Love of Learning Extends Beyond FFA

Elise Anderson has raised pigs since she was 8 years old, and at least three generations of her family have produced pork in rural Nebraska. When Anderson joined the Lyons-Decatur FFA chapter in 2018, a swine entrepreneurship supervised agricultural experience (SAE) was a natural fit.

Anderson started by breeding, farrowing, and raising market hogs. Although she continued to enjoy taking care of pigs with her family, she soon found additional interests in food science, plant science, dairy cattle judging, and agritourism.

“FFA really helped foster my love of learning,” Anderson says. “I love to soak up new information about any topic, but especially agriculture.”

As Anderson became more involved in FFA and other high school activities, she realized she needed to simplify her swine project. Checking the farrowing house at 2 a.m. wasn’t practical anymore, she says, so she sold her breeding herd and started buying weaned pigs. She fed pigs from April through the summer and into the fall, and marketed them directly to consumers, who picked up their pork at local butcher shops.

From One SAE to Three

In high school Anderson also worked at Harvest Moon, a pumpkin patch five miles from her house, as part of an outdoor recreation placement SAE. Many of the young families visiting the pumpkin patch traveled from Omaha and were seeing agriculture up close for the first time, so she found herself wanting to help agriculture shine in its best light. Anderson says she enjoyed seeing the joy on the faces of toddlers and 10-year-olds as they picked pumpkins and posed for pictures with the resident goats, alpacas, and donkeys.

Anderson’s experiences at the pumpkin patch helped her realize she wanted to pursue a career in agricultural education, which led to her third SAE: teaching youth through STEM CARES, a Nebraska 4-H program. Starting in the summer after she graduated from high school, and before she moved to Lincoln to major in agricultural education at the University of Nebraska, Anderson taught STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curriculum subjects at summer school programs. The lessons focused on gardening and wind engineering, Anderson says.

“I got to work one-on-one with the kids and watch them learn to think for themselves and jump into areas I enjoyed teaching,” Anderson says. “I loved watching kids grow in agriculture.”

Finding a Future in Ag

As a junior, Anderson is focused on pursuing a career in 4-H Extension youth development. Being involved in Extension, she says, will keep her connected to the agriculture community and allow her to continue learning and helping others learn about all aspects of the industry.

Anderson says she wants to help children “find their light,” the way she found hers in learning about agriculture. In pursuing her chosen career path, she says she expects to use many of the skills she gained through FFA and her SAE projects. Those she mentioned include time management, how to stay calm under pressure, customer relations, and team building.

“I’ve learned I love to help other people,” Anderson says. “I strongly believe people really can do anything if they want to. It’s going to take hard work and dedication, which are two things I’ve also been able to develop through FFA.”