really exciting,” she said.

The Star Farmer is the daughter of Doug and Sheila Lueking. Not only is Lueking’s dad her adviser, her grandpa is also an FFA adviser.

“My goal was to win the proficiency award, but then both my dad and grandpa said I needed to apply for Star Farmer,” she said. “I didn’t believe I could win, but now here I am.”

Lueking will attend Murray State University to major in ag communications and public relations.

“Hopefully, I will be a patron relationship specialist,” she said. “I want to work with farmers like myself because I understand co-ops and the producer.”

Star In Agriscience

Delana Erbsen worked with a local feed company during her freshman year of high school to test rumen degradable protein in different feedstuffs.

“I used a fistulated cow to test the feeds,” said the Star in Agriscience, advised by Cynthia Feltmeyer and Breden Schultz.

“I was able to continue to work with Furst McNess over the next summer to test what amount of Profresh was the most economically beneficial to preserve silage,” said the daughter of Kevin and Wendy Erbsen. “I also looked at silage inoculants to see which inoculant would keep mold growth and temperatures down.”

Erbsen worked with her family’s hemp farm to test which field residue would result in the best growing conditions.

“For my final project, I worked with the Galena Vet Clinic where I tested if the growth of gram positive or gram negative bacteria at freshening increased the risk of cows getting mastitis in the future,” she said.

Erbsen started with the rumen project because she wanted to gain experience for her career goal to be a large animal veterinarian.

“My science projects have helped me better understand our farm and why my dad makes certain decisions on our dairy farm,” she said.

Star In Agricultural Placement

Tyler Gerdes worked over 5,000 hours at a local dairy farm just a couple miles from his home.

“The farm milks 110 Holstein cows and I’ve worked there the past four years,” said the Star in Agricultural Placement.

At the dairy farm, Gerdes had many job responsibilities, including milking cows, mixing feed and vaccinating, as well as doing tractor work.

“I learned a lot of things I would have never learned on our farm,” said the son of David and Stacey Gerdes. “On our farm we feed young Holsteins to market weight.”

Gerdes is employed at a local electric company and will be entering school to become a union electrician. His adviser is Harley Carlson.

For more information about the Illinois Association FFA, go to www.ilaged.org.