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From raising pigs to raising the gavel

Fair queen set to lead state FFA

By AUDREY PARENTE
Staff Writer

For five months during her freshman year, Sarah Burleson fed, bathed and cleaned out the pen of Abby, a blue-butt pig — not a pet, but a swine she raised at school for show and breeding.

That fall, she exhibited Abby’s husky hams at the Volusia County Fair and brought home a blue ribbon, but there was no facility at school to breed the pig, so Abby became a banquet dinner for the Future Farmers of America.

Not long after, Burleson moved with her mom to Osteen where she could breed animals and sell piglets for $100, which she says is profitable.

But when she graduated from Deltona High School this year, the 17-year-old announced she will be taking the next year off from pig farming — and put college on hold — to serve as the state president of Future Farmers of America.

“We are not a club but a national organization,” says Ronnie Simmons, executive director of the Florida branch of Future Farmers in Gainesville.

The national organization, established in 1928 by the federal government, is an integral part of middle and high school curricula, says Simmons.

“It’s standard practice of all our officers to take a year off from college. They are literally on the road nearly 300 days doing leadership seminars and workshops, promoting agriculture and student leadership,” Simmons says. “She (Burleson) is a product of our programs. She already has dabbled in agriculture herself with her supervised agriculture experience, and that’s the purpose of our program, to promote career success.”

Burleson is a Sanford native who lives in Osteen with her mom, Carol Burleson. Her father, Greg Burleson lives in New Smyrna Beach.

Her interest in agriculture began in sixth grade when she added agriculture as an elective class.

“We learned about plant and animal sciences — where your food comes from and about the animals,” she recalls.

In seventh grade, she bought Daisy, a sheep kept at school. Daisy was fed twice a day, walked and bathed. Burleson sheered the wool, which was discarded.

“It was a meat sheep. I loved her,” she explains. Daisy got a blue ribbon at the Volusia County fair, and for her showing technique, Burleson took second place.

By eighth grade she had joined the Florida Future Farmers organization and bought and cared for several sheep and cattle kept at school.

“In ninth grade I got involved in showing swine. There was a man who brought pigs down for our high school. I looked at her hams — you want her to have big hams since she would be a breeding hog. She was pink and blue,” Burleson says. Abby earned a blue-ribbon, but “there was no facility at my high school for breeding.” That’s when Abby became FFA banquet fare.

“I thought if I ate it I would be sick, but I wasn’t, and it was really good meat,” Burleson recalls.

“By 11th grade, I had moved to Osteen and could keep the animals,” she says. She earned about $3,000 with just two breeders.

During her senior year, in 2005, Burleson won another ribbon — this time for showing off herself to become Miss Volusia County Fair.

“I had to give a speech. . . and I said it would be an opportunity for me to represent the agriculture industry because that is what I am passionate about.” After winning, she attended dinners, rode in parades and this fall will crown the new Miss Volusia County Fair.

Running for president of Florida’s Future Farmers organization came next, beginning with a competition of about 28 applicants spending nearly two days essay writing, testing and interviewing. Six applicants were selected as area representatives. The top two scorers became candidates for president — the loser became secretary.

Simmons says it’s not unusual that a female won.

“There were no females in the program until 1969, but female participation has skyrocketed,” he says. More than 50 percent of the leadership is now female, he adds.

Deborah Higgins, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Education says FFA officers learn leadership skills beyond those taught in the agriscience classrooms while presenting national workshops and traveling.

“As president, Sarah attended the State Presidents Conference in Washington, D.C. to set the agenda for the delegate issues for the National FFA Convention,” Higgins says.

“They have the opportunity to travel to Europe on the International Leadership Seminar for State Officers,” she says.

The officers are taught how to create the curriculum and programs.

“They visit business and industry representatives across the state and spend a week internship in the Florida Department of Agriculture each year,” Higgins adds.

Burleson says workshops will be on “important issues facing agriculture,” including as urbanization of decreasing farmland, drying out of Florida’s aquifer, citrus canker, the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

“That basically will give free trade between Central America and the United States,” she says. “The problem with that is basically they can have 10-year-olds out in the fields picking oranges and can hire at cheap prices because they don’t have any regulations or laws. It harms how productive our industry can be.”

After her year’s deferment, Burleson will attend the University of Florida, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. While she hopes to live on a farm, she plans to teach and then “have an involvement in the public image of agriculture, because a lot of people don’t know how important it is to put the food on the table and clothes on your back.”

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